Richie Benaud's Greatest XI

Richie Benaud's Greatest XI is a 2004 DVD in which cricketing doyen Richie Benaud selects an imaginary cricket team from the best players available from all countries and eras. Utilising a method adopted from Don Bradman, Benaud shortlisted three players for each position before finalising the team.

The team[]

Opening batsmen	• Jack Hobbs England • Sunil Gavaskar India
Number 3	• Don Bradman Australia (Captain)
Numbers 4 and 5	• Viv Richards West Indies • Sachin Tendulkar India
All-rounders	• Gary Sobers West Indies • Imran Khan Pakistan
Wicket-keeper	• Adam Gilchrist Australia
Spin bowlers	• Shane Warne Australia
Fast bowlers	• Dennis Lillee Australia • Sydney Barnes England

Twelfth man: Keith Miller Australia

Manager: Frank Worrell West Indies

The short list[]

Openers:

Number 3:

Middle order:

All-rounders:

Wicket-keeper:

Spin bowler:

Fast bowlers:

Criticism[]

After the release, Benaud was criticised by several cricket historians for not picking any West Indian fast bowlers from the 1970s and 1980s when they had a fearsome quartet in his XI, not even Malcolm Marshall, who is widely regarded as the most complete fast bowler of the modern era.^{[citation needed]}

Benaud was also criticised for being biased in his selection of wicket-keeper where he picked all three keepers from Australia, avoiding Jeffrey Dujon, Alan Knott and several other notable wicket-keepers.^[1]^[2]

However, Benaud responded to the criticism that he didn't pick the best XI of all time; he just picked a XI whom he wanted to be in charge of.^[3]

References[]

^ "Murali misses out in Benaud's Greatest XI". ESPN. 23 August 2004. Retrieved 23 March 2021.
^ "Imran Khan featured in Benaud's 'Greatest Test XI'". DAWN.COM. Retrieved 23 March 2021.
^ "Richie Benaud was at his best on Indian pitches | New Zealand in India 2016 News - Times of India". The Times of India. Retrieved 23 March 2021.

Story on the list at Cricinfo
Richie Benaud's Greatest XI at IMDb

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[1] "Murali misses out in Benaud's Greatest XI". ESPN. 23 August 2004. Retrieved 23 March 2021.

[2] "Imran Khan featured in Benaud's 'Greatest Test XI'". DAWN.COM. Retrieved 23 March 2021.

[3] "Richie Benaud was at his best on Indian pitches | New Zealand in India 2016 News - Times of India". The Times of India. Retrieved 23 March 2021.

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