Ponting lists his Test World XI, hand-picked from the best cricketers he has played against
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Ponting lists his Test World XI, hand-picked from the best cricketers he has played against
Unlike loyal fans of Sachin Tendulkar and Virender Sehwag, those of Anil Kumble, Rahul Dravid, Sourav Ganguly, VVS Laxman, Mahendra Singh Dhoni and Harbhajan Singh will be incensed that their icons have been overlooked by Ricky Ponting in his selection of a Test World XI, hand-picked from the best cricketers he has played against in the past decade.
Any selection of this nature spanning a particular period ipso fact lends itself to controversy.
Ponting is, indeed, a brave man for attempting the exercise in his new book "The Captain's Year", but then controversies of this nature are an increasingly popular gambit in the bag of tricks of writers, publishers and booksellers at a time when book sales are dwindling at an alarming rate the world over in the teeth of fierce competition from electronic and digital media.
In a distinguished career spanning 15 years, Ricky Ponting has played against some formidable opponents. Selecting a team of 11 Test players from this illustrious band is no mean task.
England, the game's perpetual whingers will surely fault Ponting for selecting only one of their own self-perceived 'greats'u00a0 of the past decade, as will the cocky Pakistanis, for whom the game of cricket is synonymous with jhagda and fasaad within and without the boundaries of their ill-starred nation.
Others who merit consideration for the Australian skipper's one-man selection, but fail to make the cut, are: Rahul Dravid, Anil Kumble, Harbhajan Singh, Mohammad Yousuf and Saqlain Mushtaq (Pakistan), Kevin Pietersen (England) Dale Steyn (South Africa), Shane Bond (New Zealand) and Chaminda Vaas (Sri Lanka).
Sangakkara in
"Sangakkara gets his nod for his batting alone," says Ponting, while paying fulsome tribute to the Sri Lankan captain for his 192 against Australia in Hobart in 2007. Preferring Sangakkara to South Africa's wicketkeeper-batsman Mark Boucher, Ponting says: "A good way to measure the quality of a keeper is how many errors they don't make and I can't recall seeing Kumar making too many, which is not a bad trick given he is often working with Muttiah Muralitharan"
Explaining his overall selection, Ponting writes: "As a selector, I like the fact that I've picked a right-handed/left-hand combination for my opening partnership. I've always thought it is harder for bowlers and captain when there is a left-hander and right-hander batting together. When that happens, the bowlers are constantly being asked to change their line and the fields always changing, which has to be to the batting side's advantage.
"And what a contrast my two opening bats offer. Virender Sehwag, the right-hander, has an almost unique ability to take an attack down and change the course of a Test in an hour, even half an hour.
"When he is on top of his game," Ponting writes of Sehwag, "he is as good as anyone who has ever picked up a cricket bat, but it is also true that when he is out of touch he looks like he has never batted before in his life.
Viru's advantage
"Indian conditions suit him because the ball doesn't swing much, so he can get away with not using his feet much. He's scored two triple centuries in Tests, both on the sub-continent, but he's also reached three figures in Tests at Melbourne, Adelaide, Bloemfontein, St Lucia and Nottingham, so he is certainly capable of making runs anywhere in the world".
About Tendulkar's inclusion, Ponting writes: "I guess it's fair to say the Sachin Tendulkar of the 21st century hasn't been quite as good as the Sachin of the 1990s, but he's still been a fantastic player who remains the wicket every bowler in world cricket would most like in their resume. The way he batted against us in Hyderabad a couple of months ago is proof he's still a genius.
"I guess many people will think of Sachin Tendulkar and Brian Lara together, because they emerged at roughly the same time and then were considered by most experts to be the two best batters in the game for the best part of a decade from about 1994 to 2003.
The best
"When Sachin was at his best, we often felt like he was never going to get out, whereas with Brian we always thought we had a chance, especially in his first few overs because he might just go for a shot that wasn't really on.
"But if you didn't get him (Lara) out before he faced 60 balls, then look out! After that he played the way he wanted to play, and there was nothing we could do to change that. He was a master at manipulating fields, in the process putting bowlers, fielders and captains under pressure".
Continuing the comparison between Tendulkar and Lara, Ponting writes: "I know a lot has been made of the burden Sachin has had to carry during his career, from being the most popular Indian cricketer in history, but Brian had his own stress to deal with which in a way was just as confronting.
"Sachin was usually part ofu00a0 a batting order that also included gifted batters such as Rahul Dravid, Virender Sehwag, Sourav Ganguly, VVS Laxman and, lately, Gautam Gambhir.
"In contrast, Brian always batted with the pressure of knowing that the only way the West Indies could possibly win was off his bat. It's amazing looking at his record how many of his centuries were scored while the Windies had their backs against the wall."
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