Please keep in mind that The voters are being asked to choose a team that will prevail over a three match series on these respective grounds.
- Eden Gardens, Kolkatta
- Lords, London
- SCG, Sydney
Gary Kirsten: An opening batsman with great temperament, loads of concentration and determination, he has to be one of the best batsmen to have played for South Africa since their comeback. Always willing to work on his weakness and make great use of his strengths, he is the kind of batsman who will hold fort against better bowling attacks and has ability to wear them down. 7289 runs, 21 centuries, 34 fifties with a healthy average of 45.27.
Mudassar Nazar: Again, someone who made most of what he had, he was another batsman who won’t mind grinding it out in the middle. 4114 runs with a respectable average of 38.09, 10 centuries and 17 fifties. Could bowl occasionally if needed. Took 66 wickets in all.
David Boon: Again, someone, who had a knack of occupying crease and accumulating runs. One of the mainstays and key player for Australia during 80’s and early 90’s. His courage to stand up to the best and take attack to them when needed is what he is in my team for. 7422 runs, average of 43.65, with 21 centuries and 32 fifties.
Jacques Kallis: The star player in my batting line up. Might not be the favourite of all or rated among greats by everyone but he has every shot in book in his armour. Cricinfo rightly describes him in saying, “No batsman prizes his wicket more highly, and no wicket in all of cricket is more highly prized. Few players who belong to the modern age are a better fit for the notion of the classical cricketer.” Rock solid technique and zen-like approach are his key attributes, but he can be a forceful batsman and take attack to opposition when needed. A bowler with genuine pace, swing and bounce in his early days, he is every bit worthy of being ranked among all time great allrounders even though he had to adjust a bit in bowling in later years. Add to that him being a great fielder, he is one of the key assets in my team. 13140 runs at an average of 55.44, with 44 centuries and 58 fifties. 288 wickets at an average of 32.61 with strike rate of 69.3
Graham Thorpe: A fierce competitor and counter attacking batsman, with ability to both attack and defend. Equally adequate vs. Pace and spin, he was one of the key players for England during his playing days. 6744 runs at healthy average of 44.66 with 16 centuries and 39 fifties.
Dilip Vegsarkar: The colonel. A talented and elegant batsman, who was among the very best batsmen in world during his peak days and was a key batsman for India for more than a decade. 6868 runs at an average of 42.13 with 17 centuries and 35 fifties.
Brian McMillan: Big Mac. South Africa’s ‘go-to’ guy in their initial years after comeback into cricket. Was one of the best allrounders in the world in 90’s. He could trouble the finest with his bowling and had a great technique as a batsman. Add to that, he was a great fielder. 1968 runs at an average of 39.36 with 3 centuries and 13 fifties. 75 wickets at an average of 33.82.
Kiran More: One of India’s finest keepers in my opinion. Full of guts and ready to take on any challenge offered to him. Very much needed in my team especially when Kumble will be bowling. His fighting ability meant he was a reliable batsman and had a respectable average of 25.7 for his position with 7 fifties. 110 catches and 20 stumpings.
Craig Mcdermott: Australia’s premier strike bowler in 90’s. A out-swing bowler with classic side-on action, he was very much capable of troubling the best.291 wickets at average of 28.63 and and strike rate of 56.9 underlines his capabilities. Will be perfect partner to Courtney Walsh.
Anil Kumble: What is there to say? India’s great spinner and most probably greatest bowler as well. One of the hardest triers in the game, he had his own way of leg spin which brought him rich reward. 619 test wickets at average of 29.65 and strike rate of 65.9. Could bat around a bit as well if needed.
Courtney Walsh (C): Again, the record and achievements and ability and skills. Everything is out in open and known to all. A physiological phenomenon, Courtney Walsh probably bowled faster for longer than any man in history. His action was never as intimidating as Ambrose, but it did the trick more often than not. 519 wickets at a great average of 24.44 with economy rate of 57.8. Will be my captain. Aye and he can score runs for my team if needed! Kidding
Iqbal Qasim: I will copy paste from Cricinfo to describe this man as some of you might not know much about him: “With a steady, angular approach between umpire and stumps, and a low trajectory that pushed the ball through, Iqbal Qasim was a miserly but penetrative left-arm spinner. A short man, he was more concerned with accuracy than flight, rarely going for much more than two an over, but he was a regular for over a decade.” 171 wickets at an average of 28.11 and strike rate of 76.1.
Team Composition: Iqbal Qasim will sit out of Lord’s test. Brian McMillan will sit out at Kolkata and Sydney. (Given all our player have made debut after 70’s, I will definitely assume we are playing on a Sydney pitch post 1970 and it has been a spinner’s paradise since.)
Why my team will win: I like to divide team in 6 segments. Top order. Middle order-Middle lower order, All rounder, pace bowling, spin bowling and wicketkeeping.
For first 3 segments, that is batting related, my team is comfortably stronger than MJJ’s. Almost double the number of hundreds (133 in total compared to MJJ’s 77 odd) and at comfortably better average (45.something comapred to 39.something)
Wicketkeeping: I think More and Latif are comparable and I would much rather have Kiran More when Anil will be one of the bowlers.
Pace bowling: MJJ’s pace bowling is better, although, fear factor of Lee and Akhtar aside, they never went on to be great bowlers. My batting has enough grit, skill, patience and determination to outlast these quickies. That said, I will concede his pace bowling is marginally better.
Spin bowling: Anil kumble+Qasim > Saqlain without a doubt. Saqlain never went on to be a great bowler and MJJ doesn’t have a proper backup to support Saqlain when 2 out of 3 pitches will help spinners.
Why MJJ’s team won’t win: As per MJJ’s own admission in his game vs IL, which is quite true, is that his team is full of players ‘who could have been.’ Sadly for him, none of them had career severely cut short by injury or anything, it is just that they couldn’t make the cut. If I look at that batting lineup of his, my bowling is very much capable of getting through them twice. My team’s aggregate bowling average is almost equal to his. My superior batting will end up as deciding factor.
TL;DR: My batting is comfortably superior, my spin bowling is superior and pace bowling I lag a bit to MJJ. Given the batting strength of mine and spin bowling strength, I expect to win Kolkata and Sydney tests and thus win series.
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