In the process of selecting the best players from around the globe, I am only selecting those players who are playing right now, ths excluding the retired players, hoping that this is one of those teams which can bring even the biggest squads down.....
1) Greame Smith (South Africa) (Vice Captain):
The South African captain is one of top class opening batsmen of the world. He can score runs quickly as well as steady the innings, and his form had been at the highest level these days. After taking over the captaincy from Shawn Pollock, he has played a number of responsible knocks and has given the proteas lots of good beginnings. The classic high scoring One Dayer against Australia is one of the most recent among them. He does try hard to do the job of a fifth bowler also, but usually fails in it, anyways, his ability with the bat is quite remarkable.
2) Virender Sehwag (India):
Certainly going through one of the worst times of his career, but still he is the best choice for the opening slot, as he can make things work for the team, playing his natural game with power and style creating fear in the hearts of the bowlers. In the recent series against England, he had to return to his shell, and could not ake any impact in the result of the match. But the fact is that he was out due to his own mistakes and not the best deliveries. He just needs to learn from his mistakes and continue to be the one-man wrecking machine which he used to be - hope his injury is not serious and he stays in the Indian team for the One Day series!
3) Jacques Kallis (South Africa):
This man happens to be a pillar on which South Africa had been balancing itself for a long time. I don’t think that there is any better player who has done more for this team in the recent past other than him and Pollock. He is also a useful medium pace bowler, and he has proved this fact very well by providing the edge and thus making the team more balanced. He can rotate the strike as well as hit those big ones, when he hit them, it does go a long way! He is a player whom any team would want to have in the team!
4) Ricky Ponting (Australia) (Captain):
The worthy successor of Steve Waugh is not only a good captain, but also an elegant stroke player. He may be all set to overtake Sachin Tendulkar in the number of test centuries, and his contributions in One Day cricket are also worth mentioning. But he is a different player in tests, and has played some of the best innings of his life in the last few years. His improvement in bating after becoming in the captain of the World Champions, is more than just fantastic. Lets see what are his tactics to retain the World Cup!
5) Rahul Dravid (India):
This is one of those few players who just doesn’t need any introduction. He is a good, solid batsman, having such a great defence that he is called ’’the wall’’. Even if he has proved to be a bad captain, may be under the ’’Chappel influence’’ and didn’t deliver in the last match when it mattered the most, he is still the most consistent batsman in the team, and I have given the spot which I would have reserved for Tendulkar last year, due to his ability to stay at the crease, and get those singles to rotate the strike. Well, this is a test team and this guy can bat more time than anyone can imagine!
6) Adam Gilchrist (Australia) (Wicket Keeper):
The best wicket keeper batsman in the world just needs no introduction. He makes even the best deliveries fly towards the boundary, as long as the short balls are concerned, they can rest outside the boundary rope! He plays the pull shot with a certain amount of ease, that you just can’t bowl short to him. He can get some quick runs whenever the team needs it, and he is just unbelievable behind the wickets. The bowler just doesn’t seem to need the first slip any more as long as this man is keeping. We did see some of his best catches in the first test match against South Africa too - just marvellous!
7) Andrew Flintoff (England):
The captain of England in this series seemed to be a different man in the field. He led a team which was down in morale after that loss and missed the best players, but he never seemed to look back. He is a man whom the team can trust, and he has proved it with his innings in the last test match. He can stay at the crease, hit those big ones, and even bowl the fastest ball of the series - well what more can you expect from a player of his class? Captaincy has only brought the best out of this power house!
8) Shawn Pollock (South Africa):
If we look at the bowling attack, we surely need to have some experience, and here is our man, the opening bowler of South Africa, Shawn Pollock! He got all the experience, he keeps his line and length right, and he is also a good batsman who never surrenders to pressure. He has saved the proteas, both with his bat and also with the ball, and a perfect player to suit in this position. This will certainly extend the batting power of the team to number eight.
9) Shane Warne (Australia):
Even he never seems to finish creating those problems outside the ground, he is one of the best spinners ever. His personal problems did seem to affect his game a bit, but still he had been performing well, and also contributing a little with his bat, just like Kumble had been doing for India. Just have a look at the wickets he has managed to get, and you will know they are not fluke, but the result of pure class and nothing else. The only possible replacement for him would be Muttiah Muralitharan, but still I will go for Warne himself!
10) Shoaib Akhtar (Pakistan):
This is one of those pace bowlers who can go through the batting card like a rocket! He is too quick and he also got that aggression which makes even more dangerous. Just like Brett Lee does for Australia, this guy creates the much needed fear in the minds of batsmen. As long as the tail enders are concerned, they can certainly say good bye as fast as possible! Well, you can’t hit anything that you can’t see! You will never know when the stumps are uprooted until you hear the sound of the timber!
11) Sreesanth/Munaf (India):
Atleast one of these new pace men from India needs to get a chance to play among the best, because they had been too impressive in the recent test series. They outbowled the man who was supposed to be a much better bowler - Irfan Pathan, and caused some trouble for the English batsmen as well as taking those precious wickets. They do have a big future ahead of them, and if they try hard, they can certainly be among the best in the world - well, still a long way to go.....
12th man) Mohammed Yousuf (Pakistan):
Yousuf is one of the most free-flowing batsmen I have ever seen. He plays the shots with a certain amount of ease and as long as he is at the crease, you can be sure that you will be entertained. His only weakness is the running between the wickets and thus the tendency to run him or his partner out! His conversion or his change of name doesn’t make a lesser player, even if he is having some problems at the crease just like the other Pakistani batsmen after that big One Day series against India which they lost without any reply!
A few others, I would love to have in my team are:
Mahendra Singh Dhoni
Inzamam-Ul-Haq
Nathan Astle
Kumara Sangakkara
Andrew Symonds
Mark Boucher
Muttiah Muralitharan
Chaminda Vaas
Mathew Hoggard
Brett Lee
And no Brian Lara due to the bad form.....
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