Richie Benaud's Greatest XI
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Richie Benaud’s Greatest XI is the official title of cricketing doyen Richie Benaud's greatest ever cricket team, which he chose and released on DVD in 2004. Utilising a tactic he adopted from Don Bradman, Benaud short-listed three players for each position before finalising the team.
[edit] The team
| Opening batsmen | • Jack Hobbs  England• Sunil Gavaskar  India |
| Number 3 | • Don Bradman  Australia (Captain) |
| Numbers 4 & 5 | • Sachin Tendulkar India • Viv Richards  West Indies |
| All rounder | • Imran Khan  Pakistan• Garry Sobers West Indies |
| Wicket-keeper | • Adam Gilchrist Australia |
| Spin bowler | • Shane Warne Australia |
| Fast bowlers | • Sydney Barnes England • Dennis Lillee Australia |
Twelfth man: Keith Miller Australia
[edit] The short list
Openers:
- Victor Trumper Australia
- Gordon Greenidge West Indies
- Len Hutton England
- Arthur Morris Australia
- Jack Hobbs England
- Sunil Gavaskar India
Number 3:
Middle Order:
- Graeme Pollock
South Africa - Brian Lara West Indies
- Frank Worrell West Indies
- Greg Chappell Australia
- Viv Richards West Indies
- Sachin Tendulkar India
All-rounders:
- Keith Miller Australia
- Garry Sobers West Indies
- Imran Khan Pakistan
- Ian Botham England
- Richard Hadlee
New Zealand - Kapil Dev India
Wicket-keeper:
Spin-Bowler:
Pace-Bowlers:
- Ray Lindwall Australia
- Fred Trueman England
- Glenn McGrath Australia
- Harold Larwood England
- Dennis Lillee Australia
- Sydney Barnes England
There were some notable exclusions from this list including Muttiah Muralitharan and none of the 1970s and 1980s West Indies pace attack such as Malcolm Marshall and Curtly Ambrose. Richie Benaud himself could have arguably been one of the all-rounders.
