West Indies XI
One of the questions I'm asked most often (by myself) is "What is the Greatest All Time West Indies XI"? To me, it is the great unsolvable riddle. There is no right answer, only wrong answers. It is impossible to pick a balanced side while picking the best players or anywhere near it, it's impossible to pick a captain, it's impossible to decide based on average or an number of runs or on any of that stuff.
West Indies have had 15-20 All Time Great cricketers, a lot of whom have very similar records - it really is hard to know where to start. Well, you start with Sobers, obviously, but then anything can happen.
West Indies cricket is a riddle in many respects. It is, for those that are interested, one of the great tales of the last century, a tale of determination, self-determination, post-colonialism, unity, pride, power, defiance, arrogance, dominance, fear, invincibility, flamboyance, leadership, dignity, grace, brilliance, partnership, all those things on the way up and the long stay at the top, and then of abject, pathetic collapse (dare I say Calypso Collapso ...)
What's the greater mystery, that a group of men from disparate island nations were able to come together and dominate the world of cricket for almost two decades, or that that dominance fell away to being at the very bottom of the pile within little over half a decade?
How did West Indies test cricket get so terrible? Some say the answer's the same as why there hasn't been a great black American heavyweight boxer for two decades - the top athletes of Afro-Caribbean-American culture go to Basketball, American Football or Athletics now. Maybe LeBron James would have been heavyweight champion of the world, maybe Usain Bolt and Yohan Blake would have been great West Indies fast bowlers (they're both pretty good as it stands). The talent's just not there, some say.
But the worst part of it is ... there is some talent there. They shouldn't be as bad as they are, nowhere near. Even still playing, you've got Chris Gayle, Darren and Dwayne Bravo, Shiv Chanderpaul, Sunil Narine, Samuel Badree, Kemar Roach, Kieron Pollard, Andre Russell, Fidel Edwards, Marlon Samuels. All are, in their way, "stars" of modern cricket. Many of them are far better paid than the greats of the past ever were. There's plenty of talent there, but it only ever coheres even vaguely in Twenty20. They pretty much disgrace test cricket.
The blame is surely with all parties, with geography, with administrators, with selectors, with players, with dollar bills. I loved, feared and admired West Indies cricket so much when I was younger, their current plight is constantly depressing. Chris Gayle, Dwayne Bravo etc ... I've come to loathe them for their mercenary disavowal of the possibility of true cricketing greatness.
So, let's forget about them for a while. Let's talk about the real greats of West Indies cricket. The task of picking a Best XI is, actually, genuinely, impossible. There is not a "Best XI". So I was going to chicken out and just pick two equal XIs, but I somehow didn't find that satisfactory either.
So. this is my job. I have a squad of 25 players (all greats of West Indies cricket) and they're all available to play the first test of a series and it's a reasonably quick wicket, conducive to a bit of spin, good for batting on. Every player is in their prime and they're all using modern bats and superbly fit and honed.
What would be my XI if I needed to win this match?
Gordon Greenidge
Desmond Haynes
Viv Richards
Brian Lara
Clyde Walcott (wicketkeeper)
Garry Sobers
Frank Worrell (captain)
Malcolm Marshall
Lance Gibbs
Curtley Ambrose
Michael Holding
Absolute nightmare - I have failed to select someone nicknamed the "Black Bradman" who averaged over 60 (George Headley), but included someone who averaged only 42 (Desmond Haynes). I've missed the man considered by many the very finest batsman of the 50s, Sir Everton Weekes. I haven't included a true test wicketkeeper, I haven't gone with the famous four fast bowler formula, through which West Indies were so dominant, I haven't included the man considered by many the greatest of all test captains (Clive Lloyd). I haven't included someone who took his wickets at an average of under 21 (Joel Garner), nor the fastest to 100 wickets (Ian Bishop) ... oh dear.
But how could I leave any of these out? Would I really want to go in with any opening partnership except Greenidge/Haynes - Worrell's in as captain, back-up seamer and back-up wicketkeeper, Sobers and Richards are extra spin options. Marshall and Ambrose must surely be the greatest bowlers, though it's a shame to see Ambrose without Walsh, Holding without Garner. Why Holding not Garner? Well, perhaps Garner and Ambrose are too similar, though that's no bad thing. Is Gibbs really worth his inclusion? ... maybe not, but the wicket will spin ... then again, there are Sobers and Richards ... if i was picking the best players, not the best team, i think there'd be Weekes and Headley for Greenidge and Haynes, Garner for Gibbs ... and I can't choose between Lloyd and Worrell...
So, here's the 2nd XI
Everton Weekes
Chris Gayle
George Headley
Clive Lloyd (c)
Shiv Chanderpaul
Rohan Kanhai
Jeffrey Dujon (w)
Andy Roberts
Sonny Ramadhin
Courtney Walsh
Joel Garner
I'd have preferred to leave out Gayle and put in Wes Hall, but the team needs balancing, Gayle has his off-spin, i'm short of openers and not of quick bowling. Bit of a long tail on this team though.
Who's missed out totally? - Ian Bishop, Wes Hall, Roy Fredericks, Conrad Hunte, Alvin Kallicharan, Alf Valentine, Learie Constantine, Colin Croft, Richie Richardson, Jackie Hendriks, Kemar Roach (who actually looks like a proper test player, of all the modern guys).
My favourites of all of these are Ambrose, Marshall and Lara - the right generation for me, they're probably 3 of my 5 favourite cricketers, but i've no qualms about picking them. Also good for my ego to include, in Desmond Haynes, someone who was dropped twice off my bowling ... now that really would have been a low moment for West Indies cricket
West Indies have had 15-20 All Time Great cricketers, a lot of whom have very similar records - it really is hard to know where to start. Well, you start with Sobers, obviously, but then anything can happen.
West Indies cricket is a riddle in many respects. It is, for those that are interested, one of the great tales of the last century, a tale of determination, self-determination, post-colonialism, unity, pride, power, defiance, arrogance, dominance, fear, invincibility, flamboyance, leadership, dignity, grace, brilliance, partnership, all those things on the way up and the long stay at the top, and then of abject, pathetic collapse (dare I say Calypso Collapso ...)
What's the greater mystery, that a group of men from disparate island nations were able to come together and dominate the world of cricket for almost two decades, or that that dominance fell away to being at the very bottom of the pile within little over half a decade?
How did West Indies test cricket get so terrible? Some say the answer's the same as why there hasn't been a great black American heavyweight boxer for two decades - the top athletes of Afro-Caribbean-American culture go to Basketball, American Football or Athletics now. Maybe LeBron James would have been heavyweight champion of the world, maybe Usain Bolt and Yohan Blake would have been great West Indies fast bowlers (they're both pretty good as it stands). The talent's just not there, some say.
But the worst part of it is ... there is some talent there. They shouldn't be as bad as they are, nowhere near. Even still playing, you've got Chris Gayle, Darren and Dwayne Bravo, Shiv Chanderpaul, Sunil Narine, Samuel Badree, Kemar Roach, Kieron Pollard, Andre Russell, Fidel Edwards, Marlon Samuels. All are, in their way, "stars" of modern cricket. Many of them are far better paid than the greats of the past ever were. There's plenty of talent there, but it only ever coheres even vaguely in Twenty20. They pretty much disgrace test cricket.
The blame is surely with all parties, with geography, with administrators, with selectors, with players, with dollar bills. I loved, feared and admired West Indies cricket so much when I was younger, their current plight is constantly depressing. Chris Gayle, Dwayne Bravo etc ... I've come to loathe them for their mercenary disavowal of the possibility of true cricketing greatness.
So, let's forget about them for a while. Let's talk about the real greats of West Indies cricket. The task of picking a Best XI is, actually, genuinely, impossible. There is not a "Best XI". So I was going to chicken out and just pick two equal XIs, but I somehow didn't find that satisfactory either.
So. this is my job. I have a squad of 25 players (all greats of West Indies cricket) and they're all available to play the first test of a series and it's a reasonably quick wicket, conducive to a bit of spin, good for batting on. Every player is in their prime and they're all using modern bats and superbly fit and honed.
What would be my XI if I needed to win this match?
Gordon Greenidge
Desmond Haynes
Viv Richards
Brian Lara
Clyde Walcott (wicketkeeper)
Garry Sobers
Frank Worrell (captain)
Malcolm Marshall
Lance Gibbs
Curtley Ambrose
Michael Holding
Absolute nightmare - I have failed to select someone nicknamed the "Black Bradman" who averaged over 60 (George Headley), but included someone who averaged only 42 (Desmond Haynes). I've missed the man considered by many the very finest batsman of the 50s, Sir Everton Weekes. I haven't included a true test wicketkeeper, I haven't gone with the famous four fast bowler formula, through which West Indies were so dominant, I haven't included the man considered by many the greatest of all test captains (Clive Lloyd). I haven't included someone who took his wickets at an average of under 21 (Joel Garner), nor the fastest to 100 wickets (Ian Bishop) ... oh dear.
But how could I leave any of these out? Would I really want to go in with any opening partnership except Greenidge/Haynes - Worrell's in as captain, back-up seamer and back-up wicketkeeper, Sobers and Richards are extra spin options. Marshall and Ambrose must surely be the greatest bowlers, though it's a shame to see Ambrose without Walsh, Holding without Garner. Why Holding not Garner? Well, perhaps Garner and Ambrose are too similar, though that's no bad thing. Is Gibbs really worth his inclusion? ... maybe not, but the wicket will spin ... then again, there are Sobers and Richards ... if i was picking the best players, not the best team, i think there'd be Weekes and Headley for Greenidge and Haynes, Garner for Gibbs ... and I can't choose between Lloyd and Worrell...
So, here's the 2nd XI
Everton Weekes
Chris Gayle
George Headley
Clive Lloyd (c)
Shiv Chanderpaul
Rohan Kanhai
Jeffrey Dujon (w)
Andy Roberts
Sonny Ramadhin
Courtney Walsh
Joel Garner
I'd have preferred to leave out Gayle and put in Wes Hall, but the team needs balancing, Gayle has his off-spin, i'm short of openers and not of quick bowling. Bit of a long tail on this team though.
Who's missed out totally? - Ian Bishop, Wes Hall, Roy Fredericks, Conrad Hunte, Alvin Kallicharan, Alf Valentine, Learie Constantine, Colin Croft, Richie Richardson, Jackie Hendriks, Kemar Roach (who actually looks like a proper test player, of all the modern guys).
My favourites of all of these are Ambrose, Marshall and Lara - the right generation for me, they're probably 3 of my 5 favourite cricketers, but i've no qualms about picking them. Also good for my ego to include, in Desmond Haynes, someone who was dropped twice off my bowling ... now that really would have been a low moment for West Indies cricket
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