Richie Benaud's Greatest XI

Richie Benaud's Greatest XI is a 2004 DVD in which cricketing doyen Richie Benaud selects an imaginary cricket team from the best players available from all countries and eras. Utilising a method adopted from Don Bradman, Benaud shortlisted three players for each position before finalising the team.

The team
Opening batsmen• Jack Hobbs  England
• Sunil Gavaskar  India
Number 3• Don Bradman  Australia (Captain)
Numbers 4 and 5• Viv Richards  West Indies • Sachin Tendulkar  India
All-rounders• Gary Sobers  West Indies • Imran Khan  Pakistan
Wicket-keeper• Adam Gilchrist  Australia
Spin bowlers• Shane Warne  Australia
Fast bowlers• Dennis Lillee  Australia • Sydney Barnes  England

twelfth man: Keith Miller  Australia

Manager: Frank Worrell  West Indies

The short list

Openers:

Number 3:

Middle order:

All-rounders:

Wicket-keeper:

Spin bowler:

Fast bowlers:

Criticism

After the release, Benaud was criticised by several cricket historians for not picking any West Indian fast bowlers from the 1970s and 1980s when they had a fearsome quartet in his XI, not even Malcolm Marshall, who is widely regarded as the most complete fast bowler of the modern era.

Benaud was also criticised for being biased in his selection of wicket-keeper where he picked all three keepers from Australia, avoiding Jeffrey Dujon and several other notable wicket-keepers.[1][2]

However, Benaud responded to the criticism that he didn't pick the best XI of all time; he just picked a XI whom he wanted to be in charge of.[3]

References
  1. "Murali misses out in Benaud's Greatest XI". ESPN. 23 August 2004. Retrieved 23 March 2021.
  2. "Imran Khan featured in Benaud's 'Greatest Test XI'". DAWN.COM. Retrieved 23 March 2021.
  3. "Richie Benaud was at his best on Indian pitches | New Zealand in India 2016 News - Times of India". The Times of India. Retrieved 23 March 2021.


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