A Flamboyant/Classy XI

[The Outsider]

Players you would pay more to watch than others. Ones who had successful careers and brought about that extra bit to the cricket watching experience. Here is a sample XI from the ones I have watched extensively (well almost, Viswanath and Lillee's choices were mainly based on old clippings/videos) : 1. Greenidge : Lovely cut and pull shots. Treat to watch 2. Anwar : Top notch square/cover driving and wristy flicks 3. Gower : Elegance personified. The epitome of the left handed sublime touch 4. M Waugh : Graceful even on deliveries he got out on 5. Azharuddin : Panache and power never combined so well 6. Viswanath : Have late cuts ever looked so beautiful 7. Healy : Classy behind the stumps, unorthodox in front of them 8. Warne : Those rippers and those antics. 9. Akram : 6 different deliveries in an over? No problem 10. Lillee : That runup and that appeal 11. Donald : Every part of the body in synch to go with the fearsome looks and deliveries From what I have heard, Knott would easily replace Healy but haven't seen too much of him. Also, Laxman and Ganguly terribly unlucky to make the cut.

[Lurker]

Interesting thread this Shwetabh. Here's my pick for the XI that I would pay to watch: Barry Richards Mark Waugh Greg Chappell David Gower SRT Damien Martyn Kapil Dev Ian Healey Shane Warne Wasim Akram Alan Donald.

[Predator_05]

Mark Waugh - played with soft hands, made it look so easy Saeed Anwar - he looked classy even when slogging, great drives Saurav Ganguly - immaculate timing of the bill, smooth flow of the bat on those off-side shots Sachin Tendulkar - no explanation required Brian Lara - no explanation required Rahul Dravid - every run scoring shot he plays looks picture perfect, got to love those square cuts Andy Flower - more soft hands, great use of the feet and the best sweep shot i have ever seen Shane Warne - no explanation required Shaun Pollock - nice run-up and release, a clean striker of the ball as well - he hardly ever mis-hits anything Zaheer Khan (2000-2003 version) - terrific action. He was a joy to watch at the '03 World Cup Alan Donald - best bowling action i have ever seen. Could watch him all day Honorable mentions to Carl Hooper, Azharuddin, Damien Martyn, Michael Vaughan, Saqlain. P@kis will obviously pick Salim Malik

[zubinpepsi]

shwetabh, its interesting to see tht theres no sachin in ur list.. given the condition tht one would pay more to watch these players over others.. any reasoningggg??wud b interesting to know ur viewww

[coffee_rules]

Only from what I have seen: Majid Khan Sunil Gavaskar Kalicharan Tendulkar Viv Richards Gower Alan Knott Marshall Lillee Warne Chukhtar

[Dhondy]

Laxman doesn't make it to a single list?

[CC1981]

From what i've seen : Anwar : Classy pulls, square cuts and drives. Was too casual at times Roy Fredericks : The ultimate 'badman' opener- will cane you and will cane you good. Had a cavalier attitude and fell after making numerous 40s but he was more terrorizing than Greenidge or Haynes in my books. Laxman : VVS- you earn a spot here...167, 281, etc...VVS is actually quite a good #3. Tendulkar: when on the move, he used to be pure poetry in action. Carl Hooper: I liked his silken touch better than Mark Waugh's. Greg Chappell: A very technically correct and eye-pleasing batsman IMO. better than Mark Waugh. Jack Russell : Flamboyant, ideosyncratic and the best glovesman of the past 20 years. Even when Healey was at his peak, Russell made healy look inadequate. Wasim Akram : Reasons already given above. Michael Holding : The best bowling action a fast bowler ever posessed. Alan Donald : Second best bowling action i've ever seen in a pacer Bishen Bedi : smoothest action of a spinner i've ever seen.

[gator]

i would pay a lot to watch this 11.... Virender Sehwag - Simply the most successful test opener, if you club SR and average and definitely the most exciting opener ever... There has not been a single bowler tht he has not blunted in the test arena... Gordon Greenidge - one of the most powerful hitters of the cricket ball.... a sight to behold against fast bowling... Sachin Tendulkar - When in form, the greatest to watch among all the players who have ever played cricket bar the gentleman who follows him down the order... Viv Richards - I would pay the same amount to watch him alone that I would pay for this entire team... Bigger than the game... VVS Laxman - Definitely the most graceful and elegant of the few successful men against the greatest bowling team of the era... Kapil Dev( or Ian Botham) - Both are swashbuckling allrounders who get the adrenaline roaring.... not so much in bowling as in batting.... Adam Gilchrist - Oh, how can anyone miss him ever.... This guy, when he tears apart an oppposition, u can only applaud.... Shane Warne - magician with the ball.... Shoaib Akhtar - Love his run-up, pace.... it does get u excited.... Jeff Thomson. - same for Thommo.... raw, macho pace... Ambrose - The GIANT among bowlers... in the early 90s, when he was at his fastest, he should have been clocking 150kph.... imagine a 6'8 giant hurling balls climbing into ur throat at 145+ kph.... still doubts, one of the best SR and averages in the business.. but then this aint about statistics and definitely the greatest bowler to watch according to me.

[MundaPakistani]

Starting from 1990 1- Saeed Anwar- for already mentioned reasons 2- M Slater- Ability to dominate high class bowling attacks. 3- B Lara- One of the 4 geniuses that i have seen on a cricket field. 4- S Tendulkar- One of the 4 geniuses that i have seen on a cricket field. 5- Inzamam- supremely gifted batsman who made some of the most fearsome bowlers like Ambrose and Bishop seem like average medium pacers! 6- M Azharuddin- The most beautiful example of a sub continental batsman. 7- Gilchrict- see M Slater. 8- Wasim Akram- One of the 4 geniuses that i have seen on a cricket field. As some one once said " A lot of great bowlers can make the ball talk but none other than Wasim can make it sing" 9- S Warne- One of the 4 geniuses that i have seen on a cricket field. 10- W Younis- For a 4 year period from 1990/91 to 94/95(pre 2nd major back injury) this guy was next to unplayable. His long rhythmic run up followed by that famous toe crushing yorker was the finest sight in the game. Waqar back then was so quick that during the 1990 series D Haynes went on to say that he bowls about as fast as a human being can possibly bowl. 11- Donald- Not only had a great rhythmical run up but also one of the most beautiful bowling actions!

[Donny]

Presumably it's a Test XI we're talking here and with the criteria mentioned by Shwetabh, Players you would pay more to watch than others. Ones who had successful careers and brought about that extra bit to the cricket watching experience, here's mine: 1. Roy Fredericks - Agree with CC. Will never forget him carving the great DK Lillee in Perth. 2. Michael Slater - Agree with MP. 3. Don Bradman - Obvious 4. Brian Lara - None better in full flight. 5. Graeme Pollock - Power & grace combined. Awesome. 6. Mohammad Yousuf - Just pips a few others mentioned above for grace and technique. 7. Adam Gilchrist - Not just 17 centuries with a Test strike rate of 82 but his ability to peel one off with his team in trouble. His often spectacular batting tends to have critics underestimating his keeping ability. Keeps brilliantly to Warney and isn't short of diving one handers to the quicks. 8. Richard Hadlee - Superb style. 9. Shane Warne - Wonderfully competitive attitude and the ability to take the big wicket. 10. Wasim Akram - A delight to watch. 11. Dennis Lillee - Fierce competitor, fans hero and a captain's champion. If a team such as that needed an extra bowler, I'd throw Imran Khan in at 7 and move Gilly up 1 place.

[Holysmoke]

what about martyn?

[MundaPakistani]

Honorable mentions to Carl Hooper, Azharuddin, Damien Martyn, Michael Vaughan, Saqlain. P@kis will obviously pick Salim Malik

Good pick that! Has to go down as THE biggest underachiever in the shorter version of the game.

[Donny]

what about martyn?

Yes, what about him ? Often played wonderfully silken strokes through the off but, as a middle order batsman, doesn't really rate when selecting 4 best ever you'd pay to go and see.

[gator]

1. Roy Fredericks - Agree with CC. Will never forget him carving the great DK Lillee in Perth.

he cant hold a candle to Sehwag in terms of SR and the way he has destroyed attacks comprising Akhtar in his own backyard, aussies in their own backyard, Saffies in their own backyard and then wonderbras of NZ..... and not for quick 40s mind u, but HUGE HUNDREDS....

[Dhondy]

I am with you on this, Gats. I'd put Sehwag in any team in terms of sheer watchability.

[Donny]

he cant hold a candle to Sehwag in terms of SR and the way he has destroyed attacks comprising Akhtar in his own backyard' date=' aussies in their own backyard, Saffies in their own backyard and then wonderbras of NZ..... and not for quick 40s mind u, but HUGE HUNDREDS....[/quote'] Quick 40s ? Roy exceeded 50 in 34 Test innings and turned 8 of them into centuries. That's better than Sehwag's fifties to Tests ratio. What was Fredericks' Test strike rate, Gator ? :wink_smile:

[CC1981]

he cant hold a candle to Sehwag in terms of SR and the way he has destroyed attacks comprising Akhtar in his own backyard

I am a huge fan of Waggy but seriously, Freddo's 'THAT' innings is up there. Sorry, forget Sehwag, even Lara, Tendulkar, Viv etc. havnt played an innings of such sheer ferocity against such class bowling. Heydeys of Lillee-Thommo (1974-78 were Lillee-thommo years!), some excellent support bowlers for OZ, on WACA when WACA was lightning quick, opening the innings and he tore into Lillee/Thommo for 169 off 140-odd balls. All the while when wickets were falling around him and people like Greenidge, Richards, Kallicharan,Lloyd etc. were falling victims to some truely sensational Lillee-Thommo pace battery. In other words, no, Waggy hasnt played an innings like that. Neither has tendy or lara.

[Gambit]

Heydeys of Lillee-Thommo (1974-78 were Lillee-thommo years!), some excellent support bowlers for OZ, on WACA when WACA was lightning quick, opening the innings and he tore into Lillee/Thommo for 169 off 140-odd balls. All the while when wickets were falling around him and people like Greenidge, Richards, Kallicharan,Lloyd etc. were falling victims to some truely sensational Lillee-Thommo pace battery.

Have heard a lot about that innings. BTW check this out: http://content-www.cricinfo.com/australia/engine/match/63151.html WI nearly scored 600 in 95 overs! That is insane batting against Liilian Thompson at Perth. Lloyd also get a 100. I think they had 8 balls per over back then in Australia. Donny?

[Donny]

The Windies scored @ 4.59 per 6 balls and the Aussies, @ 3.53 in that Test which again demonstrated what a great wicket the WACA could be for both good quicks and good batsmen. Yep. 6 ball overs started in Oz in the '79/'80 season.

[MundaPakistani]

surprised no one has included Afridi in their 11:tounge_smile: