What Openers Make The ALL-TIME ULTIMATE Cricket XI?🔥| Bumble & Kimber

[@rawnak9731]

Gavaskar had 13 hundreds against west Indies at peak.. Easily the best

[@frankford1115]

Not at their peak, no. But Gavaskar was great. Impossible to choose.

[@rajaguruperiasamy8845]

Sehwag with a near 50 average and a strike rate of well over 80 is mental. If he has a good innings, the team wins, that's it. Attacking against the new ball, excellent attacker of spin - probably only next to brain Lara. A spectacle to watch if he gets going. I would have him in my all time 11, just for the excitement he brings to the game of cricket.

[@natarajkrishnaswamy3354]

He wouldn't make an all conditions opener, his record in Eng, SA and NZ is mediocre.

[@avishmaharaj5941]

Yes he was beast in home conditions but not very good away record.

[@CuriosityLearning-op8of]

Sehwags records look good on paper bcoz he was a home track bully.... he was never dependable in away tests especially in SENA countries... He bashed Sri Lanka Pakistan and Bangladesh though 😂

[@AbhishekSharma-mm9tv]

​@@CuriosityLearning-op8ofAustralia?? U serious?

[@CuriosityLearning-op8of]

@@AbhishekSharma-mm9tv yes...

[@rufioswitch2132]

Gooch scored runs against the very best opening bowlers, and played Warne incredibly well, even at age 38-40. Warne said he was the best English player he ever bowled against (including KP). He averaged roughly 50 for the last 7 years of his career. Hi 154 against West Indies is one of the greatest test knocks ever. Gavaskar was incredible, in an era of slow over rates, unlimited bouncers and no helmets, and played spin incredibly. Got something like 13 tons against the windies!! Hayden fantastic in all conditions, proven over a long period.. only downside that the best bowling attack was his own side, which he never had to face. Greenidge amazing, I absolutely loved watching him, but again didn’t play against the ultimate best bowling attacks so for me less proven than Gooch or Gavaskar. Barry Richards was *probably* better than all of them, but no test match data to back it up, especially against top level spin in Asia. Sehwag was very good but only averaged 30 odd against aus and England combined so can’t be in the conversation. Graeme Smith is the one that did it against the best bowling attacks - England and Aus in 2000s were very strong and he averaged 50 against them. Ugly as sin to watch bat, but proven against the very best and tough as anything. Very tough choice! Personally I’d go Gooch and Gavaskar, or if being pragmatic with a Left-Right combo then Hayden and Gavaskar. The one I’d most like to watch would be Barry Richards - from the little available on KZbin he was utter genius.

[@ThomasLloyd-w5q]

Richards made it look so easy you wondered if the bowlers were kids. His timing was amazing, never put any effort into a shot, used the pace of the ball to do the work for him, and had all the time in the world. could score at a good pace as well, could place the ball wherever he wanted, and never needed to hit fours left, right, and centre. Gooch was as brave as they come, and scored quick. Greenidge may not have faced the very best attacks in test cricket but he had a very long, very successful career in English cricket against some very fine bowlers who knew how to exploit the unique conditions, and i'd guess he probably has the best record of any overseas opener in English county cricket, apart from Barry Richards

[@sayonbasak-x3w]

​​@@ThomasLloyd-w5qassuming you saw the SA greats who couldn't play many tests, what do you think of vintcent Van der Bijl? Was he comparable to the like of Joel Garner or Richard Hadlee? (His county stats suggests so). And what about Mike Procter? Would you reckon he was as good of a bowling All rounder as the likes of Imran Khan?

[@ashishnair12]

I wouldn't pick Greenidge & Hayden because both of them didnt have to face the best bowling attack of their generation because they had them in their teams. Gavaskar faced probably 3 generations of the fearsome WI attack, Lillee, Thompson, Imran, Sarfaraz, Wasim, Hadlee without a helmet & averaged 50. Gavaskar is an absolute no brainer.

[@PoetofHateSpeech]

Gooch did the same

[@ashishnair12]

@@PoetofHateSpeech Yeah you're right. But Gavaskar did a little better than Gooch against them. Both great players though.

[@SunilSingh-eo4bl]

When the 4 pace we’re bowling Gavaskar was good but not as great as his number against WI suggest he made most of the run before they played together and during the period of Kerry packer series when they didn’t play for the national team. You can check the breakup series by series. ✌️

[@shubhamkumar-zy8yx]

@@SunilSingh-eo4bl which bowler did gavaskar played in 1983 in west indies and in india

[@shubhamkumar-zy8yx]

@@SunilSingh-eo4bl his batting average is almost 50 against that bowling attack

[@jetpark3743]

Gavaskar without a doubt

[@kartikojha4787]

Absolutely, playing against the best and most dangerous bowling line-ups of that era, especially as an opener-the most challenging position in cricket-on uncovered pitches, and without a helmet or proper protective equipment, clearly makes Gavaskar one of the greatest of all time. Now, regarding the aggressive or entertaining aspect of his batting, which Mr. Lloyd often emphasizes, it's important to consider the context. During Gavaskar's time, the Indian team wasn't as strong; you could compare them to the modern-day Afghanistan team, which shows brilliance here and there and has the ability to cause upsets but isn’t dominant on the world stage. In such a scenario, with a fragile batting line-up, even drawing a Test match was considered a significant achievement, equivalent to winning. Given these circumstances, it’s unreasonable to expect Gavaskar to be aggressive or attacking. Most of the time when he came to bat, India was struggling to save the Test match, let alone think about winning. So, my points are: yes, Gavaskar is the greatest opener of all time, and secondly, as a cricket expert, you can't always wave the flag of aggression and entertainment-you must also consider the era and the conditions in which the player and the team operated.

[@zafarhussain4848]

​@@kartikojha4787What are you talking about, what uncovered pitches did Gavaskar play on? Get your facts right. But he was a great opener and would be in the top 3 of all time. But if you exclude the time before 1970 he would be the greatest. All time he would come behind Sir Jack Hobbs and Sir Len Hutton.

[@saurabhb1041]

In an all time XI, with Bradman, Sachin and Viv playing 3,4,5 (all excellent stroke makers), you want technically sound openers. So Gavaskar and Cook would be my choice

[@gsanks]

Cook? No English man would make any position on a World XI.

[@saurabhb1041]

@@gsanks Ian Botham is as good an all rounder as they come. Not sure what you’re smoking.

[@joebowden4065]

@@gsankswhy so bitter

[@gsanks]

@@joebowden4065 Quite simple really. Admittedly no Englishman would lay claim to the 4 bowling slots on an all time Test XI. No spinner and definitely no fast bowler, statistically or otherwise. As far as batsmen are concerned, in the top 30 all time Test run getters, Cook and Root are the only Englishmen, and they both average less than 50. In any event, which English batsman would you insert to replace Bradman, Tendulkar, Gavaskar, Richards, Waugh, Ponting, Lara? Almost any Test XI will choose 5 of those 7. Sangakkara and Gilchrist have the wicketkeeper slot sewn up. As for the allrounder position, nobody (not even Botham) would choose Botham over Sobers or Kallis. No need to be bitter. Thanks for inventing the game.

[@cliffardgerber3830]

Any world team selected without Kallis is absurd.

[@rdatta]

Don Bradman chose Barry Richards as the opener in his All-time XI in the 90s. Seems good enough for me. The Don's other opener was Arthur Morris. My choice would be Richard's and Gavaskar. How good was SMG - joint 2nd on list of all time 4th inning centuries with 4. All 4 came outside India. Played against the best bowling opposition ever with Aus and WI. Don't let his commentary colour his accomplishments.

[@karamjitdedyal752]

Sehwag scored centuries in Australia, England and South Africa. Averaged almost 50 and very attacking. I would have him in.

[@nooneknows19]

He wasn't good in England and South Africa though. The one hundred in South Africa came at 6. He was brilliant against spin. And pace and bounce. But was dreadful against the lateral ball.

[@sathvikraomp2006]

@@nooneknows19 Sehwag doesn't even average 30 in South afric and england

[@sambhavraichand2601]

Sehwag was one of the worst players of swing bowling ...third class batsman in English swinging conditions

[@markbateman9222]

At the opening of the video the words "post war" were uttered. But the names listed are all very recent. No Hutton? Carried his bat twice in tests, almost single handedly carried England on the 1950-5 tour of Australia (and lost the best years of his career to the war)

[@fabulousaardvark4776]

1 Jack Hobbs avg 56.9 15 centuries in 61 games 2 Barry Richards avg71.57 2 hundreds but only 4 games (damn apartheid!!) 3 Don Bradman avg 99.9 29 in 52 4 Viv Richards avg 50.2 24 in 121 5 Sachin Tendulkar avg53.78 51 in 200 games 6 Gary Sobers avg 57.8 26 in 93 7 Adam Gilchrist avg 48 17 in 96 Now the bowlers 8 Shane Warne avg 24.41 708 wickets in 145 games 9 Dennis Lillee avg 23.9 355 in 70 10 Malcolm Marshall avg 20.9 376 in 81 11 Sid Barnes avg 16.43 189 in 27

[@yashsheth577]

Last time England won a series in Australia and India there was one very significant and common factor Alastair Cook scored runs by the truckload Criminally underrated players especially by his own people

[@karthikpatra]

Selecting a player who just played 4 tests at home, whatever his potential may be is just nuts. Vinod Kambli demolished Warne, averaged 136 after his first 4 tests, and has 10k FC runs @60. Shall we select him over Sachin in the middle order?

[@king_has_no_clothskul8635]

kambli was a fine player. his heavy bat let him down. he was notorious for fishing outside off unlike tendulkar. but against spin kambli is one of the best ever!

[@saulsmith2939]

If it's test series, you go cook Smith, and draw the first test with the bowlers having bowled 50 over each, second test you have a second string bowling attack and win

[@shubhamkumar-zy8yx]

Sunil Gavaskar Barry Richards Vivian Richards Brian Lara Sachin Tendulkar Garfield Sobers Adam Gilchrist (wk) Imran Khan Shane Warne (C) Malcolm Marshall Curtly Ambrose This will be my all time xi

[@hubbybell]

Not bad at all

[@abhijithanand8770]

Great list, but I would try squeeze in Don Bradman instead of brain lara

[@adrianneale3368]

@@abhijithanand8770 Bradman was pre-war wasn't he?

[@adrianneale3368]

Strong line up that 👍

[@thiefoftomorrow]

Wasim for imran as there’s plenty of batting and maybe McGrath for Ambrose. Good list. Not a sexy pick but everyone should have kallis in too to squeeze in an extra bowler or bat

[@runitstraight2637]

Matthew Hayden had a test average of 50 as an opener. Incredible after 103 test matches

[@Specter45909]

Sehwag too, almost identical averages and identical runs

[@esthermartin6699]

Hayden and Greenidge never faced their own bowling attack. Hayden struggled against swing in 2005 in England.

[@GMalik1923]

​​@@esthermartin6699he also averaged 28 in NZ and 34 in SA. Hayden that is.

[@briansukhu4392]

Hayden struggled during the 90's when the bowling attacks were world class, struggled post 2005 when the attacks improved.

[@MrCarrera28]

@@esthermartin6699 So does that mean Viv Richards missed out since he never faced probably the greatest combined pace attack in cricket history?

[@WesleyMcpherson-lu1rf]

Roy Fredericks Fellas. Don't forget 169 against the fearsome Lillie and Thompson in the 1975/76 tour of Australia. Thompson was never the same.

[@rohitseth818]

Where do I watch the entire of this discussion?

[@TheOfficialEmirati]

They will post the other videos over the next few days/week

[@AM2K2]

I love this channel...keep the content coming!

[@cudpug2233]

strauss and trescothick? Mentioned in the close rejects list along with sunny G? That's some english bias there. They might be great players no doubt, but come on! Sunny G?? I understand them picking aggressive openers, but still? I don't think that should be that big of a criteria to drop undeniable quality.of this sort.

[@ritabanbanerjee5744]

Trescothick 🤣🤣🤣 that was hilarious

[@ThomasLloyd-w5q]

Gavaskar has always been a great favourite of mine, not just as an opener but as a batter. A little surprised Barry Richards doesn't appear too often in the comments below. i saw him a few times, against top class bowlers, and he just made it look so easy. It all depends on what tactics you are going to use, and the composition of the rest of the team. if you employed "Bazball" tactics then Gavaskar wouldn't be a great pick, but any 2 of Greenidge, Sehwag and Gooch would get the scoreboard ticking over at a good rate

[@shyam2630]

I can't get over the fact how underrated is Alistair Cook is. I would have him as he performed in all types of conditions.

[@rihitjamb3757]

He had a long period where he was not very consistent from like 2013 till retirement

[@drprathamprakash1408]

From 2006 -2013 Alastair Cook is Goat opener..My God his stats and impact was tremendous ( conquered both Aus and Ind during that time period, won 3 back to back ashes for Eng too).. But those last 5 years did not have the same impact and was one of the reasons for his premature retirement...( He had some purple patch but was few nd far between)

[@rahulmodi8706]

Ony for Test cricket

[@dharmeshsharma7136]

Graham gooch, marcus trescothick,Alastair cook,Andrew Strauss,Ben duckett,Crawley...forgive me if I have missed some all time great test openers of all times...

[@zafarhussain4848]

Ben Duckett and Zak Crawley in the conversation, you must be either drunk or joking!! Which is it?

[@buu88553]

well said.

[@dharmeshsharma7136]

@@zafarhussain4848 I m a teetotaller bro

[@RVG1203]

Barry Richards played one series.. take a look at Gavaskar's first series against West Indies

[@SunilSingh-eo4bl]

Yup he nailed that series he also nailed the 1978- 79 series when Andy, holding and others were busy playing Kerry packer and marshals debut 2nd match as the big ones were not playing. If you had this two series he has 1500 runs and 8 century or more plus you have afew centuries before the in 74 when they were not playing. ✌️

[@PeakFictionWithAms]

You guys should do this for odis and t20s once youre done with the test list

[@gnomevoyeur]

A discussion of opening batsmen is always more fun if you mention Wayne Philips,or are very least, the other Wayne Philips.

[@himankphillaur]

Barry Richards might have been a great player, but cannot be preferred over players who have proved themselves at the highest level for more than 10-15 years like Greenidge, Gavaskar etc. His great county record doesn't make him a pick in an all time XI. To my mind, Sunil Gavaskar is the greatest post war (even all-time) opener great against all comers in all conditions.

[@natarajkrishnaswamy3354]

True. We can't go with iffs and buts had Barry Richarss played more.any other opener who would've played a consider number of tests should've been considered. In that case are we considering Adam Voges who had a wonderful but short career.

[@TheOfficialEmirati]

Bradman watched Barry richards play internationally, and I think in Sheffield Shield. Bradman included barry richards in his all time xi.

[@natarajkrishnaswamy3354]

@@TheOfficialEmirati the other openers that are in discussion have all performed. Nothing against Barry Richards , but we can't consider a cricketer that has played 4 tests over cricketers that have played 100 tests. Then we should also consider Adam Voges over others in the middle order as Voges has an average of 61 over a 20 test career.

[@ksundares]

Sunny G Alwar for tests- one thing these bozos failed to mention is he was very decent against the best bowling in his day - the Windies

[@cameronpetie8318]

I once worked out Barry's record based on all the Rebel XI tours plus his 4 Tests. His average was about 54.

[@PJ-cm8ix]

Alistair Cook and Sehwag, Honourable mention: Barry Richards

[@cliffardgerber3830]

Cook never

[@thetrevorosborne]

anyone who saw Richards Bat would know that cook (good player mind you) was not in the same class

[@harinagarajan2296]

Gosh. Marvellous discussion this. Against extreme pace all were vulnerable. Gavaskar against malcolm Marshall going round the wicket is one example. Counterfactuals are not there. Haydn against Patrick Patterson. Uncovered pitches and facing Griffith or Underwood. I think len hutton and Gavaskar.

[@shaktiswami662]

When did Haydn face patterson?

[@harinagarajan2296]

@@shaktiswami662 In such discussions we do not have counterfactuals. This is what i meant. I know Haydn never faced Patterson. But what if we could simulate such a scenario? This is why picking an all time anything is problematic. This is what i meant.

[@shaktiswami662]

@@harinagarajan2296 Sorry! I did not know the meaning of counterfactuals. New learning :)

[@abhishekchhazed8974]

I have slight reservations in extrapolating performances from domestic cricket to international. Barry Richards might have been the best batsman in the whole world but didn't play much internationally. Picking him above some of the proven greats is a bit obnoxious. Interestingly, they wanted to pick an attacking batsman and they somehow picked Hayden above Sehwag. Sehwag has identical numbers and a Test strike rate of 80 which is better than Haydens ODI strike rate. Some can argue about the quality as they always do, but numbers don't lie when you have that long career.

[@sonnyrust8479]

Richards is a proven great, just because he didn’t play Tests due to apartheid. He scored 80 FC centuries at 54 back when FC cricket mattered. Don Bradman had him opening in his 20th century XI. I was upset they didn’t talk more about Cook. Player of the Series in away series wins in Australia and India, most runs by a leftie of all time and most runs by an opener. This is all a bit of fun, don’t read too much into it

[@abhishekchhazed8974]

@@sonnyrust8479 Richards records speaks for himself but I still have my reservations. Bradman played in that era and there is always that bias. My point being, Wasim Jaffer has the most runs in Ranji Trophy but couldn't make it at the top level. Would you consider him same as Richards if Wasim didnt play for India and only had great domestic numbers. Domestic cricket would be tough but they are still home conditions. Your option of Cook completely make sense because he went across countries and did it against top oppositions. Thats the difference that Richards lacks. No doubt on his ability but he still hasn't done what others have done.

[@SunilSingh-eo4bl]

@@sonnyrust8479Barry Richard’s is a big what if. But he ain’t a proven great in test . No amount county cricket record makes you proven in test. There are tons of people like hick, mark ramprakash who broke records in county cricket when most of the greats use to play county but were utter dud in tests. As for Bradman he is the greatest batsman but had a lot issues. Michael Jordan is the greatest basketball player of all time but can’t select a good player in the draft so there goes that. ✌️

[@thetrevorosborne]

@@SunilSingh-eo4bl We can never be sure how great he could have been However I think the testimony and observations of those who played with and against him at close quarters has a place in assessing Richards career. His first class career was played out in close proximity with international test players. He played and faced all the top bowlers of his time all over the world in county cricket./Sheffield shield/world series cricket against Touring teams etc and had a outstanding record. against international opposition (vs touring teams whilst playing for Hampshire, Natal ,South Australia )his average is around 75.00. ...as for other matches involving EXPOSURE against international opposition this comes to WSC (1977-79) In 5 SUPERTESTS (ave 79.57) despite being past his pomp having not played test cricket for nearly 8 years !! Trusted observers'/,Test hardened cricketers AND FAST BOWLERS like SOBERS/WILLIS / LILLIE /THOMPSON /John Snow /mike proctor /BATSMAN like Gavasker /Tony Grieg/ Graham Gooch (list is extensive) were in no doubt how great he was and how much greater he could have been had he had the incentive of test cricket.(Unfortunately he lost motivation in his later years with Hampshire as the chances of test cricket became more remote despite a overall outstanding record) Dicky Bird .(the famous test umpire) thought he was the greatest batsman he had ever seen As I first stated because of his limited opportunities we cant be sure how great could have' been I believe in his pomp he was a absolute genius and any one who watched or played with or against him will suggest this. Don Bradman certainly thought so (who had seen a few batsman in his life!) was in no doubt. In 2002 He picked him in his all time world eleven enough said.

[@vbpurang]

@@sonnyrust8479 I respectfully disagree as well. For all you know, his career might have turned out very similar to Graeme Hick - he has 136 first-class hundreds at 52.23, not much to separate both. Hate to say - but it is almost like a wouzlda, coulda, shoulda ! Also going by the Bradman yardstick - Arthur Morris should be in the squad as well, he wasn't even discussed by a very English review panel.

[@joshuasamaraweera3174]

Hayden and Sehwag are the most fearsome test openers. Both averaged near 50 and capable of hitting a triple century

[@iangatt7697]

Gavaskar has to be there. Players of that era played the hardest of bowlers. Hayden is a good shout but I agree most of his career was not against peak bowlers. I like the Gavaskar and Greenidge combination but ultimately as this team plays out I think the best option is a bit of a cheat and opening with Tendulkar and Gavaskar so you can fit Ponting, Lara, Kallis, Sanga into the same side

[@ryangarraton8400]

My all time XI would be: Alastair cook Matthew hayden Ricky ponting (c) Sachin Tendulkar Brian lara Jacques kallis Adam gilchrist (wk) Shane warne Wasim akram Muttiah muralitharan Glenn mcgrath Honorable mention to kumar sangakkara who just misses out but the only place he might fit in there is as an opener. A couple of batsmen in lower positions maybe but i think they could be effective.

[@nikhilgawade6831]

they spent 20 hrs arguing why sehwag and Hayden wont make the list becuase they are not consitent. But finally picked 2 players who have not played in all conditions

[@vivekanand5563]

Among post-war openers, Bobby Simpson, Len Hutton, Dennis Amiss averaged the highest after playing a significant amount of matches. But if you want to look at players who were good for over a decade, you have to go with Gavaskar and Hayden. My personal favourites are Barry Richards, Gordon Greenidge and perhaps Saeed Anwar.

[@MaheshKumar-yj8nc]

David want to impose - these openers will throw their wickets within first 10 overs and then the team will be back to defending a better to have Sunil gavaskar who is assured to stay at the crease for long.

[@akshayabhatt9073]

From the cricketer i have seen (Mid 70s onwards) Gavaskar Greenidge Viv Tendulkar Lara Gilchrist Imran Warne Marshall Lillee Holding

[@nitinaggarwal9379]

My all time test XI: Virender Sehwag Sunil Gavaskar Don Bradman Brian Lara Steve Waugh (c) Garfield Sobers Adam Gilchrist (wk) Shane Warne Wasim Akram Malcolm Marshall Dennis Lillee

[@123animit]

Dam, a all time list with no Viv or Sachin!

[@nitinaggarwal9379]

@@123animit Yes, that's a very hard decision to drop Tendulkar, but I couldn't play him ahead of Lara. Also, Don Bradman vs Viv Richards. Viv RIchards, the great batsman would have to make way for Bradman.

[@MrCarrera28]

@@nitinaggarwal9379 Personally I would consider replacing Brian Lara with either Alan Border or Greg Chappell. Coming in after Bradman you don't necessarily need a glamour batsmen as much as you need grit and determination. Chappell averaged over 50 against the great West Indies pace attack without wearing a helmet for most of his career and his style was about as perfect as you would want a batsmen to be, my only caveat would making sure he would be a good team mate under Steve Waugh as captain. Or alternatively Border, he averaged over 50 for his entire career, batted with grit that Lara or Tendulkar did not have away from home and consistently score runs when the rest of the team collapsed around him. Not as pretty in terms of style as Chappell or Lara but certainly a guy who focused and consistently delivered runs in difficult conditions. I would not want to face that bowling attack, imagine those bowlers and still having Sir Garfield Sobers in reserve!!

[@suziederkins3310]

FFS Exactly my team, but I’d have Viv as captain over Waugh.

[@mohammedhanif6780]

Batters: 1. Sachin Tendulkar Batting Average: 53.78 Strike Rate (Tests): 54.08 Centuries: 51 (Tests) 2. Sunil Gavaskar Batting Average: 51.12 Strike Rate (Tests): Around 51 Centuries: 34 (Tests) 3. Don Bradman Batting Average: 99.94 Strike Rate: Not recorded (but he scored quickly for his era) Centuries: 29 (in only 52 Tests) 4. Viv Richards Batting Average: 50.23 Strike Rate (Tests): Around 69 Centuries: 24 (Tests) 5. Brian Lara Batting Average: 52.88 Strike Rate (Tests): 60.51 Centuries: 34 (Tests) All-Rounders: 6. Garry Sobers Batting: Batting Average: 57.78 Strike Rate: Not officially recorded (around 60+ based on records) Centuries: 26 (Tests) Bowling: Bowling Average: 34.03 Bowling Strike Rate: 91.9 5 Wickets: 6 10 Wickets: 0 7. Imran Khan Batting: Batting Average: 37.69 Strike Rate: 63.97 Centuries: 6 (Tests) Bowling: Bowling Average: 22.81 Bowling Strike Rate: 53.7 5 Wickets: 23 10 Wickets: 6 Wicketkeeper-Batter: 8. Adam Gilchrist Batting Average: 47.60 Strike Rate: 81.95 (Tests) Centuries: 17 (Tests) Bowlers: 9. Wasim Akram Bowling Average: 23.62 Bowling Strike Rate: 54.6 5 Wickets: 25 10 Wickets: 5 10. Shane Warne Bowling Average: 25.41 Bowling Strike Rate: 57.4 5 Wickets: 37 10 Wickets: 10 11. Muttiah Muralitharan Bowling Average: 22.72 Bowling Strike Rate: 55 5 Wickets: 67 10 Wickets: 22

[@santugk]

Shewag had 2 triple tons and another 293 as an opener. The world feared him while at the crease .Enforcer or otherwise, he is better than any opener anywhere. Gavaskar was good across the globe. They would make the perfect ice and fire combo..

[@Jaydoggie1]

Segway was a flat track bully

[@samuelking6432]

Wasn't he dominated by the English and the Australians? He looked like a rabbit stuck in the headlights in front of them.

[@santugk]

@@samuelking6432 You must have had a stroke been in coma when he smoked Aussie for 195 at MCG & 155 at Adelaide or 151 at Chennai!!

[@samuelking6432]

@@santugk With that logic, Jason Gillespie is the greatest batter. He made a double hundred you know 😂.

[@sathvikraomp2006]

Sehwag was pathetic in South Africa and England. Doesn't even avg 30 in those countries

[@JAYFD2929]

Richards and Len Hutton/ Gavasker are the best post-war openers for me. Richards was very attacking with every shot in the book, Hutton and Gavasker had superb temperament and technique.

[@GMalik1923]

Surprisingly they didnt mention Saeed Anwar was successful almost everywhere. In the 90s averaged 48 away from home and 48 as an opener. He is extremely underrated. And 90s is a tough era. Overall averaged 47 as an opener. He averaged 59 against Australia the best side of his era.

[@rrao7963]

@@GMalik1923 greatest opener scored centuries in all sena countries never they mentioned him disgusting

[@SunilSingh-eo4bl]

First against Australia he played between 1994 - 1999 ( srilanka 1999 was the start of that Australian greatness although they were amazing in 90s also but not remotely as good) he played one away series in Australia. second his average in aus is 47, in sa is 34, and in eng is 42. He is great ODI batsmen but in test he has mere 4000 runs and good record but not great. Sorry to burst your bubble. He has 1 centuries in each of the Sena countries in away mathes. That’s makes it a grand total of 4 in tests against in their home.

[@SunilSingh-eo4bl]

@@rrao7963against eng - 38, against sa - 23 and against WI - 19 are his averages for the whole career. Laxman has great record against Aussies in onedayers doesn’t make him a great One-Day batsmen not remotely close.

[@rrao7963]

@@SunilSingh-eo4bl no way which asian opener scored centuries in all sena countries in peak 96 in eng scored 340 runs two fifties one century against sa in 1998 when there bowling was peak he scored 118 55 41 in aus scored 119 78 65 in 1999 against the likes of McGrath Warne only in 2001 eng tour he struggled due to personal reasons he never played in west Indies in NZ he played 94 series scored 167 69 70 in srilanka always he scored so check stats 90s was the most difficult period to bat for asian openers greatest fan of him being Indian loved Pakistan team

[@SunilSingh-eo4bl]

@@rrao7963 no way for what ?? My numbers are from espn cric info. What’s your point. Which data of mine is wrong ? he is not considered a great test batsmen because of data mentioned above.

[@darshshah7259]

Cook and Graeme Smith have outstanding numbers all across the planet, both underrated in the all time scale

[@rajivnivas7546]

Gavaskar and Greenige

[@MrCarrera28]

Gordon Greenridge is critically under rated because he was in a team of stars.

[@calvinrulez]

Gavaskar Don Bradman (c) Viv Richards Sachin Tendulkar Brian Lara Gary Sobers Gilchrist (w) Wasim Akram Shane Warne Malcolm Marshall Glenn McGrath Twelfth Man - Kallis Honorable mentions - Imran Khan, Jack Hobbs, Muralidharan, Ambrose

[@kartikeyatiwari2502]

Why not murali?

[@calvinrulez]

@@kartikeyatiwari2502 Personal preference. Murali is almost as good as Warne. It's hard to pick one among the two. All the other bowlers are irreplaceable. Can't pick more than 1 spinner, because Sachin and Viv are decent part-time spinners, and even they'll be hardly needed. If the match happens on a dust bowl, I'd maybe drop McGrath with Murali and play two spinners.

[@kartikeyatiwari2502]

@@calvinrulez Murali is straight up better than warne but he isn't white so doesn't get enough credit

[@hrishikeshnambiar2449]

1)Sunil Gasvaskar 2)Alastair Cook 3)Steven smith(Best since bradman but acc to me he better than bradman) 4)Sachin tendulkar 5)Steve waugh(c) 6)Garfield Sobers/Ben stokes 7)Adam gilchrist(wk) 8)Wasim akram 9)Shane warne 10)Pat cummins/Morne morkel 11)malcolm marshall my xi

[@ksundares]

Look at S Smith 4th innings average ( conditions are most tough)- really bad for the greatest batsman as per you - just saying

[@MrCarrera28]

Good choice of Steve Waugh as captain. I would however consider having Sobers bat at 5 as Steve Waugh was superb at batting with the tail

[@hrishikeshnambiar2449]

@@MrCarrera28 i agree that waugh was great in batting with the the tail, but my team is kind of postionless , as in if we want a quick declaration maybe gilly might open.But ya i get ur point

[@shadrianshadrach3804]

Dream Test Team 1. Gavaskar 2. Smith 3. Lara 4. Richards 5. Waugh 6. Border (Captain) 7. Gilchrist (Wicket Keeper) 8. Marshall 9. Warne (Vice Captain) 10. Steyn 11. McGrath 12'th Man Keith Miller

[@akshaybhatt3378]

Steve smith ? Sachin ? Bradman ?

[@shadrianshadrach3804]

@@akshaybhatt3378 It's hard not to have them but I chose a team who play well together

[@ilioneld]

I can't believe I just sat through this and you settle on Greenidge and Richards. What is going on

[@mountainman9145]

Barry Richards and Gavaskar. True openers that were capable of dealing with that great West Indian pace attack of Marshall, Croft,Holding,Garner etc

[@cd11645]

My All time Test and ODI XI - NOTE : maximum 4 players from a single country so that it won't get biased. Test XI = 1. Virender Sehwag 2. Matthew Hayden 3. Brian Lara 4. Sachin Tendulkar 5. Jacques Kallis 6. Adam Gilchrist 7. Ravindra Jadeja* 8. Wasim Akram 9. Shane Warne 10. Glenn McGrath 11. Dale Steyn *Took Jadeja bcos I'm making all time 11, not list of best players. so I have gone for Jadeja bcos I need a player who is bowling all rounder, someone who is a fantastic spinner & can support Warne and can do a lot of spin bowling alongside Warne as well as can bat & stay at crease when needed. And Jadeja who has 300 Test wickets at avg of 24 with SR of 57 and also he has 5 Test centuries & 21 test fifties with an average of 37 as batsman. So Jadeja fits perfectly in the role which I need as he is a very good spin bowler and a fine batsman. And also he is an extremely great fielder which is a bonus point ODI XI = 1. Sachin Tendulkar 2. Sanath Jayasuriya 3. Virat Kohli 4. Jacques Kallis 5. Ab de Villiers 6. Yuvraj Singh 7. MS Dhoni 8. Wasim Akram 9. Muralitharan 10. Glenn McGrath 11. Brett Lee

[@MrCarrera28]

This is the test team I would pick to play your Test XI 1) Graeme Smith 2) Gavaskar 3) Bradman 4) Greg Chappell/Border 5) Sir Garfield Sobers 6) Steve Waugh (C) 7) Mark Boucher 8) Hadlee 9) Curtly Ambrose 10) Muralitharan 11) Lillee The opening bowling would have the perfect combination of the wild unpredictable pace of Ambrose and the searing but thinking pace of Lillee, followed by Hadlee's accuracy and consistency and Muri's hard to read spin, runs would be difficult to get and just as batsmen are getting frustrated Waugh would bring in Sobers pace or spin depending on conditions. My only question in my XI is whether to include Greg Chappell or Border at no. 4. Chappell scored ruins against the West Indies great pace attack with an average over 50 without a helmet and his batting style was about as perfect as you would want. But ultimately with Bradman in the XI there is an argument that the next batsmen do not need to be 'gunslingers' but rather batters who can dig in and grind out runs in difficult conditions on the rare occasions that Bradman fails and Border would be perfect for this role. This is why I have Waugh batting below Sobers as he was a master of batting with the tail and grinding out extra runs that helped the Australian team win so many tests.

[@Ragemeister88]

Greatest post-war team: S Gavaskar B Richards V Richards B Lara S Tendulkar G Sobers A Gilchrist + M Marshall W Akram S Warne * M Muralitharan

[@user-wg9lb9px5v]

That’s a great selection. Not seeing Barry Richard’s bat and being tested against other test attacks, I would either have Sehwag or Haydos with Gavaskar.

[@kennethcarter3494]

Jack Hobbs and Herbert Sutcliffe are the greatest opening pair by a long way. They averaged 57 and 61 as individuals, and they averaged as a partnership together 88 in 38 innings. Which is 33 runs better than the next pest partnership. I notice this all the time when people select all-time teams. It is not all-time, it is recent time selections.

[@gsanks]

They didn't face Akram, Holding and Warne. They were a different era

[@SunilSingh-eo4bl]

@@gsanksit was uncovered pitches era normal batting averages were much lower. ✌️

[@lonestar6709]

Jack Hobbs. Sunni Gavaskar. Don Bradman. Graeme Pollock. Garry Sobers. Kumar Sangakkara. Keith Miller. Imran Khan. Richard Hadlee. Malcolm Marshall. SF Barnes. That's the greatest team, of all time.

[@AIJimmybad]

If you're going to pick Sangakkara you need to pick him as a batsman only, where he has the second highest average of all time behind Bradman, otherwise pick Gilchrist as keeper, who averages slightly more as a keeper but bats in an ultra attacking way. As for Sydney Barnes, you tell me how he bowled. There's no footage just handed down hyperbole, so explain to me his style of bowling because most people that pick him can't even do that. I'd go for quite a similar side, I'd have Imran and Miller and Marshall but there's no need to have Hadlee too. I'd pick one of the 3 great seam bowlers to provide control when conditions suit the batsmen, take your pick out of Garner, Ambrose and McGrath. I'd choose Ambrose personally.

[@Crudmonkey211]

Trescothick always needs recognition in these convo’s.

[@calvinrulez]

Gavaskar and Jack Hobbs

[@craigrodgers9693]

The criteria was post war. I presume ww2

[@Jaydoggie1]

Barry Richards and Gavaskar easy pick

[@ThePhilGrimm]

At the start of a Test Match the attack is the new ball bowlers. Leave what you can, block what you have to. Scoring comes later. Don't take Bazball style risks in the first hour. Boycott always said, unless you've got a Bradman, Lara or Tenduka to come in at 3, play 3 openers. Fortunately, our middle order will be top quality so pick players who will blunt the attack, absorb pressure and provide a platform for the fast scoring middle order. As an Englishman, maybe Mark Taylor and Graeme Smith.

[@neilgovender7450]

Attacking Barry Richards and Matthew Hayden, left right combination and dominant. or Greenidge and Sehwag,.Cook and Gavaskar to take off the shine of the ball

[@anuragsriram2782]

Cook/Haydos, Sehwag/GSmith, Jacques Kallis, Dravid/Kohli,Tendulkar, Laxman/S.Waugh, Gilly/Sangi, Warne/Murali, McGrath, Jimmy, Akram

[@preachyourstory3452]

Barry Richards: 4 Tests, avg 72; 5 WSC Supertests, avg 79; first class avg 54. He should be the first opener picked.

[@geoffreyking4515]

Barry Richards, sunil,and then viv at 3

[@Andrew-q8k]

One to dig in, one to take the attack to the opposition bowlers, so its Gavaskar or Cook or Graeme Smith in partnership with Greenidge or Hayden or Sewag or Barry Richards...i want a left and right handed batsman together, so I'm choosing Gavaskar and Hayden

[@goldenboots507]

Sunil gavaskar Ricky ponting Brian lara Sachin tendulkar Viv richards Kumar sangakara/ gilchrist Imran khan (c) / kallis. Wasim akram Shane warne Malcolm marshall Glen mcgrath

[@rihitjamb3757]

Barry Richard’s and gavaskar. Greenidge and pollock reserves

[@Chris-wj8fz]

Greenidge and Haynes..you must pick opening bats and bowlers who know how to play together like Lillee and Thommo Warne and McGrath Hayden and Langer

[@roboticduniya1731]

I can pick Gavaskar and Bradman as my openers, come on Bradman can bat anywhere, this will give space going down the order...

[@samarthbagwe1736]

Picking boycott over Gavaskar Yeah absolutely zero cricketing knowledge What's was boycott achievement gavaskar smashed the scary west indies bowler soo much They created a song for him smashing the west indies

[@Nostalgic14-zo3pk]

They are English hence they would want to pick their own...

[@hubbybell]

You did know boycott held the record for most runs for a while

[@Tiggerc67]

Boycott did pretty very very well against all opposition including against holding, Marshall Croft and co. He was a mighty fine opener. Slow strike rate yes but not that much different to Alistair cooks

[@nooneknows19]

⁠Jarrod is an Australian...

[@craigrodgers9693]

​@@Nostalgic14-zo3pkdid you watch the video?? Do you recognise accents? They are not both English!! And they pick Greenidge and Barry Richards.....neither are English!! What are you talking about??

[@khurmiful]

We should pick two best all time teams and then discuss who would win under which conditions. The ultimate 11 is boring, who are they playing is what I want to know. You can have Gordon and Hydos and I’ll have Veru and Goochie for example.

[@kunalgill2511]

I did this exercise for football and cricket. These are my two greatest cricket XIs: Gavaskar Hayden Bradman Tendulkar Richards Sobers Gilchrist (wk) Akram Warne © Marshall Lillee Vs Hutton Greenidge Lara Kallis Sangakarra (wk)© Sehwag Ambrose Waqar Steyn McGrath Murali

[@rishikeshwagh]

@@kunalgill2511 Can't argue with the first XI. But with the second XI - 1) I wouldn't play Sehwag out of position 2) I would pick Dravid and Ponting in the team 3) 4 pacers AND Kallis?

[@Matthew-bu7fg]

He wouldn't be on the list of "best" eleven but Jayasuriya would defiitely get in the most exciting eleven

[@samuelking6432]

Sunil Gavaskar and Alistair Cook would be such a formidable pair for any team.

[@blueenglishstaffybreeder6956]

Should do the best 11 from each test playing nation, criteria being a test nation for at least 50 years

[@vratysanu]

Where is part 2 of this series ?

[@topendgold9284]

Shewag, Hayden Tendulkar V.Richards Lara Kallis Gilchrist Warne Lillee Akram Ambrose This much harder than it looks, this is my pick from players I have seen, thats why no Bradman, Sobers etc

[@pavankorada4224]

viru talking about himself in third person is so feudal lmao

[@reezukaushik3500]

Selectors pick teams depending on the conditions and the format the players are going to play in. In all this discussion the consideration of the conditions was missing.

[@redhairshanksa]

I have not seen Gavaskar or other openers. I have seen Cook and Sehwag and I would get them in 11 as openers. He played great against spinners in India which most other non-Asian struggle to.

[@Warlock786]

Gavaskar is the greatest opener Test cricket ever saw and the greatest Test Indian batsman. Played the most fearsome bowling attacks with below average equipment.

[@AIJimmybad]

He's not the greatest opener is he, not when you have Hutton and Hobbs.

[@Warlock786]

@@AIJimmybad and who did they bat against compared to Gavaskar ?

[@PoetofHateSpeech]

L Hutton and B Simpson. Highest average openers of all time that played after WW2

[@spookytoothable1911]

I'd have Barry Richards & Gavaskar. And I don't care that he only played 4 tests. During the WSC era, when he played for the Rest of the world 11, he batted against some of the most intimidating fast bowlers ever & dominated. And this was towards the end of his career. And Gavaskar could play aggressively as well. He once hit a hundred against a Malcolm Marshall led Windies in 94 balls.

[@ramaniganesh9477]

Gooch is not the same calibre as Gavaskar - he has more centuries against the WI pace battery.

[@craigrodgers9693]

Not really. Most of Gavaskar's centuries against WI were in 71 when they had no fast bowlers. And 79 when they had a third team. And one in 75/76 when just Holding was bowling.

[@raheelakhtar7]

Richie Benaud picked an all time XI (2004) with 2 reserves in each position. He picked Gavaskar and Jack Hobbs to open with Greenidge, Hutton, Arthur Morris and Victor Trumper as reserves. All Time, not post WW2.

[@russhouldin5774]

Exactly. I expect recency bias in general but not from someone (Jarrod) who wrote a history of test cricket.

[@rrao7963]

Saeed Anwar best opener

[@russhouldin5774]

@@rrao7963 You're aware he has a test average of 45?

[@rrao7963]

@@russhouldin5774 only asian opener to score centuries in all sena countries in test no other opener in 90s did it his 118 in Durban best even Lara Sachin could not score centuries when fanie devillers played for sa check out the stats he could have averaged more than 50s against aus he scored three centuries five fifties in test likes of McGrath Warne averaged 60 scored 840 runs in eight test

[@russhouldin5774]

@@rrao7963 So Gordon Greenidge doesnt count because he's not Asian?

[@susheelchandra2913]

Biasness should be allowed till it doesn't harm anybody

[@BenCohen-wg4jx]

From what I have seen from the limited number of KZbin clips and the glowing accolades of the contemporary cricketers in the 70s and 80s, I choose Barry Richards and Sunil Gavaskar as my all-time test opening batsmen. I mean Graham Gooch, greg chappell, rodney marsh, bob willis, and Sir Don himself, Dennis Lilee, etc, all of them picked Barry Richards as their opening batsman. How can we argue with these great cricketers about that?

[@shreyanshpranshuchauhan5991]

These are all small videos where is the full video?

[@geoffbutler2893]

Gavasker totally agree with this

[@russhouldin5774]

I thought it was post WW2? Len Hutton by far. Then Gavaskar. Both faced terrific fast bowlers. The job if openers is to take the shine off, not "dominate". Take a look at the numbers on average first-wicket partnerships. What's this obsession with the sweep on the part of Bumble? Sweep is great if the bowlers are obliging enough to bowl down leg. Lapping from from off the stumps is stupid in test cricket unless the spinners are really bad, which is rare, although not at present.

[@devkoli1483]

Sunil gavaskar arguably the best opener of all time..face the best pace attack of all time. .and hit most centuries against the most dangerous side of his era windies...surely he would be the first pick🛐

[@terranceparsons5185]

Bowlers, McGrath, Warne, Anderson, Broad and anyone else.

[@atulpandey6500]

I will choose hayden and sehwag if i have to choose from the players who played in 21st century. This is obviously for test cricket. For odi it will be Tendulkar and gilly

[@thetrevorosborne]

really difficult to compare eras given pitches helmets bat technology etc Bradman who had seen a few batsman put Barry Richards in his all time eleven .

[@arkzbh]

As opener - Hayden Gavaskar Sehwag Grame Smith - I dont know how ill choose between these 4, but imo unquestionably these 4 were the best. Gooch , a great player, but he is not even in the league imo. Gordon and Boycott can be considered obviously, but no way Gooch. I have watched each of them playing

[@michaelhehir8116]

I’m an Australian and would go Gavaskar and Sehwag. Hayden was the most overrated cricketer I’ve seen in my 50 years of watching. An aging Ambrose and Akram made him look stupid ,by the time he got back into the side there were very few all time great opposition fast bowlers around and he preceded to bang them into next week. Flat track bully.

[@davifdavid4347]

I agree with Bumble,Gooch has to be there. He has proven himself on fast pitches and slow. If Gavaskar had to face the fastest men on a fast track,he wouldn't survive for very long. Proven fact.

[@LenandlarSingh1979]

Is strike rate a factor in 'moving the game along'? If yes, then Hayden's strike rate is surely a factor. Yes they played in different times but his Test SR is almost that of Greenridge's ODI's (there's no test SR data for GG - fair to say it might be about or lower than his ODI'S?)

[@SunilSingh-eo4bl]

GG strike rate was 59.51 in 1970s and 48.45 in 1980s ✌️

[@rahult1518]

Gavaskar Greenidge : gavaskar attacked when needed .

[@everygamersdream72]

Gooch and Hayden were my picks then he said them!

[@HazelSmith-d8o]

Hayden and Sewagh would be a great opening pair. Both could play in England, Australia, and Asia.

[@billybank2012]

Gooch could play attacking and defensive... But when you see his 154 against the west Indies then it's an obvious choice... Mind you I'm being biased cos Gooch was my favourite batsman to watch.. But if I'm in opposition to him I'll call Terry alderman to get him out quickly cos medium paced was his weakness.

[@CoreyMARTIN-i5u]

Look at the numbers Hayden 8000 runs averaged 50 with 30 hundreds and took the openers on. Match winner!

[@BineeshSilent]

Don’t call it all time XI, call it “ all time XI type of game these guys are looking for “

[@philhogan5623]

Gavascar handled Lillee/Thomson better than anyone else, while Boycott retired and didn't play tests again until world series came along (no more Lillee/Thomson).

[@hardikgupta5730]

Sunil gavaskar Sangakkara Rahul Dravid Sachin Lara Adam Gilchrist Ben stokes/jaddu Kapil Dev Wasim Akram Dale Steyn Murlidharan