Sir Donald Bradman chose his ultimate cricket team shortly before his death and rated India's Sachin Tendulkar as the only current international good enough to make it.
Bradman, considered the greatest ever batsman, chose a contentious XI which featured seven Australians and just one Englishman.
The dream team included South African opener Barry Richards, West Indies all-rounder Sir Garfield Sobers, and English bowler Alec Bedser.
Bradman's intention was to select an attacking combination, despite it containing only four specialist batsmen.
Bradman, nicknamed the Don, selected himself as the number three batsman behind openers Richards and Authur Morris, his team-mate on Australia's Invincibles tour of England in 1948.
Spearheads
He picked Tendulkar at four, then Sobers at five.
Sobers was the first name he put down.
"He offers balance and variety with bat and ball. He is, in my opinion, the greatest cricketer of all time," Bradman said.
Australia's Don Tallon was selected as wicketkeeper.
Bradman opted for his contemporaries in the leg-spin department, preferring Bill O'Reilly and Clarrie Grimmett to Shane Warne, the current Australian spinner who is rated as the world's best.
Australians Ray Lindwall and Dennis Lillee were the pace spearheads of the five-pronged bowling attack.
The release of Bradman's team was delayed until after his death so that he would avoid being inundated with requests for explanations and interviews.
Bradman, who died in February at the age of 92, scored 6,996 runs in 52 tests spanning 20 years until 1948.
His average of 99.94 runs per test innings is far superior to any other batsman.
South Africa's Graeme Pollock is next on the all-time averages standings with 60.97.
Bradman's Test match performance
Also see:
The Sledgy Edge: 10 Hilarious sledging incidents in World Cricket
0 comments:
Post a Comment