My World ODI XI

I have finally formed my extremely controversial World ODI XI. Have a look:

Sachin Tendulkar, Don Bradman, Jacques Kallis, Viv Richards, Michael Bevan, Garry Sobers, M S Dhoni, Wasim Akram (replaces Imran Khan, see note), Richard Hadlee, Joel Garner, M Muralitharan.

People who are conspicuous by their absence are W G Grace, Dennis Lillee, Malcolm Marshall, Andy Roberts, Wally Hammond, Jack Hobbs, Gordon Greenidge, Sydney Barnes, Shane Warne and a few more. The prime reason for their omission is that they have no or little exposure to the limited overs game. Don Bradman & Sobers, however, have been included because they are a class apart.
Openers like Greenidge have been omitted because their strike rate is lower than the 70 cut off set up by me for specialised batsmen. Shane Warne has been dropped in favour of Murali because the latter has a much better bowling average.

The inclusion of Kallis, Bevan and Dhoni would certainly raise many eyebrows. But Kallis is not only a good all-rounder, but he is also the Mr. Dependable. An alternative was Rahul Dravid, but Kallis can bowl on a seamer's wicket.
Bevan is perhaps the best limited overs player. Apart from having a batting average of 54 (strike rate 74), he is also an extremely useful player in the death overs.
Dhoni scores over Gilchrist because of three reasons. One, his batting average of 44 is better than Gilchrist with 36. Second, his strike rate of 99 is the best in the team (Gilc 95). Lastly, we cannot afford to give Gilc an opening slot in the current scheme of things.
Let me justify Tendulkar, which might be required in the current state of affairs. Apart from having a remarkable strike rate of 86 (batting avg 44), Tendulkar is a handy leg spinner too.

Note: I miss Akram in my team, as he like Garner, has the rare ability to control runs in the death overs. Also, he is arguably the best left-arm fast bowler ever. But whom do I take out?

The tragedy of the Kiwis

Yet another crusade of the Kiwis has failed. They have reached the Semi-finals of the World cup five times (1975, 1979, 1992, 1999 and 2007), but never managed to breach the wall to the Finals. And they have almost always managed to make their defeat look tragic. Their fate seems so similar to Karna in the Mahabharata...the chariot wheel gets stuck just when it matters the most.
Yesterday, Shane Bond failed to deliver. For a bowler whose ODI record is the best ever in the world, this does not happen every day. But it happened in the semi-final. In 1992, all was going well for NZ till a young Inzimam came along. The entire spin-pace juggernaut of NZ, which was so meticulously steered by Martin Crowe, was thrashed against the rocks. In 1979, they lost to England by a margin of 9 runs, which could have been easily avoided had John Wright been a little more enterprising. His 69 came in 137 balls.
They had their share of bad luck in 2007 too. First, Lou Vincent gets injured. He top scored against Sri Lanka in the warm-up matches. Then Styris, the leading scorer for NZ in the World Cup, injures himself and comes to the semi-final with his right hand taped like a mummy. Bond, on the other hand, is unable to play in the match preceding the semi-final. This, according to a commentator, could be a reason why he lost his rhythm. Finally, the pitch was bouncy when the last match was played. This could have helped NZ who prefer to play on such tracks. Yesterday, it was the dry pitch so typical of the Indian sub-continent. Probably, like Karna, Kiwis too are jinxed.

The curtain falls on a great master

Yesterday was one of the saddest days in world cricket for me. Brian Lara retired at the age of 37. Worst, he made only 17 runs in his last match, thanks to a tragic run out. A silly call by Marlon Samuels & a heartless throw from Pietersen pooped the farewell party. Read this article in the Hindu, it is a real tearjerker.
I wish Lara continued to play, at least for a couple of years. He still has a lot of cricket left in him. Tim Leede is still playing at 39, and his bowling average has got better in the last 20 matches. Who knows, Lara too might have prospered in a rejuvenated WI team.
More importantly, Lara could have fulfilled his dream of seeing West Indies back on the top again. They have got some good all-rounders after a long long time (Bravo, Devon Smith, Marlon Samuels along with the might of Gayle). While their bowling looks weak, the old lot will retire soon and new comers show a lot of promise (Pollard has a brilliant bowling average in List A & Lendl Simmons is not that bad). Then, allow me to get emotional, the next Joel Garner & Malcolm Marshall might be just around the corner.
Anyways, the sad truth is that all good things must come to an end and all greats have to retire. But the elegance of Lara remains unmatched. Given a choice, I would rather watch Lara's best innings than Tendulkar's or Mark Waugh's or perhaps even Richards'. Maybe we shall see him again in one of those Veteran matches, where Lara, Inzi and Tendulkar play side to side. Sigh!