West Indies players account for the lions share of those considered the best to ever play the game as SportsMax completed its Ultimate XI T20 team ahead of the start of the Hero Caribbean Premier League on Tuesday.
A combination of a panel of experts, the SportsMax Zone, and fans who voted online called fanalysts completed voting on the SportsMax Ultimate XI team with a final discussion on three impact players.
The final six players from which the three were chosen were West Indians
Dwayne Bravo, Kieron Pollard, and Andre Russell, Australian Shane Watson, Pakistani Shahid Afridi, and Indian Yuvraj Singh.
The panel, made up of cricket commentator and broadcast journalist, Fazeer Mohammed, cricket umpire Chris Taylor, and statistician, Zaheer Clarke, picked an all-West Indian cast as their impact players, in complete agreement with the SportsMax Zone and Fanalysts.
There was one dissenting voice among the panellists with Fazeer deciding on Shane Watson over Kieron Pollard, however, Clarke and Taylor’s votes were enough to overrule him.
With all parties, the Zone, the panel, and fanalysts in agreement, the final list of the greatest T20 team of all time is complete.
The openers are Chris Gayle and David warner, the middle-order, batsmen 3-5 are Virat Kohli, AB de Villiers, Mahendra Singh Dhoni, the bowlers are Sunil Narine, Rashid Khan and Lasith Malinga, while the impact players are Dwayne Bravo, Kieron Powell and Andre Russell.
The Ultimate XI T20 team is made up of five West Indians in Gayle, Narine, Bravo, Pollard, and Russell, while Kohli and Dhoni make up the Indian contingent. Then there is the South African representation in de Villiers, one Australian in Warner, a Sri Lankan in Malinga, and the Afghan Rashid.
West Indian players have made a big impact on the T20 game the world over and a panel of experts deciding on the final list of impact players to be discussed as part of a SportsMax Ultimate XI.
The panel, which makes up 40% of overall votes towards the decision in coming up with a final XI, picked Dwayne Bravo, Kieron Pollard, and Andre Russell to be part of a list of six for a final discussion on Monday.
The discussions take place on the SportsMax Zone at 5pm Jamaica time and 6pm in the Eastern Caribbean.
When the votes are all tallied, the SportsMax Zone will have contributed 25% of them, while fans have an input too, there’s counting for 35%.
The panel, today, had to pick from among 12 short listed as the best impact players the T20 game has ever seen.
That list of 12 read; Shane Watson (Australia), Shahid Afridi (Pakistan), Bravo, Russell, Pollard, Jos Buttler (England), Imad Wasim (Pakistan), Ben Stokes (England), Colin Munro (New Zealand), Yuvraj Singh (India), Daniel Vettori (New Zealand), and Daren Sammy (West Indies).
When the cuts were made, Sammy, Imad, Buttler, Vettori, Munro, and Stokes, were deemed just a little off the pace.
So, for final discussion on Monday, Watson, Afridi, Bravo, Russell, Pollard, and Yuvraj will be the men being considered.
But the panel’s list is not final and fans, called fanalysts, can still sway the outcome of who makes the SportsMax Ultimate XI, no matter what the panel decides.
To do that, to have your say, vote by clicking here or going to SportsMax.tv and just clicking on the Ultimate XI tab at the top of the screen.
SportsMax.tv has also built a list of profiles where Fanalysts can go to have a look at the careers of the players who have made the SportsMax Ultimate XI shortlist just in case you want to learn a little more about them before making your choice. To take a look at those players click here.
Fans and the SportsMax Zone were not in agreement with a panel of experts, who made a decision on its picks for SportsMax’s Ultimate XI T20 bowlers today.
The panel on the set of the Zone, made up of former West Indies fast bowler and cricket commentator Ian Bishop, cricket umpire Chris Taylor, and statistician Zaheer Clarke, along with Tom Moody and Vernon Singer (offset), have picked Sunil Narine, Rashid Khan and Lasith Malinga as their three bowlers.
The Afghan Rashid, the Sri Lankan Malinga and the West Indian Narine, were picked from a group of six that included India’s Jasprit Bumrah, South Africa’s Dale Steyn, and Australia’s Mitchell Starc.
Jasprit’s exclusion is where the bone of contention lies.
According to the SportsMax Zone, while Malinga and Narine are shoo-ins, Rashid was not.
In Rashid’s stead, the Zone has picked Jasprit.
In coming up with SportsMax’s Ultimate XI T20, there is a three-way split in the decision-making process with the panel’s picks accounting for 40% of votes, while the Zone has 25, and fans who vote online have a 35% stake in who makes the team.
Fans, so far, have agreed with the SprotsMax Zone’s take on the three best bowlers the T20 game has ever seen, also picking Jasprit to go alongside Narine and Malinga.
There is still an opportunity for the fans to change their minds, but at the moment, they are joining the zone in beating back the opinions of the expert panel.
So far, the panel has picked Chris Gayle and David Warner as its openers, Virat Kohli, Mahendra Singh Dhoni, and AB de Villiers as its middle order to go along with Rashid, Narine and Malinga as its bowlers.
Tomorrow the panel will go about whittling down what are termed impact players in a bid to come up with its version of an Ultimate XI.
The Zone has differed in small ways to date, picking Rohit Sharma to go along with Gayle as well as picking Jasprit over Rashid.
Fans have stuck even closer to the panel to date. As far as openers and the middle order are concerned they are in complete agreement but have veered away with the bowling choices, choosing the same way as the Zone.
But the voting isn’t finished and fans, called fanalysts, can vote by clicking here or going to SportsMax.tv and just clicking on the Ultimate XI tab at the top of the screen.
SportsMax.tv has also built a list of profiles where Fanalysts can go to have a look at the careers of the players who have made the SportsMax Ultimate XI shortlist just in case you want to learn a little more about them before making your choice. To take a look at those players click here.
There is no place in the final XI set of SportsMax Ultimate XI T20 bowlers for a man who, at one time or another, was the world’s foremost T20 bowler after a panel of experts had to make tough choices to reduce a shortlist of the best in the format of all time.
A panel made up of cricket umpire Chris Taylor, former Australian cricketer and commentator Tom Moody, and regional commentator Vernon Springer, today on the SportsMax Zone, had to bring a not-so-short shortlist of 17 bowlers down to six for final discussion tomorrow where another panel will pick three for SportsMax’s Ultimate XI T20 team.
Samuel Badree will not be part of that discussion.
The team is picked through a combination of voting among fans, the panel, and the SportsMax Zone’s team.
Fans vote online, with their collective decision amounting to 35% of the vote, while the Zone team’s votes amount to 25%. The panel has the lion’s share of the percentage with their vote counting for 40%.
Today, the panel had to decide among a group made up of Sri Lanka’s Lasith Malinga and Ajantha Mendis; Pakistan’s Shahid Afridi, Umar Gul, Saeed Ajmal, Sohail Tanvir and Wahab Riaz; Bangladesh’s Shakib Al Hasan; Afghanistan’s Rashid Khan; West Indies’ Sunil Narine, Badree, and Dwayne Bravo; South Africa’s Imran Tahir and Dale Steyn; India’s Jasprit Bumrah; along with Australia’s Dirk Nannes and Mitchell Starc, who would remain in the discussion for a second evening.
From that list, Afridi, Shakib, Umar, Saeed, Ajantha, Imran, Sohail, Badree, Nannes, Wahab, and Bravo, were all cut.
In the case of Bravo, the panel felt the all-rounder would be better suited as one of the Impact Players, a discussion that is to come down the line.
Badree, on the other hand, was seen as limited and not offering as much flexibility as would Rashid or Narine.
According to the panel, Taylor in particular, Badree is at his best when opening the bowling, while Narine and Rashid are useful throughout an innings.
The SportsMax Zone, in response, found no fault with the eventual six the panel came up with. The Zone and panel will discuss the merits and flaws of Malinga, Rashid, Narine, Steyn, Jasprit, and Starc before coming up with a final three.
While fans, call fanalysts, have not yet made up their mind on the three bowlers who would make up their Ultimate XI, there has been a trend that suggests their six for final discussion.
According to fans, Malinga, Narine, Jasprit, Rashid, Bravo, and Nannes would be the six they would have under consideration tomorrow.
Fanalysts can vote by clicking here or going to SportsMax.tv and just clicking on the Ultimate XI tab at the top of the screen.
SportsMax.tv has also built a list of profiles where Fanalysts can go to have a look at the careers of the players who have made the SportsMax Ultimate XI shortlist just in case you want to learn a little more about them before making your choice. To take a look at those players click here.
There was no place for Marlon Samuels in SportsMax’s Ultimate XI T20 batsmen 3-5 after a panel of experts dumped the allrounder from a shortlist of 14 on the SportsMax Zone earlier today.
The panel consisting of David Brook, cricket commentator and reporter, Sachin Ramsuhbag, cricket commentator, and Chris Taylor, commentator and cricket umpire, felt Samuels, though a proven match winner, did not stack up with the consistency of some of the other batsmen in the list.
The panel also felt that Samuels’ strike rate (117.93) over the course of 187 games was not high enough, when compared to others in the list.
That list reads a veritable who’s who in the T20 game, with India’s Virat Kohli and Mahendra Singh Dhoni; South Africa’s Faf du Plessis, JP Duminy and AB de Villiers; West Indies’ Samuels; England’s Kevin Pietersen, Eoin Morgan, and Joe Root; Pakistan’s Babar Azam and Shoaib Malik; Australia’s Glenn Maxwell; Sri Lanka’s Kumar Sangakkara; and New Zealand’s Kane Williamson all getting the nod.
From that list, du Plessis, Samuels, Morgan, Duminy, Sangakkara, Maxwell, Williamson and Root have all been cut.
That means Kohli, Pietersen, Babar, Shoaib, de Villiers and Dhoni are the men who will vie for three places, from the number-three to the number five positions in the batting line-up when another panel of experts makes a judgement on the SportsMax Zone tomorrow.
While voting fans, Fanalysts, just pick a final XI, if they were to pick a group for a final discussion, it might look a little different from the one the panel picked.
So far, the fans have favoured Kohli, de Villiers, Dhoni, Maxwell, Pietersen, and there is a toss-up between Samuels and Sangakkara for the sixth position.
For the fans, neither Babar nor Shoaib factor in their all-time XI.
Fans, called Fanalysts have a 30% weighted vote on who makes SportsMax’s Ultimate XI T20 team, with the SportsMax Zone having another 30% of the vote. The panel of experts’ vote will count for 40% of the overall votes.
Fanlysts can vote by clicking here or going to SportsMax.tv and just clicking on the Ultimate XI tab at the top of the screen.
SportsMax.tv has also built a list of profiles where Fanalysts can go to have a look at the careers of the players who have made the SportsMax Ultimate XI shortlist just in case you want to learn a little more about them before making your choice. To take a look at those players click here.
A panel of experts has decided that a pairing of Christopher Henry Gayle and David Warner would represent the best openers the T20 game has ever seen.
According to Zaheer Clarke, statistician, Chris Taylor, cricket umpire and commentator and noted cricket commentator and journalist, Fazeer Mohammed, Gayle’s body of work over the course of his career in the T20 game made him the first name on any list of all-time greats in the format.
The panel were picking from a final six after 13 shortlisted players were whittled down on Wednesday.
The six who made the final were Gayle, Rohit Sharma, KL Rahul, Aaron Finch, David Warner, and Brendon McCullum.
While Gayle was a shoo-in on all the panellists books, there was a little difficulty in picking who would partner him.
According to Fazeer Mohammed, Finch would make a good partner for the big left hander, while Taylor and Clarke felt that Warner would do more damage up front with the Universe Boss.
The panel’s decision counts for 40% of the overall vote on who makes the SportsMax Ultimate XI, while the SportsMax Zone, like an online voting audience, has a 30% stake in proceedings.
This means there are still some decisions to be made with Gayle, by virtue of bagging votes from the Zone and the panel being selected as one of two Ultimate XI T20 openers.
The uncertainty about who will make up the other part of the pairing lies in the fact that the SportsMax Zone did not agree with the panel on who should partner Gayle, instead going with India’s Sharma.
Gayle stands head and shoulders over every batsman to ever play the T20 game with 13,296 runs behind his name at a healthy average of 38.20 from 404 games. Gayle strikes at an incredible 146.94 and has a whopping 22 centuries and 82 half-centuries in the format.
Sharma, who the Zone has picked, from 328 games has 8,642 runs at an average of 32.24 and has scored six centuries and 60 half-centuries.
Warner has not played as many games as the two, but enjoys a 142.20 strike rate from his 280 games, and has scored 9,218 runs, inclusive of eight centuries and 75 half-centuries already.
The choice is tough and may come down to who you like, as Lance Whittaker says, he is a Sharma fan.
To make your choice regarding who makes the SportsMax Ultimate XI, click here. Maybe like George Davis, you think the Zone is crazy for not picking Warner. If you want to learn more about the players, you can click here.
He is full of guile, as devious as any of the old masters in giving the ball a tweak. Yet, much of his bowling remains flat and quick, with the spinner getting much of his success with subtle variations of pace. Those variations, despite how quick he is, often beat the batsman in the air. He is an off-spinner who captures more than half his wickets with the ball that holds its line or that curious controversial variety called the doosra which breaks the other way — but he can also turn one back. Despite a late entry to cricket, making his debut at 32, he continued to play all formats, including the instant variety and went on to be a hero of Pakistan’s World Twenty20 triumph in 2010.
Full name: Saeed Ajmal
Born: October 14, 1977 (42), Faisalabad, Punjab
Major teams: Pakistan, Antigua Hawksbills, Dhaka Gladiators, Faisalabad, Faisalabad Wolves, Islamabad Cricket Association, Islamabad United, Khan Research Labs, Water and Power Development Authority, Worcestershire, Zarai Taraqiati Bank Limited
Playing role: Bowler
Batting style: Right-hand bat
Bowling style: Right-arm off-break
Mat Inns Balls Runs Wkts BBI BBM Ave Econ SR 4w 5w 10w
64 63 1430 1516 85 4/19 4/19 17.83 6.36 16.8 4 0 0
Mat Inns Balls Runs Wkts BBI BBM Ave Econ SR 4w 5w 10w
195 193 4338 4706 271 4/14 4/14 17.36 6.50 16.0 8 0 0
An aggressive batsman, with a penchant to clear the boundary with ease, he relies on hitting the ball out of the park. He is a little susceptible against spinners and often gets out to them, unable to pick which way it is going.
A dibbly-dobbly medium-pacer, he often rolls his fingers over the ball and bowls his leg cutters on a consistent basis. As a fielder, Pollard is one of the best in the world and has taken some unbelievable catches. An all-round fielder who can field at any position, he uses his long reach to good effect.
Pollard is also the second batsman to score more than 10,000 T20 runs, and the first to play more than 500 games in the format.
His experience and ability to analyze the game, in addition to his aggression made him the perfect candidate for West Indies white-ball captain. Pollard has led a West Indies resurgence in the formats.
Full name: Kieron Adrian Pollard
Born: May 12, 1987 (33), Tacarigua, Trinidad
Major teams: West Indies, Adelaide Strikers, Australian Cricketers Association All-Stars, Barbados Tridents, Bravo XI, Cape Cobras, Deccan Gladiators, Dhaka Dynamites, Dhaka Gladiators, Karachi Kings, Kerala Kings, Melbourne Renegades, Multan Sultans, Mumbai Indians, PCA Masters XI, Peshawar Zalmi, Pollard XI, RR Sarwan's XI, SC Joseph's XI, Somerset, South Australia, St Lucia Stars, Stanford Superstars, Toronto Nationals, Trinbago Knight Riders, Trinidad, Trinidad & Tobago, Trinidad & Tobago XI, West Indies Under-19s, WICB President's Celebrity XI
Playing role: Allrounder
Batting style: Right-hand bat
Bowling style: Right-arm medium
Mat Inns NO Runs HS Ave BF SR 100 50 4s 6s Ct St
73 60 12 1123 68 23.39 849 132.27 0 4 73 66 36 0
Mat Inns NO Runs HS Ave BF SR 100 50 4s 6s Ct St
501 450 126 10000 104 30.86 6641 150.57 1 49 647 652 288 0
Mat Inns Balls Runs Wkts BBI BBM Ave Econ SR 4w 5w 10w
73 48 654 919 35 4/25 4/25 26.25 8.43 18.6 1 0 0
Mat Inns Balls Runs Wkts BBI BBM Ave Econ SR 4w 5w 10w
501 322 4974 6798 279 4/15 4/15 24.36 8.20 17.8 6 0 0
A hard-hitting batsman and wicketkeeper, Jos Butler, is seen as a player who has everything to succeed in the shorter formats of the game.
Butler has been able to score all around the ground. This has earned him the tag of being a "360-degree" cricketer, as in he can hit the ball in any direction within the available 360-degree of the ground.
Butler got his first international call-up when he was named in the senior England squad for the Twenty20 International against the touring Indian team in September 2011. Butler made his debut as a batsman and not as a wicketkeeper.
Following the match against India, Butler retained his place in the team and went on to play against the touring West Indies side later the same season. Butler has been known mostly as a T20 specialist for England but has broken into the One-Day International and Test teams recently, with the selectors having faith he shows the necessary tools to adapt to any given format.
Full name: Joseph Charles Buttler
Born: September 8, 1990 (29), Taunton, Somerset
Major teams: England, Comilla Victorians, England Development Programme Under-19s, England Lions, England Performance Programme, England Performance Programme XI, England Under-19s, Khulna Royal Bengals, Lancashire, Melbourne Renegades, Mumbai Cricket Association XI, Mumbai Indians, Rajasthan Royals, Somerset, Somerset 2nd XI, Sydney Thunder
Playing role: Wicketkeeper batsman
Batting style: Right-hand bat
Fielding position: Wicketkeeper
Mat Inns NO Runs HS Ave BF SR 100 50 4s 6s Ct St
69 61 11 1334 73* 26.68 955 139.68 0 8 114 55 25 4
Mat Inns NO Runs HS Ave BF SR 100 50 4s 6s Ct St
252 231 41 5782 95* 30.43 3995 144.73 0 40 501 241 137 27
With the ability to bowl a sort of an in-slider with the new ball to right-handers, Imad Wasim provides Pakistan with a very handy option to start off the bowling attack, before coming back in the middle stages to strangle the run-rate with his tight nagging lines. Imad doesn't really turn the ball a lot, and so relies on accuracy and variation in pace to be successful.
The list of accolades for the wily southpaw is a long one. He was a long-term skipper for Pakistan at the age-group levels. He has also led Islamabad for a decent period of time. And when his T20I debut happened, the backdrop was historic. Cricket had returned to Pakistan after six years and Imad Wasim got a T20I cap in the second game of the series. Pakistan won that close encounter and the series 2-0.
Full name: Syed Imad Wasim
Born: December 18, 1988 (31), Swansea, Glamorgan, Wales
Major teams: Pakistan, Abu Dhabi United, Barbados Tridents, Barisal Bulls, Chattogram Challengers, Comilla Victorians, FATA Region, Federal Areas Leopards, Islamabad, Islamabad Leopards, Islamabad Region, Jamaica Tallawahs, Karachi Kings, Maratha Arabians, Nottinghamshire, Pakistan Cricket Academy, Pakistan Under-19s, Punjab Badshahs, Sind
Playing role: Allrounder
Batting style: Left-hand bat
Bowling style: Slow left-arm orthodox
Mat Inns Balls Runs Wkts BBI BBM Ave Econ SR 4w 5w 10w
43 42 912 908 42 5/14 5/14 21.61 5.97 21.7 1 1 0
Mat Inns Balls Runs Wkts BBI BBM Ave Econ SR 4w 5w 10w
177 171 3595 3819 153 5/14 5/14 24.96 6.37 23.4 1 1 0
One of the most explosive all-rounders of the modern era, Ben Stokes's energy is infectious on the cricket field. He is extremely passionate about everything that he does.
In the World T20 held in India, he was at the receiving end of Carlos Brathwaite's broad willow as he was smacked for four sixes in the last over of the final at Eden Gardens. Stokes was shattered as West Indies clinched the title.
Despite the World T20 setback, Stokes' career has progressed in remarkable fashion. A genuine seam-bowling all-rounder who has the ability to hit big shots is a priceless commodity in the T20 format. Therefore, it wasn’t a surprise when Ben Stokes fetched earth-shattering numbers at the 2017 Indian Premier League (IPL) auction. He was picked up by the Rising Pune Supergiants and in his maiden IPL season, the charismatic Englishman showed he was worth all the money.
Full name: Benjamin Andrew Stokes
Born: June 4, 1991 (29), Christchurch, Canterbury, New Zealand
Major teams: England, Canterbury, Durham, Durham 2nd XI, England Development Programme Under-19s, England Lions, England Performance Programme, England Performance Programme XI, England Under-19s, Melbourne Renegades, Rajasthan Royals, Rising Pune Supergiant
Playing role: Allrounder
Batting style: Left-hand bat
Bowling style: Right-arm fast-medium
Mat Inns NO Runs HS Ave BF SR 100 50 4s 6s
26 23 6 305 47* 17.94 227 134.36 0 0 25 13
Mat Inns NO Runs HS Ave BF SR 100 50 4s 6s
123 113 19 2330 103* 24.78 1720 135.46 1 8 180 102
Mat Inns Balls Runs Wkts BBI BBM Ave Econ SR 4w 5w 10w
26 21 388 571 14 3/26 3/26 40.78 8.82 27.7 0 0 0
Mat Inns Balls Runs Wkts BBI BBM Ave Econ SR 4w 5w 10w
123 87 1537 2156 68 4/16 4/16 31.70 8.41 22.6 1 0 0
Former West Indies captain Daren Sammy has a very tangible effect on the teams he plays on. Outside of the Hero Caribbean Premier League, the team Sammy plays on, wins.
This is no accident either. Sammy has the ability to fill his teammates with self-belief and help drive them to a consistency of performance that generally results in trophies.
To add to that ability, which made him the first West Indies captain to claim two World titles since Clive Lloyd won a second World Cup in 1979.
Outside of his ability to motivate and good acumen as a captain, Sammy is also a fearsome striker of the ball and a very steady seam bowler.
Asa bowler there is not a lot of variation to Sammy’s bowling, the medium-pacer coming up at a time when a consistent line and length were the order of the day. That may speak to why his bowling in the T20 arena tailed off toward the latter part of his career.
Today, Sammy plays sparingly and when he does, he doesn’t bowl but is still good enough for dangerous cameos with the bat.
Full name: Daren Julius Garvey Sammy
Born: December 20, 1983 (36), Micoud, St Lucia
Major teams: West Indies, Brampton Wolves, Glamorgan, Hobart Hurricanes, Kings XI Punjab, Northern Windward Islands, Nottinghamshire, Peshawar Zalmi, Rajshahi Kings, Royal Challengers Bangalore, St Lucia, St Lucia Zouks, Stanford Superstars, Sunrisers Hyderabad, Toronto Nationals, University of West Indies Vice Chancellor's XI, Windward Islands, World-XI
Playing role: Allrounder
Batting style: Right-hand bat
Bowling style: Right-arm medium
Mat Inns NO Runs HS Ave BF SR 100 50 4s 6s
68 52 18 587 42* 17.26 398 147.48 0 0 45 31
Mat Inns NO Runs HS Ave BF SR 100 50 4s 6s
308 259 74 3876 71* 20.95 2780 139.42 0 6 251 235
Mat Inns Balls Runs Wkts BBI BBM Ave Econ SR 4w 5w 10w
68 59 916 1116 44 5/26 5/26 25.36 7.31 20.8 1 1 0
Mat Inns Balls Runs Wkts BBI BBM Ave Econ SR 4w 5w 10w
308 217 3405 4498 159 5/26 5/26 28.28 7.92 21.4 2 1 0
Daniel Vettori is a master of drift, subtle variations in flight, speed and length. The combination makes him a fabulous T20 bowler. Add his lower-order batting to that equation and you have yourself a hell of an addition to your T20 line-up.
Easily, one of New Zealand’s greatest-ever cricketers, Vettori is considered the greatest exponent of left-arm orthodox spin since Bishen Singh Bedi.
Often bearing the brunt of being New Zealand’s sole wicket-taker except when Shane Bond would play, had the added bonus of making him very marketable as the face of the Kiwi side and soon the Indian Premier League (IPL) would come calling.
Vettori was bought for US$625,000 in the inaugural season of the IPL by the Delhi Daredevils with teammate and skipper Virender Sehwag calling him the best spinner in the world. He would go on to captain the Royal Challengers Bangalore, leading them to the 2011 final.
Full name: Daniel Luca Vettori
Born: January 27, 1979 (41), Auckland
Major teams: New Zealand, Delhi Daredevils, ICC World XI, Jamaica Tallawahs, Northern Districts, Nottinghamshire, Queensland, Royal Challengers Bangalore, Warwickshire
Playing role: Allrounder
Batting style: Left-hand bat
Bowling style: Slow left-arm orthodox
Mat Inns Balls Runs Wkts BBI BBM Ave Econ SR 4w 5w 10w
34 34 787 748 38 4/20 4/20 19.68 5.70 20.7 1 0 0
Mat Inns Balls Runs Wkts BBI BBM Ave Econ SR 4w 5w 10w
143 143 3236 3424 131 4/20 4/20 26.13 6.34 24.7 1 0 0
Yuvraj Singh, like many of the greats, was a man ahead of his time. He was showing the world the fine art of attacking with almost reckless abandon but doing so with a kind of consistency that defies logic.
An elegant stroke maker, Yuvraj was an instant hit in One-Day Internationals, counterattacking some of the greatest bowling attacks in the world with much success.
What was more, Yuvraj seemed to relish the big occasion, saving his best efforts for the not just the big teams, but for the moments that count against those teams.
Yuvraj and a young Mahendra Singh Dhoni, over the few years following the former’s 2000 debut, set about making India’s middle-order something to be feared. The duo helping to chase down some of the biggest totals in ODI cricket.
Then came the advent of the T20 game in 2007. Yuvraj’s transition was instant.
He went to the inaugural World T20 and to date, there are very few to have matched his strokeplay during that tournament.
Yuvraj would become the first Indian to hit six sixes in an over on his way to winning the inaugural tournament.
Yuvraj’s career suffered later on after a battle with cancer made his appearances few and far in between. He never recovered the form he had shown earlier in his career but every now and then, there was a masterpiece.
Full name: Yuvraj Singh
Born: December 12, 1981 (38), Chandigarh
Major teams: India, Asia XI, Delhi Daredevils, India A, Kings XI Punjab, Mumbai Indians, Pune Warriors, Punjab, Royal Challengers Bangalore, Sunrisers Hyderabad, Toronto Nationals, Yorkshire
Playing role: Middle-order batsman
Batting style: Left-hand bat
Bowling style: Slow left-arm orthodox
Mat Inns NO Runs HS Ave BF SR 100 50 4s 6s
58 51 9 1177 77* 28.02 863 136.38 0 8 77 74
Mat Inns NO Runs HS Ave BF SR 100 50 4s 6s
231 216 27 4857 83 25.69 3772 128.76 0 27 386 261
West Indies opener Evin Lewis just missed out on a place in the final six of SportsMax’s Ultimate XI T20 Edition earlier today.
SportsMax, ahead of the start of the Hero Caribbean Premier League (CPL), has been taking a look at what an all-time T20 team would look like.
In doing so, as the sports broadcasting powerhouse has done with its Ultimate XI Football, Test and ODI cricket teams, the SportsMax Zone has enlisted the help of a panel of experts, as well as a voting public to help with the decision-making.
Fans, called Fanalysts have a 30% weighted vote on who makes SportsMax’s Ultimate XI T20 team, with the SportsMax Zone having another 30% of the vote. The panel of experts’ vote will count for 40% of the overall votes.
Fanlysts can vote by clicking here or going to SportsMax.tv and just clicking on the Ultimate XI tab at the top of the screen.
SportsMax.tv has also built a list of profiles where Fanalysts can go to have a look at the careers of the players who have made the SportsMax Ultimate XI shortlist just in case you want to learn a little more about the players before making your choice. To take a look at those players click here.
Today, a panel of Kerry Scott, former cricketer, Chris Taylor, cricket umpire, commentator and expert, along with Sachin Ramsubhag, cricket commentator, had the unenviable task of whittling down a list of 13 potential openers to a final six for discussion on Friday, where a final pairing will be picked.
The 13 shortlisted for all-time best T20 openers were Indians, Rohit Sharma, KL Rahul and Shikhar Dhawan; New Zealanders, Martin Guptill and Brendon McCullum; Australians, Aaron Finch, David Warner, and Shane Watson; South African, Quinton de Kock; Sri Lankan, Tillakaratne Dilshan, as well as West Indians, Chris Gayle, Evin Lewis, and Lendl Simmons.
The team were certain there were places for Sharma, Finch, Warner, Gayle, and McCullum.
However, difficulty arose when it came time to choose one from Lewis, Guptill and Rahul.
Guptill was the first to go with Scott and Ramsubhag overruling Taylor to go with Rahul over Lewis.
Meaning the final six for discussion are Gayle, Sharma, Rahul, Finch, Warner, and McCullum.
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