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Journalism of Courage
NEW DELHI, MARCH 8: Some 15 years after they triggered the debate on who among them is the best, the all-round deeds of the quartet of Ian Botham, Imran Khan, Sir Richard Hadlee and Kapil Dev were finally evaluated. A pity, skipper Greg Chappell will have only two of these in his armoury when his World Cup All Star XI, is jotted down on the scorecards.
Now, should Botham and Kapil sulk after missing the bus³? A look at the selection panel and one would realise that neither the two nor their fans would dare question the cricketing credibility of the living legends who got together Tuesday evening to pen down their dream one-day team, post World Cup era.
How the sultans of swing and cut, Imran Khan and Richard Hadlee, pipped two of the hardest-hitters of the cricket ball, Botham and Kapil, can be known from television’s sports channels during the International Cricket Council’s April 2-9 Cricket Week. The entire `selection’ proceedings will be televised during that period.
“We thought there was nothing wrong in people knowing the mind of the selectors and they can know their reasoning by watching the telecast,” ICC chief Jagmohan Dalmiya, while reading out the eleven, said. One can also find out why the likes of Brian Lara, Desmond Haynes and Javed Miandad failed to make the grade. Or, why Australian Adam Gilchrist was preferred over English wicketkeeper Alan Knott.
Chappell’s winning the crown over West Indies’ Clive Lloyd too was nothing short of a surprise. Didn’t Lloyd revolutionise the concept of cricket³? Never mind, the selectors have named Lloyd in the XI and Chappell can bank on him for advice. Even with the sort of talent at his disposal, Chappell has a task at hand. Like, deciding the new-ball pair from among Imran, Hadlee, Joel Garner and Wasim Akram.
The Wizard of Oz Shane Warne will take care of spin bowling. If need be, Sir Vivian Richards can also bowl a bit of his fastish off-breaks but it will be as the one-drop batsman that Sir Vivian will be feared the most.
First, the openers. India’s Sachin Tendulkar was the unanimous choice and will have Gilchrist for company, followed by Sir Vivian. If at all they get past the first three, Chappell, Dean Jones and Lloyd take over. No respite still, as Imran, Hadlee, Akram and even Warne can also hit the ball hard with Garner, probably the weakest batting link.
How about a eleven to play against them³? West Indians Gordon Greenidge, Haynes and Lara can fill up the opening three slots and Miandad at number four and skipper Steve Waugh should make the batting order. Three all-rounders — Botham, Kapil and Lance Klusener — can smack the ball while the cheeky Knott holds good even at a lowly number nine. With leg-spinner Abdul Qadir and Dennis Lillee also in, the All Stars XI will be hard pressed to quell this challenge.
ALL STARS XI: Greg Chappell (captain), Sachin Tendulkar, Adam Gilchrist, Vivian Richards, Dean Jones, Clive Lloyd, Imran Khan, Richard Hadlee, Wasim Akram, Shane Warne and Joel Garner
Selection panel: Sir Garfield Sobers, Neil Harvey, Barry Richards, Bishan Singh Bedi, John Reid, Mushtaq Muhammad, Duleep Mendis, Andy Pycroft, Dicky Bird. Moderator: Ravi Shastri
How about pitting them against: Steve Waugh (captain), Gordon Greenidge, Desmond Haynes, Brian Lara, Javed Miandad, Ian Botham, Kapil Dev, Lance Klusener, Alan Knott, Abdul Qadir and Dennis Lillee.
