When Richie Benaud picked his greatest Test XI in 2004

Richie Benaud (File Photo)

Back in 2004, Australian cricket legend Richie Benaud, who sadly passed away at the age of 84 in Sydney yesterday after suffering a prolonged illness, had picked his greatest Test XI of all time. Having played and covered international cricket for more than 50 years, Benaud had probably seen more players in action than most people and, therefore, had the benefit of choosing from a wider range of players spanning different eras. 

Benaud’s greatest XI: Jack Hobbs, Sunil Gavaskar, Don Bradman, Sachin Tendulkar, Viv Richards, Imran Khan, Gary Sobers, Adam Gilchrist, Shane Warne, Sydney Barnes, Dennis Lillee

While none of the eleven players picked are active anymore, Sachin Tendulkar, Shane Warne and Adam Gilchrist were still playing at the time that Benaud picked his team.

In total, there were 4 Australians, 2 Englishmen, 2 West Indians, 2 Indians and one Pakistani in the XI.

A few eyebrows were raised regarding the exclusion of greats like Brian Lara, Rodney Marsh and Muttiah Muralitharan just to name a few, but Benaud made it clear afterwards that this was the side he would have most liked to represent him.

Benaud, who will be thoroughly missed by the cricketing world at large following his demise, played 63 Test matches for Australia, in the course of which he took 248 wickets and scored 2201 runs. Apart from enjoying a distinguished playing career, he was also one of the pioneers of cricket broadcasting and will continue to be looked up to as a consummate professional who served cricket in many different capacities in the time to come.