The Best In The Business !. Review on Cricket World XI

Hi everybody.......so I?m doing this after a looooooooonnnng time. I remember how when we were in school we used to pick our World XI's during summer afternoons in the holidays. Hence I'm getting a bit nostalgic.

Anyways, many of my favorite picks of yore are no longer around........Wasim Akram, Mark Waugh, Alan Donald, Azhar et all have all bid the game adieu.

So what I will do is I will pick the team that is scheduled to meet Australia in a test series later this year. Also makes my job a bit simpler since without the Aussies ...I can choose a wider variety of players........coz otherwise the world Test XI has to include at least 4 to 5 Aussies! So without any further ado......here is the **Rest of the World XI:

(1) VIRENDER SEHWAG- Yes sir....without a doubt the Butcher of Nawafgarh (spell?) is a necessity now. OK, I might be a bit biased since he's a personal favorite.....but I guess that goes for everybody doesn?t it when it comes to Sehwag? On current form he is most certainly in the team. Can change the course of a match within a session and could be a useful change bowler too.

(2) STEPHEN FLEMING- Ya I know he didn?t open in the last test against Australia but I still feel he should be an opener. A fabulous record as a batsman and without a doubt one of the smartest captains around.......I'd go so far to name him as captain too. Will be a perfect foil for the aggressive Sehwag and will be able to marshal his wealth of resources well too.

(3) RAHUL DRAVID - He's not the number one test batsman in the world for nothing is he. On current form.....I?d say he's the best batsman in this line up too. The wall will be the rock around which the world XI will build their innings. Will give the required stability to a batting order full of flamboyance. Excellent as a slip fielder too.

(4) BRIAN LARA - Eccentric, moody, flawed, irresponsible......call him what u like but u have to agree.....GENIUS! Supremely talented....this Trinidadian on song is better than anything else to watch in cricket. His 153* against Australia in 1999-00 must rank as the best test innings I have ever seen. If he gets going, hell nobody, not even the famed bowling attack of Oz will be able to stop him. Pure delight for the spectators!

(5) SACHIN TENDULKAR ? Ok ok, put the brickbats on hold. So I gave in to temptation. Theek hai?.on current form Sachin doesn?t deserve to be in this team but what can I do man?.I am a mumbaikar after all! Let?s just hope that Sachin gets his act together and goes back to the Sachin of old. Still remember Tony Greig- Sharjah- April 23rd 1998-?Saaachin Tendulkaa- WHAT a playa! What a wonderful playaa!? Convinced now that it was right to select Sachin? Oh yeah and his leg breaks are pretty useful too.

(6) JAQUES KALLIS- I can?t believe that this is the same man who had an average of 7 in his first 4 or 5 games and who was known as Shane Warne?s bunny. And today without a doubt ?.one of the most technically correct batsman with one of the coolest heads in the business and a fine medium pace bowler(definitely better than our front line bowler?s like Zaheer Khan ? ) Will be a major asset lower down the order too even though he generally bats at the top.

Truly a master of more than one craft is this man.

(7) KUMAR SANGAKKARA- This was one of the toughest one?s to select?..who will be the wicket-keeper? Without a doubt Adam Gilchrist is the best now but after him??..??????? Mark Boucher is not even a regular in SA team nowadays, England, NZ and India have changed so many keepers in recent time that none of them r experienced enough. So finally I decided to go for Kumar Sangakkara even though I think he doesn?t keep for Lanka anymore. (Or does he? Forgive me on this one because I am not sure whether he is a good keeper or why he was dropped?..let me know in case he was dropped as a WK on his poor keeping skills.)

(8) CHAMINDA VAAS- Another tough decision. Is it just me or is there a serious lack of quality non Aussie fast bowlers out there? I considered quite a few guys including Pollock, Harmisson etc. but finally settled on the experience of this steady medium pacer. I have a feeling that he will bind well with Shoaib and his swinging deliveries will definitely ensure that no batsman takes him for granted

(9) DANIEL VETTORI- Yet again a tough one(ya I know this statement is getting repetitive!). Kumble was certainly under consideration here but I think that a left arm spinner will add more variety to the line up considering that Tendulkar could probably roll his arm over too. A fine young bowler?.I believe he is also a future kiwi captain. Has a very thinking approach towards bowling.

(10) MUTTAIAH MURALITHARAN- Yet another Sri Lankan??.but this time there is no controversy the man who can spin a cricket ball even on a glass top quite obviously selects himself here on the mere power of his statistical strength. Especially for those guys from Oz, well he?s gonna be a tough customer to handle. Chucking and the ICC be damned??.he?s still the best offie in the world today.

(11) SHOAIB AKHTAR ? Again, yes I know not a popular choice but then one thing is for sure ??nothing can get your adrenalin rushing better than the sight of Shoaib Akhtar running down full steam over 30 yards. The mere image he generates with his run up itself strikes fear into the minds of batsman. Undisciplined, adventurous, uncontrolled, a bad influence et all ?I don?t mind as long as he keeps bowling at hat pace. And remember he has troubled the Aussies in the past.

Well so there it is: my line up. A few months later depending on form, injury and other factors?..a few changes might have to be made to the team in order to face Australia later this winter. Let?s see what the ICC can do ??can they do better than me? :)

Other notable exclusions whom I found very difficult to leave out include the lumbering giant Inzy (since the first cricket match I watched was when he bashed the Kiwi?s all over the park in the 1992 world cup semifinal! In fact I had wanted to select him over Sachin but eventually what could I do? Patriotism rules!), Kumble, Shaun Pollock, Herschelle Gibbs, Chris Cairns (Boo hoo! He quit test cricket) and surely many more.

My apologies to them all ;)!

Let the bouquets and the brickbats keep flowing?..

Ameya.