ICC releases Cricket World Cup Halloween XI
Trick or Treat? On the occasion of Halloween, the International Cricket Council (ICC) has come up with a Cricket World Cup Halloween XI. Halloween is celebrated in some western countries on October 31. This last day of October is dedicated to remembering the dead, including saints, martyrs and all the faithful departed, Halloween is usually considered as a scare fest.
The International Cricket Council (ICC) usually comes up with witty social media posts to entertain their fans. ICC's Cricket World Cup Facebook page posted this Cricket World Cup, Halloween XI. The team includes both male and female players, all the XI players have been given unusual witty names.
The two openers for the team are Sourav Ganghouly and Grim Smith, with their batting ability, the two southpaws are sure to give the opposition a scare. Ganguly led India to the final in the 2003 Cricket World Cup, he also averaged 58.13 in the 2003 World Cup. On the other hand, Graeme Smith led the Proteas in the 2011 World Cup.
South Africa's Laura WereWolVaardt takes the number three spot. The inspiration of the name comes from a mythical creature known as a werewolf, the 19-year-old Laura averages 45.77 in ODIs. England's Test skipper Joe Root takes the number four spot, Root scores 202 runs at an average of 40.40 in the 2015 World Cup.
The line-up is equipped with three destructive all-rounders; Jack-O-Lantern Kallis, South Africa's legendary all-rounder takes the number five spot. Kallis featured in 328 ODIs in which he scored 11579 runs. He also scalped 273 wickets to accompany his mountain of runs. Kallis is regarded as one of the finest all-rounders that the game has witnessed.
The next all-rounder is India's 1983 World Cup winning skipper, named as Kapil Devil. Kapil Dev justifies his name tag as he acted like a devil to other teams. Kapil Dev led an underdog Indian side to glory in the 1983 Cricket World Cup, the Indian side entered the tournament as a weak side but with his leadership exploits, the side emerged victoriously.
At number 7 is Pakistan's Shahid Afraidi, the áfraid' in his name speaks volumes of his calibre as an all-rounder. Afridi served Pakistan for a long time, he also led Pakistan for a number of years. In 398 ODIs, Afridi scored 8064 runs and also scalped 395 wickets with his best figures being 7 for 12.
Australia's Cameron Fright takes the number 8 spot in the team. White made his debut in 2008, he performed exceedingly well at the beginning of his career but was often overlooked. White has been a veteran in Australia's domestic circuit. In 77 ODI innings, he scored 2072 runs at an average of 33.96.
The pace unit is a fierce one, Dale FrankenSteyn will lead this bowling line-up with two Indian quickies, Ghoulan Goswami and Shriek-A-Pandey. Steyn was the spearhead of South Africa's bowling line-up for a long time, he picked up 185 wickets in 118 games, with his scary eyes and throbbing veins, Steyn always scared the batsmen.
India's Jhulan Goswami and Shikha Pandey are the other two pacers. Veteran Jhulan Goswami is the leading wicket-taker in women's ODIs. The 35-year-old has taken 207 wickets in 171 ODIs. 29-year-old Shikha Pandey will accompany her, the medium pacer has picked up 55 wickets in 40 ODIs.
This is a fierce and scary XI, one that fits perfectly for Halloween. Happy Halloween!