'%20x='0'%20y='0'%20height='100%25'%20width='100%25'%20%0A%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20xlink%3Ahref='data:image/jpg;base64,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'%3E%3C/image%3E%3C/svg%3E)
Constructing an all-time Test XI in a game with such a rich history and tradition is no easy task.
Test cricket, with a history of 143 long years, is the longest form of the game. In 1877, the first-ever Test match was played between Australia and England in Melbourne. Since then eleven other teams, that includes an ICC World XI (who played just one game) have played a further 2386 games in the format.
England (1022) and Australia (393) have respectively played and won the most Test matches by any country. Afghanistan and Ireland in 2018 became only the eleventh and twelfth teams embraced into the Test fold.
A specific selection criterion often makes the selection of an all-time Test XI team a tad easier. On that note, let us have a look at an all-time World Test XI comprising a player from each of the twelve Test-playing nations.
Openers (1-2)
Alastair Cook (England)
One of the finest Test players to have emerged from the home of cricket, Alaistair Cook is the only opener in Test history to have scored over 10000 runs.
The left-hander has scored over 95% of his runs in Test cricket while opening the innings. Cook's tally of 11845 runs is over 2000 runs more than second-placed Sunil Gavaskar in the all-time list of prolific Test openers.
Cook had an eventful start to his Test career in 2006. He was playing with England A in the West Indies when he was flown into India because of an injury suffered by captain Michael Vaughan and stress issues of another opener Marcus Trescothick.
The left-hander made an immediate impact. Opening with Andrew Strauss, Cook became only the fifth player in Test history to score a fifty and a hundred in his debut Test. Incidentally, the left-hander's century in the second innings was the 3000th hundred recorded in Test cricket.
He played many a heroic knock in the Ashes series against Australia before becoming the fifth player in Test cricket to start and end his career with a century. Cook's final tally of 12472 runs is the fifth-best by any player in Test history, and the best by a left-handed batter.
Kevin O’Brien (Ireland)
This one is a somewhat contentious choice.
Predominantly a middle-order batsman, Kevin O'Brien has never batted in the top order. However, O'Brien has proven to be a swashbuckling right-handed batsman who could theoretically contrast well with his partner Alastair Cook.
The all-time Test XI requires a player from one of the two newest Test nations - Afghanistan and Ireland. Kevin O'Brien gets the nod because of his experience and exploits in the game. The Irishman became the 14th player overall and the first from his country to score a century in all the three formats of the game when he scored 118 against Pakistan in the 2018 Dublin Test.
There is a history of middle-order batsman in Test cricket, making it big at the top order. India's Virender Sehwag and Rohit Sharma are a few notable examples in this regard. Thus it makes sense to have O'Brien opening the innings with the composed Cook.
In a contrast of playing styles, the left-handed Cook would look to anchor innings while the right-handed O'Brien would strive to take the attack to the opposition with his belligerent batting.
Middle Order (3-5)
Rahul Dravid (India)
Rahul Dravid narrowly pips compatriot Sachin Tendulkar to take a spot in this all-time Test XI.
Dravid, one of only two players, the other being Kumar Sangakkara, to score over 10000 Test runs as a number three batsman, possessed a defensive technique, grit and determination that were second to none.
The right-hander weathered many a storm during a storied playing career. Nicknamed the Wall for his ability to blunt opposition attacks, one of Dravid's most excellent performances in a Test match came in the memorable Adelaide Test in 2004.
After Ricky Ponting's 242 enabled Australia to post a mammoth 556, Dravid scored a double of his own as India conceded a narrow first-innings deficit. Not yet done in the Test match, the Karnataka player then scored an unbeaten 72 in the second innings as India won a Test on Australian soil for the first time in over two decades.
Dravid is the only Indian player after Sunil Gavaskar (3) to have scored hundreds in both innings of a Test match on multiple occasions.
Sir Donald Bradman (Australia) - Captain
Who else but Sir Donald Bradman for the number four spot in our all-time Test XI?
If there was any player who matched and perhaps surpassed a certain Sachin Tendulkar for versatility and flamboyance, it has to be the Don.
Bradman's batting average of 99.94 is the best in Test history by any player who has played a minimum of twenty innings. Among other significant records in the name of the Don, he has the most double centuries (12) and the highest Test score by a player at number seven (270).
The right-hander captained the legendary Australian 'invincible' team of the 1950s and never lost a series as a captain. Not surprisingly, Sir Don would also captain our all-time Test XI.
Andy Flower (Zimbabwe) - Wicketkeeper
Arguably the best batsman to have come out of Zimbabwe, Andy Flower was the more illustrious of the two Flower brothers. The elder of the two Flowers also had a safe pair of hands behind the stumps.
Andy Flower is one of only a handful of wicketkeeper batsmen to have scored Test match double hundreds. The left-hander, whose tally of 4404 Test runs as a wicketkeeper is only surpassed by four other players, would contribute tremendously to the balance of our all-time Test XI.
One of only two wicketkeepers (minimum 20 Tests) with a batting average of over 50, Flower is just the man to come after two classic right-handers, as he fits into the all-time Test XI lineup like a jigsaw piece.
All-rounders (6-7)
Jacques Kallis (South Africa)
Let’s start the all-rounders' list with Jacques Kallis - a man who could match up to Dravid’s defensive potential while also being more than a handy customer with his right-arm fast-medium bowling.
The South African stands third in the list of all-time run-scorers in Test cricket, while his 45 Test hundreds are only behind that of India's Sachin Tendulkar (51) in the all-time list.
Kallis is one of only six players in Test history to have scored a century and taken five wickets in an innings on multiple occasions. The right-hander's versatility is best encapsulated in the fact that he is the only player in Test cricket to score over 13000 runs (13289) and take over 250 wickets (291).
Sir Garfield Sobers (West Indies)
Well, Sir Garry Sobers would walk into any all-time XI due to his sheer versatility. The 5-in-1 cricketer, who is the epitome of flexibility, would be the floating-hitter in our all-time Test XI.
A left-handed batsman, Sobers is the first player to hit six sixes in an over. So there would be no better man to call for when the captain of our all-time Test XI is looking for quick runs ahead of a declaration.
Sobers scored almost 8000 runs with an average of around 58 and captured 235 wickets. Additionally, he could bowl left-arm fast medium, military medium, or spin bowling too, a perfect package any captain would love to have in his XI.
Shakib Al Hasan (Bangladesh)
Shakib Al Hasan is undoubtedly one of the best cricket players Bangladesh have ever produced.
He has scored over 3800 runs and taken 210 wickets in 56 Test matches. Hasan's 217 against New Zealand in the Wellington Test in 2017 is one of the highest scores by a player in a losing cause.
Before his one year ban from the international circuit, Shakib Al Hasan established himself as the best active all-rounder in all three formats of the game.
The Bangladeshi player would come out at no. 8 for our all-time Test XI team, which is lower than his usual batting position in the top order. Besides his batting, Hasan would provide a useful left-arm spin option in our all-time XI to complement the main spinner.
Bowlers (9-111)
A point that may be worthy of criticism is that our all-time Test XI has only two specialist fast bowlers.
However, our team has a pair of right-arm and left-arm fast bowling allrounders, which are potent to provide depth and variety to our new ball attack. Without further ado, let us meet the bowlers who would complete our all-time Test XI lineup.
Wasim Akram (Pakistan)
The Sultan of Swing and arguably the greatest exponent of the yorker, Wasim Akram, isn’t just your typical tearaway fast bowler. Akram narrowly pips his compatriot Waqar Younis for one of the bowling slots in our all-time Test XI.
The left-armer's control and movement even while regularly clocking 145+ kph, was breathtaking. If Pakistan is the stable known for churning out quality quickies, Wasim Akram is its black stallion of the highest pedigree.
Akram's 414 wickets are the most in Test history by a left-arm fast bowler, and second only to Rangana Herath (433) for most wickets in the format by a left-arm bowler. The speedster is one of only two bowlers to have taken 400 wickets in both Tests and ODIs.
The left-handed Akram was no mug with the bat as well. His highest Test score of 257 is the highest score by a number 7 batsman in the game, behind only Sir Donald Bradman's 270.
Sir Richard Hadlee (New Zealand)
Once the world record holder for the most number of Test wickets, Sir Richard Hadlee, is widely regarded as one of New Zealand's greatest cricketers.
Hadlee was the first bowler to breach the 400-wicket mark, and was often New Zealand's go-to man to provide breakthroughs. The pacy right-arm bowler had a deadly outswinger that could sear through the corridor of uncertainty and catch the edge of a batsman's bat.
The New Zealander was also a potent batsman lower down the order. Hadlee's 3124 Test runs comprised two centuries and 15 half-centuries during his 86-match career.
Muttiah Muralitharan (Sri Lanka)
Last but not least, we come to the final slot in our all-time Test XI. It would be taken by a specialist spinner who goes by the name Muttiah Muralitharan.
The legendary off-spinner needs no introduction. With a gargantuan tally of 800 scalps, he is the highest wicket-taker in the history of Test cricket.
Even without his probing 'doosra', Murali was challenging to decipher and virtually unplayable on his day. With his guile, flight, or variations like the doosra, the Sri Lankan was a complete spin bowler any captain would love to have in his team.
Muralitharan's tally of 623 runs is the most by a number 11 player in Test history.
Honourable mention
Rashid Khan (Afghanistan)
This is a no-brainer. Rashid Khan is the best player of the Afghanistan team by quite some margin. The reason why he does not break into our all-time Test XI is because he is short on experience in this format.
Leg spinners are genuine wicket-takers in all forms of the game. Therefore, Rashid Khan can pitch in as the twelfth man, replacing one of the all-rounders in our all-time Test XI on a turning sub-continental track.
Brand-new app in a brand-new avatar! Download Cric Rocket for fast cricket scores, rocket flicks, super notifications and much more!
