ARTICLE DATE - Jun 5th, 2020

Cricket was my most favorite sport until I discovered my passion for tennis and soccer in my 3rd standard (grade in the US) (1986). I used to follow the sport until I came to the US in the year 2000. My interest in the sport started decreasing around the mid 90's, when I got overwhelmed with the oversaturation - the 80s had far lesser number of ODI fixtures than the 90s per year. With the influx of vast amount of money into the game in the 90s, the sport organizers decided to capitalize by packing and lengthening the season making it more about quantity and less about quality. Another reason for my loss of interest was India's away performances were not very good in the 90's compared to that in the 80's. India had won the ODI World Cup held in England in 1983 and a special one-time ODI tournament called the World Championship of Cricket held in Australia in 1985. Those two are, in my opinion, India's greatest away achievements. India did win the ODI World Cup in 2011 in the Indian subcontinent playing pretty much all the matches at home except one against the lowly Bangladesh in Bangladesh (Sri Lanka being the third host).

Cricket is a unique sport. It is considered a team sport like football (soccer). But it's essentially a combination of a team sport and an individual sport. When you are batting, you are playing the opponent team individually - you do have a running partner but you do not pass the ball to your partner (hence your partner is passive unlike in most other team ball-sports) and the rest of the team is in the stadium cheering you on. That's my cricketers are known more for their individual achievements than their team achievement which is kind of strange given that it's a team sport. There are three forms of cricket - the oldest being Test Cricket held for a whopping 5-day period, the shorter ODI which spans a day and the shortest form T20 which last about 3 hours. T20 is pretty new (started only in the year 2004) and have yet to watch a single T20 match in its entirety. ODI is my favorite and this article will judge players on their ODI achievements

I don't want to list cricket statistics on this page. You can get all the stats on wikipedia and several other cricket websites; nor am I gonna do a list of greatest batsmen, bowlers, fielders or wicket-keepers. You can use the statistics and lists online and make your own conclusions. The fun exercise I am gonna do here is, to do an India Dream ODI XI and a Rest of The World Dream ODI XI, covering a 40-year ODI period from 1980-2019, while also including players whom I like immensely. I don't claim this as the best or strongest XI; I claim this as the most exciting XI

India Dream ODI XI (1980-2019)
01. Kris Srikkanth
02. Virendra Sehwag
03. Virat Kohli
04. Sachin Tendulkar
05. Sandip Patil
06. Yuvraj Singh
07. Mahendra Singh Dhoni (Wicket Keeper/Captain)
08. Kapil Dev
09. Roger Binny
10. Madan Lal
11. Laxman Sivaramakrishnan

For the India XI, I chose players who excelled at the 1983 World Cup, 1985 World Championships and 2011 World Cup all of which India won pretty convincingly. I have given equal distribution choosing five members from each of the three cup winning squads. Even though it was not an official World Cup, the one-time 1985 tournament featured the best teams in the world and was given special significance at that time. India lost couple of matches at the 1983 World Cup and lost one and tied one at the 2011 World Cup. The 1985 tournament however was completely dominated by India - winning each of its matches convincingly and easily.

The Lineup...
We have six full-time batsmen and four full-time bowlers in the XI, with the wicket-keeper batsman Dhoni coming in at #7. All of them can bat well with every one of them having a 1st class century and except the 11th batsman Laxman (who played only 16 ODI) everyone having scored ODI 50s. Laxman who has five first classic cricket centuries is not a weak batsman by any sense.

Both the openers can be employed as spinners. I would have Srikkanth (25 wickets/712 bowls) or Sehwag (96 wickets/4392 bowls) as my 6th bowler if needed. Yuvraj Singh with 120 wickets/5058 bowls would be the 5th bowler along with regular bowlers Dev, Binny, Lal and Sivaramakrishnan. Any of the other batsman could function as the 6th bowler. Sandip Patil (15 wickets/864 bowls) who started as a medium pacer and Virat Kohli (4 wickets/641 bowls, so far. Virat is the only one not retired yet) can bowl fast. Tendulkar who took a whopping (for a batsman) 154 wickets (8054 bowls) can bowl spin too. Thus, we have 5 medium pacers and 5 spinners. So, everyone in the lineup can bowl - even keeper Dhoni (36 bowls) who has a wicket in his name! If you look at the wickets per balls bowled, Srikkanth does the best with 3 wickets per 100 balls followed by Yuvraj at 2.3 wicket per 100 balls.

Swashbuckling Openers...
The openers of the Indian team are the dashing right-handed Srikkanth and Sehwag. Both are dashing players who are considered hit or miss. Sehwag had better yet flawed technique but Srikkanth was better at improvisation, with both batsmen known for great hand-eye coordination. I am taking a risk here. My game plan (as a manager of this team) would be to have Sehwag hold the line, while Srikkanth goes berserk. Srikkanth needs a little time to settle in, so I would have Sehwag punish the weaker balls initially while rotating the strike. And once Srikkanth gets going, I would have Sehwag play second fiddle. Once Srikkanth is gone, Sehwag should take over the reins.

Krishnamachari Srikkanth was the highest scorer at the 1985 tournament scoring 238 runs in 5 matches being the highest scorer (57) against England and Australia (93 not out) in the league stages and also in the final (67) against Pakistan. He also coincidently the highest scorer (38) in the 1983 final against West Indies which happened to this highest score in the entire tournament. He is among the very first openers who went after the bowling the 1st 15 overs. His presence at the crease brought terror in both Indian hearts as well the opponent's heart. You could never count on him, but if he got going, it was curtains for the opposing team! My daughter shares her birthday with him and he used to be my favorite cricketer growing up and I don't doubt that for many other Indians. With his trademark rituals, unusual batting stance and jovial nature, he was fun to watch. His batting average is not very great (only 29) and he played just 146 ODIs - scoring 4091 runs; having played mostly in the less prolific 80s; but he was nevertheless an exciting cricketer - and this XI is about excitement not greatness!

Virendra Sehwag was the more successful opener. He played in 251 ODI scoring 8273 runs with an average of 35 which whilst not the greatest is better than Srikkanth; given that he was as aggressive as him if not more. Though he scored a duck in the 2011 World Cup final against Sri Lanka, he was instrumental (38) in the semis against Pakistan which was probably the moral victory needed by India for the final. Though not his best tournament, he did post a 175 against Bangladesh in the opener (the only match India played away) and set the tone for India with that massive win. He also scored well in both the matches India did not win (38 in the tie against England and 73 in the loss against South Africa). He was probably better in the other significant tournament - The ICC Champions Trophy which India won in 2002 (India didn't technically win it as Sri Lanka and India were declared co-winner because the final was abandoned twice due to rain). He scored 271 runs in 4 matches there. His career strike rate is a phenomenal 104.33 which is much higher than his partner (Srikkanth's career strike rate is 71.74) but Srikkanth played in an earlier era where bowling was much more fierce and had to face the likes of Joel Garner, Michael Holding, Andy Roberts, Malcolm Marshall, Craig McDermott, Richard Hadlee, Imran Khan, Wasim Akram, Ian Botham etc. in his prime and also didn't have the luxury of playing in flat pitches like Sehwag did.

Strong Middle-Order...
Kohli, Tendulkar, Patil, Singh and Dhoni are all attacking batsmen. Dhoni and Kohli are capable of playing responsible knocks. Tendulkar is probably the greatest batsman ever. He can play thunderous but he is a calculated risk taker like Kohli. Patil and Singh probably would function the best 30th over on because they are risky players (but not quite as risky as our openers). I would not send them earlier. If three wickets fall before the 35th over, I would promote Dhoni to steady the ship or even call the likes of Binny who has opened for India. I would promote Dev up if India hasn't lost more than couple of wickets until the 40th over. I would also put Madan Lal in earlier to weather the storm if India lose many quick wickets.

Virat Kohli is probably India's best batsman in ODI after Tendulkar. He has scored 11867 runs in 248 ODI as of today with a whopping 43 centuries just six short of the all-time legend Tendulkar. He is an ideal #3. He can take risks but also play the anchor role. Since both our openers are dashing, he would take the anchor role. If we lose another wicket after Virat steps in and we have Tendulkar at crease, I would have Virat do the hitting while Tendulkar settles in. Once Tendulkar gets going, Virat will have revert back to the anchor role. At the 2011 World Cup, Virat was valuable in the QF and Final. He became a better player after the 2011 World Cup and is currently considered the best batsman in the world. It's quite possible Virat will surpass all of Tendulkar's records before he retires. Though I would like Virat to be the most responsible batsman in this line-up he has a career strike rate of 93.25 which is only lesser than Sehwag and Kapil in this line up. Sehwag is one of six batsmen to score a 200 (219) in ODI.

Sachin Tendulkar is undoubtedly the greatest ODI player ever. He has scored 18426 runs in 463 ODIs - with Kumara Sangakkara the batsman at 2nd in most runs scored scoring more than 4k runs lesser. He had a long career and probably has played 70 percent of his career as an opener. He was very successful middle-order batsman, and I do not like him to be opener in his fairly risky and aggressive batting line up. He should make an ideal partner with Vohli in the middle overs once the dashing openers are gone. Tendulkar scored 482 runs in 9 matches at the 2011 was very much responsible for India regaining its World Cup title. I would like Tendulkar to play the most responsibly after Virat. He is an aggressive player and has a career strike rate of 86.24. Like Sehwag, Tendulkar scored a 200 in his ODI career.

Sandeep Patil is a risky move for me. He played little - 45 matches scoring 1001. He was a good-looking dude who got side-tracked by Bollywood after the 1983 World Cup success and that was the end of his story. He was very much instrumental in the 1983 world cup win for India, though. He scored a useful 36 in first league match against West Indies, 50 against our first match against Zimbabwe (which India had trouble chasing losing both openers soon), and useful 30 in a crucial final league match against Australia which determined which of them went to the semis. In the semis he was the star with a quick fire unbeaten 51(of 32 balls) as India chased England's 213 successfully. And in the final he was the second highest scorer after Srikkanth with 27. Though he played precious little, he is considered one of the best batsmen of the early 80s and could stay long at the crease (He has a Test highest score of 174). He will be a very good player lower down the middle order and especially useful in the last 15 overs. His strike rate of 82.17 may not seem as fast but he like Srikkanth played in a tougher bowling era.

Yuvraj Singh - the only left-handed batsman in the entire line up, was one of the best lower-middle order batsmen for India. He is ideal as #6. He could come in as #5 as well switching spots with Patil. He scored 8701 runs in 304 ODI averaging 38 which is really good for someone who played in the #5 or #6 spots. Surprisingly at the 2011 World Cup, he bowled even better than he batted taking 15 wickets (while scoring 362 runs). He was declared as Player of the tournament. I would promote Dhoni over him if India lose 4 wickets before the 40th over. He is best after the 40th over. Technique wise Patil is the better player but Yuvraj is surprisingly effective in spite of being a high-risk batsman. He is one of the few players who has hit six sixes in an over (that was in a T20 match though against England). His career strike rate of 87.67 is not as high as his peers Kohli or Sehwag, but he often came in later in the order and had to steady the ship.

Mahendra Singh Dhoni - the wicket keeper batsman could lay claim that he deserves the #5th slot. He is still active and as of now has score 10773 runs in 350 ODI which is actually better than Yuvraj. He is still really good later in the order and I would not promote him earlier, unless India has lost quick wickets. If Virat and Tendulkar are both gone, I would have him with Patil or Yuvraj. I would rather not have both at the crease at the same time early on. Dhoni is considered one of the greatest wicket keepers out there and holds the world record the highest numbers of stumpings. He is another big hitter with a strike rate of 87.56. He could play defense very well though and would be my choice for the third safest player after Kohli and Tendulkar.

Resilient Lower-Order...
This lower order is by no means a lower-order. All of them could bat. In fact, given a chance, each one of these bowlers could open the innings. Kapil Dev and Roger Binny have in fact opened the innings in at least one match I know. And Madan Lal used at bat as high as #6 and was once involved in a 155-run partnership with Roger Binny in a test match. Laxman Sivaramakrishnan later became opening batsman for Tamil Nadu.

Kapil Dev is considered one of the best all-rounders of all times. I don't think he ever batted as late as #8. But this is a loaded line-up. I have him this low but he would be promoted as a pinch hitter as early as #4 if needed. He is extremely useful in the later overs. He can play responsible if it comes to that. He famously rescued India against Zimbabwe in a crucial penultimate league match at the World Cup scoring 175 (after India were 5/17) - single-handedly saving India from an embarrassing exit at the hands of the weakest team in the tournament. He was captain of that world cup winning team and was the best bowlers as well taking 12 wickets (sixth most and third most for India) and 303 runs (fifth most and highest for India) in 8 matches. In his career he went on to take 253 wickets in 225 matches scoring 3783 runs which is good for someone coming in at 6th. He had a strike rate of 95.07 which is phenomenal for someone who played most of his career in the 80s.

Roger Binny played in only 72 matches but took 77 wickets. He was the key bowler for India in the 1983 World and 1985 World Championships taking 18 wickets and 9 wickets respectively. His top score is 57, so he is no slouch as a batsman. He has also opened for India. He was considered a great fielder and good at swinging the ball

Madan Lal played in only 67 matches but took 73 wickets. His highest ODI score is 53. Like Binny he was the star at both the 1983 World Cup and 1985 Championship taking 17 wickets and 7 wickets respectively. He could claim that he was primarily responsible for India's win at the World Cup. In response to India's 183, West Indies were 1/50 and Madan Lal took three quick wickets of Haynes, Richards and Gomes to send the West Indies reeling at 4/66. He also contributed a useful 17 batting at #9 in the final.

Laxman Sivaramakrishnan's only claim to fame is the 1985 World Championships where he deceived the likes of Javed Miandad with his flighty leg spinners and the 1985 Four national Rothmans Cup (which India again won) where he aided India defend a paltry total of 125 against (India defeating Pakistan by an unbelievable 38 runs). He took 10 wickets at the World Championships (one more than Kapil and Binny) and was the star of the tournament. He lost focus (most likely due to injury) and form soon though he completely lost his form and his international career was over by the age of 21. He played in only 16 ODIs, so he never got a chance to prove himself. He would be a risky call to include, but his style of bowling was aggressive wicket-taking-oriented and he is a perfect fit in this exciting team. And I am including these 11 men for their performance at their peaks - and peak Laxman was a prodigious talent and prolific wicket-taker even if that peak lasted only few matches.

Rest of The World Dream ODI XI (1980-2019)
01. Adam Gilchrist (Wicket Keeper/Captain)
02. Sanath Jayasurya
03. Kumara Sangakkara
04. Abraham Benjamin de Villiers
05. Vivian Richards
06. Shahid Afridi
07. Ian Botham
08. Wasim Akram
09. Richard Hadlee
10. Shane Warne
11. Joel Garner

For the Rest Of The World XI, I decided to pick one from the 8 top nations in ODI for the last 40 years - South Africa (re)started their International career only in 1991 after years of apartheid, but they have been superior to Zimbabwe which featured in the 1983 World and every World Cup until 2015 - so they have no representation here. This line up has 2 West Indies players (batsman Viv Richards and bowler Joel Garner), 2 Pakistani players (all-rounder Shahid Afridi and bowler Wasim Akram), 2 Sri Lankan batsman (Sanath Jayasurya and Kumar Sangakkara), 2 Aussies (wicket-keeper batsman Adam Gilchrist, spinner Shane Warne) and one each from New Zealand - Richard Hadlee, England (Ian Botham) and South Africa (AB de Villiers).

The Lineup...
We have five full-time batsmen and five full-time bowlers in the XI, with the wicket-keeper batsman Dhoni coming in at #1. All of them can bat well except Joel Garner who wasn't terrible (his highest score is 37). Even he has a first-class century to his credit; thus, both lineups feature players who have scored at least one first class century. This line up is loaded with all-rounders even more so than the Indian XI. There are in fact three wicket-keeper batsmen in this line up (Adam Gilchrist, Kumara Sangakkara and AB De Villiers). I chose Adam Gilchrist as both the wicket-keeper and captain as the team. Though AB De Villiers has 7 wickets (192 balls), I wouldn't entrust him as a bowler. And Adam Gilchrist or Kumara Sangakkar never bowled. Apart from that everyone can bowl. Viv Richards was a part-time bowler for the West Indies and took 118 wickets (5644 balls) who could be considered an all-rounder. Shahid Afridi and Sanath Jayasurya are genuine all-rounders. Sanath Jayasurya took 323 wickets (14874 balls) to go with his 13340 runs in 445 matches. And Afridi who was a better bowler (but inferior batsman to Sanath) took 395 wickets (17670 balls) in 398 matches.

Among the bowlers Richard Hadlee scored 5 fifties with a top score of 79. He has multiple Test centuries to his name. Wasim Akram has 6 centuries to his name. Shane Warne had one 50 with top score of 55. Though Ian Botham's top score is a meagre 79 in ODI just like Hadlee, he was an able batsman who scored 14 test centuries. So, this is a star-studded line-up loaded with all-rounders.

Swashbuckling Openers...
Both the openers have a high strike rate and both of them are left-handed. And they scored around 23k runs between them. So, loads of experience there! Gilchrist is the riskier player. He typically does not need any time to settle and could blast away almost immediately. He is technically a pinch-hitter but he has been so successful with this style that you have to give him more respect. I would have Jayasurya play more cautious and be the anchor to Gilchrist. Jayasurya is not the kind to play defense; so, I would ask Jayasurya to punish the easier balls with wild abandon; but play it more judiciously when he encounters good balls. Once

Adam Gilchrist was the opening batsman for Australia in the three World Cups they won in succession (1999, 2003 and 2007). His best World Cup was the 2003 version. But he shined in all the three World Cup finals scoring at least a half-century in all three. After the Pakistanis got murdered batting first (by Glen McGrath and Shane Warne) in the 1999 final getting bundled out at a paltry 132, Gilchrist put a nail in the coffin scoring a quick-fire 54 in 36 balls with Australians reaching in 20 overs making it the most embarrassingly one-sided World Cup final ever. In another one-sided final in 2003, Australia crushed India by 125 runs with the result never in doubt. Gilchrist was responsible for the Aussies setting the tone with a fiery 57 off 48 balls before Ricky Ponting 140's resulted in the largest World cup winning target of 360 for the Indians. The 2007 World Cup was a bit closer with Aussies defeating the Lankans by 53 runs in a match which was rain-shortened and probably would have been a lot less close if was played the whole 50 overs. This final was Gilchrist's best performance as he scored 149 in 104 balls hitting 8 sixes in the process. Gilchrist was one hell of a big match player. His strike rate of 96.94 is higher than that of his partner here (Sanath Jayasurya - 91.20) and he has scored a 67-ball century with highest score of 172.

Sanath Jayasurya was the opening batsman for Sri Lanka for every World Cup between 1996 to 2007. He did play in the 1992 World Cup at #6 but was a failure there. Jayasurya was a late-bloomer. He came to his own in 1995 at the age of 26 when he was promoted to the role of opener with wicket-keeper Romesh Kaluwitharana in the 1995 tour of Australia. In a shocking strategy, the Sri Lankans decided that both the openers will blast away in the initial 15 overs when fielding restrictions were and rest, they say, is history. While Kaluwitharana was a limited batsman, Jayasurya was a talented batsman with a keen ability to hit loose balls all over the park. Jayasurya's best moment came at the 1996 World Cup which they won. He failed in the final but he led them to success in both the QF and semis. Chasing 235 against England in the quarters, he scored 84 runs in just 44 balls to lead Sri Lanka to a victory. In the semis he was unsuccessful with the bat, but took 3 wickets. He was also instrumental in Sri Lanka winning the 2002 ICC Championship Trophy (co-won with India since the final was abandoned). Jayasurya holds the record for 2nd fastest 50 (in 17 balls), 7th fastest 100 (in 48 balls), 5th fastest 150 (in 99 balls). His highest score in ODI is 189. His career strike rate is a whopping 91.20 with highest score of 189.

Strong Middle-Order...
Sangakkara, de Villiers, Richards, Afridi and Botham are all attacking batsmen. Botham at #7 has opened for England (at the 1992 World Cup) and was a very good all-rounder in the mold of Kapil Dev. He could claim to be a better bowler than Kapil and more or less equal in batting. Afridi might be in fact the weakest of this middle-order batsmen because of his extremely high-risk style of playing. This is an explosive middle-order so I would expect Sangakkara to steady the ship with some more responsibility at the hands of de Villiers and Richards. I would promote Botham over Afridi, if they have lost quick wickets. And may even consider Hadlee to come in earlier.

Kumara Sangakkara has scored the most runs in ODI after Tendulkar. That alone speaks volumes of his batting prowess. An attacking wicket-keeper batsman who could play defense he was instrumental in Sri Lanka's win in 2002 ICC Champions trophy. He is one of the more watchful batsmen in this lineup with a strike rate of 78.86 and I would expect him to be the most responsible middle-order batsman in the lineup. He has scored a 70-ball (and a 73-ball) century in his career. So, he is not a slow unexciting batsman by any means. His highest score is 169.

AB De Villiers holds the record for fastest 50 (16 balls), 100 (31 balls) and 150 (64 balls) at this point in time. His top score is 176. He is the third wicket-keeper batsman in this line-up. Unlike Sangakkara and Gilchrist, he has played as sole batsman for most of his career, though. In spite of him having the fastest 50s, 100s and 150s in the world, incredibly his career strike rate is 101.09 which though very high is still lower than that of Virendra Sehwag and Shahid Afridi from these two lineups. He could easily claim to be the best of those three batsmen though. He comes in at #4 here, so he would have to play a watchful role (which he is capable of - his Test strike rate is 54 and he score almost the same number of runs there as ODI) if the team loses couple of quick wickets.

Viv Richards was a devastating batsman for his era. His career strike rate of 90.2 is incredibly high for his era. He used to bat as high as #3 but later in his career he started batting at #4. I have him at 5th here because I think he will be more devastating in the last 15 overs. He was responsible for West Indies winning both its World Cup in 1975 and 1979. He failed with the bat in 1975 but created three run-outs in the final against Australia which helped the West Indies edge out the Aussies in a thrilling final. In the 1979 final he simply destroyed England with a score of 138 and could have led West Indies to win their third straight World Cup victory if not for that memorable running backwards catch by Kapil Dev in the 1983 when was on fire (33 in 28 balls) and West Indies were only 126 runs short with plenty of overs to spare. He is considered by many as one of the best batsmen ever.

Shahid Afridi was easily the biggest hitter of the ball. He has a career strike rate of 117 and has hit more sixes than anyone except Chris Gayle of West Indies. He is a very strong player who though may not having the best technique or the most patience had an incredible eye for the ball. He holds the third fastest 100 (37 balls) and third fastest 50 (18 balls). His batting average of 23 is low and he is extremely unreliable. That's why I have him at 6th though he used to open the innings for Pakistan early on his career. He is very reliable and took 395 matches in 398. Overall, he is a very useful all-rounder to have and at #6 he will be devastatingly good in the final 15 overs. I would send him at #3 if the team is chasing a big score and needs quick runs.

Ian Botham would be my most reliable middle-order batsman after Sangakkara. I would promote him to as high as #4 if the team is in disarray. His strike rate of 79.10 seems low but like Srikkanth he played in a tougher bowling era. He was a big hitter of the bowl and was sent as a pinch hitter opener, rather successfully, in the 1992 World Cup by the English team. He was more successful as a Test batsman scoring 14 centuries there. He is a better bowler than a batsman though. His haul of 145 wickets in 116 matches is incredible (and in Test he took 382 wickets in 102 matches!). He is considered one of the greatest bowlers ever.

Resilient Lower-Order...
This lower order is by no means a lower-order just like the Indian XI. All of them could bat - even Joel Garner wasn't terrible. Hadlee was considered a great all-rounder. And Wasim were very good with the bat in spite of batting lower down the order. He has the same number of ODI centuries as Afridi in fact. Shane Warne has 12 Test 50s and a single ODI 50 to his name. This lower-order is probably weaker than the India lower-order overall but still a very good one. This bowling line-up would be much superior to the Indian XI though.

Wasim Akram is also considered one of the greatest bowlers ever like Ian Botham. He had a long career and played 356 ODI taking an incredible 502 wickets. He also has 414 test wickets (in 104 tests only). He could swing the ball either ways and was for the most part unplayable when on fire. He along with his team mate were masters of the reverse swing (which batsmen find incredibly difficult to handle). Though unreliable, he was good with the bat (he was six ODI and eight Test centuries with a double century in test cricket!). He was also a big hitter of the ball and had a strike rate of 88.33

Richard Hadlee is also considered one of the greatest bowlers ever. He played only 86 Tests but took 431 wickets making him a more devastating bowler than Akram and Botham. He was impressive in ODI as well taking 158 wickets in 115 matches. It was difficult to score of him as he was one of the most economical bowlers out there. He has couple of Test centuries and has better batting average than Akram. I consider him more reliable batsman than Wasim and would promote him as high as #4 if there were to be a collapse in the top order.

Shane Warne was an incredible turner of the ball and made fools out of many batsmen. He took 4 wickets against Pakistan in the 1999 final reducing them to 125 thus sealing their fate. It was amazing considering Pakistanis are used to spin bowling. He was a nightmare for even the best players of spin bowling. He took an incredible 708 wickets in 145 Test matches and 293 wickets in 194 ODIs. He has a Test high score of 99 and ODI high score of 55. So, he was no slouch with the bat.

Joel Garner at 6' 8'' inches was considered one of the most terrifying bowlers of all times. He has an incredible wicket taker who took 146 wickets in 98 ODI and 259 wickets in just 58 Tests. He was part of the four pronged pace attack (Michael Holding, Andy Roberts, Colin Croft being the rest) that won West Indies their World Cup in 1979 another four-pronged pace attack (Holding, Roberts and Malcolm Marshall) that finished runner-up in the 1983 final. He destroyed England in the 1979 final with an incredible haul of 5 wickets.