All-time left-handed World Test XI
This is a World XI like no other – eleven of the best left-handed Test cricketers collected from across ages and banded together. It is a team truly capable of invincibility, shrouded in the elegance that comes naturally to their ilk while possessing the ability of switching over to charmless aggression if and when required.Putting together a group as unique as this is, anyway, challenging; to do it without a selection criteria, however, is next to impossible. The blueprint for mine is as follows:- Contrasting openers: one dominating, the other solid- Number 3: More Rahul Dravid than Sir Don Bradman in style- Briskly scoring 4 and 5- A genuine all-rounder at 6- Aggressive wicket-keeper batsman- An out-and-out quick bowler- Two masterly swing bowlers- One specialist spinnerThe all-rounder I have in mind is of the spinning variety, which is why I have opted for just one specialist. While this blueprint is by no means the best possible, it is the skeletal structure of the upcoming list.
#1 Openers: Matthew Hayden and Arthur Morris
Matthew Hayden is an easy choice when compiling a World XI. Big, imposing and adept against both pace and spin, Haydos gets the nod ahead of former South African skipper Graeme Smith due to a couple of reasons:
- Overall technical superiority
- No bunny-ish traits against particular bowlers (read: Zaheer Khan)
I did not consider Smith for the second opener’s role in a quest for more variety. Besides, it would be against the law of nature to have opposition fast bowlers stared down at both ends, rather than the other way round.
Biff has superior leadership skills and would have been an automatic choice in a weaker team, but he finds no place in a World XI.
Hayden’s greatest weakness is perhaps the tendency to be over-aggressive, and an absolute reluctance to let a ball go. The casualty of this blemish is his long-time opening partner, Justin Langer – who, as an elite member of the Invincibles at the turn of the century, was as disdainful of opposition bowlers and, therefore, a risky proposition to include.
Hence the quest for someone old-school comes to a screeching halt in front of another Australian Invicibles member, albeit from half a century earlier.
Described as calm and compact by ESPNCricinfo, countryman Arthur Morris will be the ideal foil to a headstrong Hayden. But can he bat? A certain Sir Don Bradman definitely thought so, dedicating pages to Morris’ skills in his memoir, Farewell to Cricket, and hailing him as one of the best batsmen of the (then) new generation.
Morris even outscored the great Bradman during the latter’s farewell series, the 1948-49 Ashes in England, making 696 at 87.00 as opposed to the Don’s 508 at 72.6. The baton was well and truly passed during the 301-run partnership between them at Headingly, which helped Australia easily overhaul the stiff fourth innings target of 404.
At the Oval, when Bradman fell for a duck in his final innings, Morris made 196: a trivia easily forgotten amidst the Don’s famous failure.
Morris was averaging approximately 75 at that time and may have even threatened the Don’s figures, but his form dipped significantly post 1950. And his wife’s terminal illness led to an early retirement at 33.