I am one of those millions of Indians who went ‘Cricket Crazy’ after Kapil Dev’s underdogs won over the mighty West Indians in the Prudential World Cup in 1983. Not yet a teenager on that memorable day, I remain equally enamored by this game on the verge of 40 today!
The advent of television helped to further escalate the craze. This is the silver jubilee year of little me watching live Cricket on television. I have witnessed Sunil Gavaskar’s boys conquer the Benson and Hedges World series in 1985 and then had the mortification of watching Javed Miandad re-write the course of Indo-Pak Cricket by swinging Chetan Sharma over midwicket in 1986 at Sharjah.
This game has given so many moments to cherish and so many heartbreaks; but the passion remains undiluted. So after 25 years of watching live Cricket, I have decided to form my own Team of World Cricket Greats against a hypothetical Mars Attack.
Including Don Bradman, legends of the past are just names and numbers for me and I have not included them in this team. My team includes only those whom ‘I have’ seen play! Since the Mars attack is hypothetical, the team too will look hypothetical with players from different generations.
1] Sunil Gavaskar: Any batsman who scored 10,000 runs playing against some of the best fast bowlers of all times on uncovered pitches without a helmet has to open the innings for my team. We also have to remember there was no restriction on number of bouncers when he played. We don’t know the Mars bowlers. For Sunny, fast bowlers were unknown before he made his test debut!
2] Virendar Sehwag: You simply can’t ignore his ability to destroy bowling attacks with very little movement of his feet. His tongue moves more than his feet. But he still scores against the best in the business and at a rate not really emulated by many before him and even during him. And he does it quite consistently. So he will be the right ‘attacking weapon’ with the perfect defense of Sunny at the other end.
3] Vivian Richards: I have yet to see another right handed batsman do a one-handed swat of a slow bowler over square-leg and that too with his left hand! Richards was the most destructive batsman of his times and perhaps of all times. He has to swagger in at number 3 just to show the Martians how confident and arrogant the Earth guys can be!
4] Sachin Tendulkar: No Cricketer, living or dead has achieved as much as this ‘Little Master’ has, over the past 2 decades of Cricket, whole Cricket and nothing but Cricket. The Martians should know ‘God’ plays on our team!
5] Brian Lara: In case of a rare case of ‘Top Order’ collapse, this phenomenal talent has to be there to rally the middle and lower order around him. This is one man who can score more runs than the entire opposition if he has the support from the other end. Lara would have made at least 2000 runs more if he were to play for a better team. This should be his best opportunity.
6] Jacques Kallis: The most under-rated all-rounder of any time. He will be an asset at No. 6 and his bowling can cause many a surprise. His tenacity will be an added asset. The Martians will learn for sure.
7] Adam Gilchrist: Destructive Batting at No. 7 and elegant wicket-keeping; doing both with distinction has been a hallmark of Gilly. He will remain the eternal favorite of any Captain or Coach to play for his team.
8] Wasim Akram: If God were to bowl left-hand fast-medium, he would look like Wasim Akram. Simply the most magnificent swing bowler I have even seen. Never discount his big hitting abilities. Match-fixing allegations apart, Wasim brought glory to Pakistan Cricket without any doubt.
9] Richard Hadlee: If versatility in fast-medium bowling has a benchmark, it is Richard Hadlee. Hadlee will be the perfect foil to the deadly duo of Wasim – Waqar. And like Wasim, he too can bat a bit to boost the total.
10] Shane Warne: Destiny’s favorite child, he is the bowler’s version of Sachin Tendulkar. It will take several generations for Martians to decipher Warne. He will certainly bamboozle them with the ‘Ball of the Millennium’ and more! He is my man to Captain this side. I have no doubt about Warne being the ‘Best Captain’ Australia never had!
11] Waqar Yunis: The greatest exponent of ‘reverse swing’ bowling has a place reserved in my team. Time alone will tell us if he can Coach. But we have witnessed his ability to bowl those toe-crushing Yorkers with stunning effect. Will there ever be a new ball pair as fantastic and as destructive as Wasim and Waqar?
It is unfortunate that there isn’t a single Englishman or a Sri Lankan in this team though it has 3 Indians, 2 Aussies, 2 Caribbeans, 2 Pakistanis, 1 Kiwi and a Springbok. So to complete a 15 man squad, here is the list of 4 back-up players.
12] Ian Botham: If not for Kallis, Botham would have been the choice for the All-rounder’s slot. This Talismanic Cricketer must be the unluckiest to miss a slot in the 11.
13] Muttaiah Muralidharan: If we are to play with two spinners or in case Warne is injured; Murali will be the 'Doosra' to replace Hadlee or Warne. The volume of wickets he has gathered is Tendulkarish for the records crazy Cricket followers.
14] Glen McGrath: He kept things simple which is the hardest thing to do. If consistency in line and length has to be measured in terms of units, we can name it McGrath Units. The most consistent bowler ever known to us will walk into the team in case on any injury scare.
15] Gordon Greenidge: If Sehwag wasn’t as destructive as he is, Greenidge would have been the choice to open. This hardest hitter of Cricket ball will be the perfect man to open in case of injury to any batsman in the line-up.
Mathew Hayden, Desmond Haynes, Ricky Ponting, Rahul Dravid, David Gower, Steve Waugh, Malcolm Marshall, Michel Holding, Anil Kumble, Clive Lloyd, Imran Khan, Aleck Stewart, Javed Miandad, Kapil Dev and Graham Gooch will be the other guys who will be in the list of 30 probables.
With due apologies to many of those greats who are not there in this list; I must say, “This is rather a Wish List”! But I believe in this team to win; not only against Mars, but against any alien attack!
The advent of television helped to further escalate the craze. This is the silver jubilee year of little me watching live Cricket on television. I have witnessed Sunil Gavaskar’s boys conquer the Benson and Hedges World series in 1985 and then had the mortification of watching Javed Miandad re-write the course of Indo-Pak Cricket by swinging Chetan Sharma over midwicket in 1986 at Sharjah.
This game has given so many moments to cherish and so many heartbreaks; but the passion remains undiluted. So after 25 years of watching live Cricket, I have decided to form my own Team of World Cricket Greats against a hypothetical Mars Attack.
Including Don Bradman, legends of the past are just names and numbers for me and I have not included them in this team. My team includes only those whom ‘I have’ seen play! Since the Mars attack is hypothetical, the team too will look hypothetical with players from different generations.
1] Sunil Gavaskar: Any batsman who scored 10,000 runs playing against some of the best fast bowlers of all times on uncovered pitches without a helmet has to open the innings for my team. We also have to remember there was no restriction on number of bouncers when he played. We don’t know the Mars bowlers. For Sunny, fast bowlers were unknown before he made his test debut!
2] Virendar Sehwag: You simply can’t ignore his ability to destroy bowling attacks with very little movement of his feet. His tongue moves more than his feet. But he still scores against the best in the business and at a rate not really emulated by many before him and even during him. And he does it quite consistently. So he will be the right ‘attacking weapon’ with the perfect defense of Sunny at the other end.
3] Vivian Richards: I have yet to see another right handed batsman do a one-handed swat of a slow bowler over square-leg and that too with his left hand! Richards was the most destructive batsman of his times and perhaps of all times. He has to swagger in at number 3 just to show the Martians how confident and arrogant the Earth guys can be!
4] Sachin Tendulkar: No Cricketer, living or dead has achieved as much as this ‘Little Master’ has, over the past 2 decades of Cricket, whole Cricket and nothing but Cricket. The Martians should know ‘God’ plays on our team!
5] Brian Lara: In case of a rare case of ‘Top Order’ collapse, this phenomenal talent has to be there to rally the middle and lower order around him. This is one man who can score more runs than the entire opposition if he has the support from the other end. Lara would have made at least 2000 runs more if he were to play for a better team. This should be his best opportunity.
6] Jacques Kallis: The most under-rated all-rounder of any time. He will be an asset at No. 6 and his bowling can cause many a surprise. His tenacity will be an added asset. The Martians will learn for sure.
7] Adam Gilchrist: Destructive Batting at No. 7 and elegant wicket-keeping; doing both with distinction has been a hallmark of Gilly. He will remain the eternal favorite of any Captain or Coach to play for his team.
8] Wasim Akram: If God were to bowl left-hand fast-medium, he would look like Wasim Akram. Simply the most magnificent swing bowler I have even seen. Never discount his big hitting abilities. Match-fixing allegations apart, Wasim brought glory to Pakistan Cricket without any doubt.
9] Richard Hadlee: If versatility in fast-medium bowling has a benchmark, it is Richard Hadlee. Hadlee will be the perfect foil to the deadly duo of Wasim – Waqar. And like Wasim, he too can bat a bit to boost the total.
10] Shane Warne: Destiny’s favorite child, he is the bowler’s version of Sachin Tendulkar. It will take several generations for Martians to decipher Warne. He will certainly bamboozle them with the ‘Ball of the Millennium’ and more! He is my man to Captain this side. I have no doubt about Warne being the ‘Best Captain’ Australia never had!
11] Waqar Yunis: The greatest exponent of ‘reverse swing’ bowling has a place reserved in my team. Time alone will tell us if he can Coach. But we have witnessed his ability to bowl those toe-crushing Yorkers with stunning effect. Will there ever be a new ball pair as fantastic and as destructive as Wasim and Waqar?
It is unfortunate that there isn’t a single Englishman or a Sri Lankan in this team though it has 3 Indians, 2 Aussies, 2 Caribbeans, 2 Pakistanis, 1 Kiwi and a Springbok. So to complete a 15 man squad, here is the list of 4 back-up players.
12] Ian Botham: If not for Kallis, Botham would have been the choice for the All-rounder’s slot. This Talismanic Cricketer must be the unluckiest to miss a slot in the 11.
13] Muttaiah Muralidharan: If we are to play with two spinners or in case Warne is injured; Murali will be the 'Doosra' to replace Hadlee or Warne. The volume of wickets he has gathered is Tendulkarish for the records crazy Cricket followers.
14] Glen McGrath: He kept things simple which is the hardest thing to do. If consistency in line and length has to be measured in terms of units, we can name it McGrath Units. The most consistent bowler ever known to us will walk into the team in case on any injury scare.
15] Gordon Greenidge: If Sehwag wasn’t as destructive as he is, Greenidge would have been the choice to open. This hardest hitter of Cricket ball will be the perfect man to open in case of injury to any batsman in the line-up.
Mathew Hayden, Desmond Haynes, Ricky Ponting, Rahul Dravid, David Gower, Steve Waugh, Malcolm Marshall, Michel Holding, Anil Kumble, Clive Lloyd, Imran Khan, Aleck Stewart, Javed Miandad, Kapil Dev and Graham Gooch will be the other guys who will be in the list of 30 probables.
With due apologies to many of those greats who are not there in this list; I must say, “This is rather a Wish List”! But I believe in this team to win; not only against Mars, but against any alien attack!
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