Picking an All-Time XI That Will Beat the Wisden XI

When the Wisden Cricketers' Almanack says jump, the cricket world asks how high.

And that was the case when the famous yellow book recently named an all-time World Test XI to celebrate 150 years of publication.

Unsurprisingly, such a high-profile list prompted much discussion with the number of Englishmen and the abundance of players from the first half of the 20th century causing debate.

Anyway, in this article, Bleacher Report picks a team who could take on and beat Wisden's official XI in a hypothetical match.

(And because we are picking second, we also choose the venue and conditions.)

Wisden XI

Firstly, let's take a look at the mighty opposition as selected by Wisden...

Wisden World XI

1: Jack Hobbs 

Nobody will ever score more than the 61,760 first-class runs Sir Jack scored in his epic career that carried on into the England batsman's 50s. His 5,410 runs at 56.94 in Test Matches isn't bad either.

2: WG Grace 

One of the great characters of the game and also another epic run-accumulator, WG Grace would combine with Hobbs to make a formidable opening partnership.

3: Don Bradman (c)

Arguably the greatest cricketer who has ever lived, a second-ball duck in his last ever innings robbed "The Don" of a triple-figure lifetime Test average.

4: Sachin Tendulkar

The Little Master, who will retire after India's forthcoming series with the West Indies, has scored a century of international centuries and is the current leading run scorer in Test match history.

5: Vivian Richards 

The original master blaster, Sir Viv scored the small matter of 114 first-class centuries, 24 of which were at Test level. Any innings by the Antiguan was pure theatre.

6: Garry Sobers 

Perhaps the greatest all-rounder ever, Sobers scored 8,000 Test runs at 57.78 while also contributing 235 wickets at 34.03 from a mix of spin and fast-medium pace bowling.

7: Alan Knott (wk)

His skill with the gloves aside, Knott has 269 Test dismissals to his name. And playing in an era when wicketkeepers were simply backstops his batting average of 32.75 set the England man apart from his peers.

8: Wasim Akram 

Akram's lethal left-arm pace accounted for 414 wickets at 23.62 and his ability to move the ball made him a handful on any pitch. The Pakistani was no mug with the bat either and strengthens the lower batting order.

9: Shane Warne

Undoubtedly the greatest leg-spinner who ever played the game, Warne has 708 wickets at 25.41 to make him the second most successful bowler in Test cricket history.

10: Malcolm Marshall 

When many old pros get asked who was the toughest paceman they ever faced the answer often seems to be Malcolm Marshall. His haul of 376 wickets at 20.94 back this up.

11: Sydney Barnes 

Although he only played 27 matches, Sydney Barnes was widely regarded by his contemporaries as the greatest bowler in Test cricket and took 189 wickets at 16.43.

OK, so no doubt about it: It's a formidable side. But there are some chinks in the armour. And is there space in the changing room for the egos of WG Grace, Viv Richards and Shane Warne?

Here's a side that could beat them...

1: Geoffrey Boycott

Matches: 108

Runs: 8114

Average: 47.72

Imagine the scene: Don Bradman wins the toss and elects to field under grey, overcast skies. A dream bowling tandem of Malcolm Marshall and Wasim Akram are warming up smelling wickets.

Then, the redoubtable Geoffrey Boycott emerges from the pavilion with a look of determination and intense concentration on his face, wielding his bat like an impenetrable barrier.

Yorkshire's favourite son scored over 50,000 first-class runs in his long career and registered 151 centuries including 22 at Test match level.

As well as a relentless appetite for runs, Boycott's ability to get under the skin of almost every person he crosses paths with, should add some spice to this enticing hypothetical spectacle.

2: Sunil Gavaskar

Matches: 125

Runs: 10,122

Average: 51.12

Following Sir Geoffrey Boycott into the middle is another player who would strike fear into the hearts of Wisden's All-time XI. One of the most single-minded miner of runs who ever played a forward defensive; Sunil Gavaskar.

Arguably the most successful opener ever, the Indian racked up 34 tons in a career that helped establish his country as a competitive Test match-playing nation.

Possessing a full complement of strokes but happy to rein in exuberance for the sake of crease occupation, even in a key limited-overs match, Gavaskar's partnership with Boycott would grind down any bowler's will to live let alone bowl. And probably the spectators too, for that matter.

3: Barry Richards

Matches: 4

Runs: 508

Average: 72.57

Looking more like an extra in an Aussie soap opera than a sportsman, Barry Richards name barely creates a ripple in the history of Test cricket.

But speak to anyone who played with or against him and they will say the South African was perhaps the great batsman of his era. In fact, legendary umpire Dickie Bird chose him as opener in his dream team.

Eighty centuries in 339 first-class games provide an indication of Richards' ability and the nine tons he reached before lunch are evidence of his aggression.

In the four Tests he managed, before the Apartheid era led to South Africa being banned from international cricket, Richards flayed a strong Australian attack to clock up 508 runs.

To fit into this team, Richards drops to number three, just for the pure comic pleasure of seeing Boycott and Gavaskar open together.

4: Brian Lara

Matches: 131

Runs: 11,953

Average: 52.88

Alongside Sachin Tendulkar, West Indies legend Brian Lara is considered the best batsman of modern cricket.

With strokes all round the wicket and an ability that enabled him to toy with international quality opposition bowlers, the Trinidadian scored nearly 12,000 Test runs.

Capable of playing long epic innings, Lara once scored 501 for Warwickshire to record the largest first-class score of all-time while his 400 not out against England in 2004 remains the highest score in Test cricket history.

Once Boycs, Sunny and Barry Richards had seen off the new ball the prospect of a batting Goliath such as Lara striding towards the wicket would surely get the scorer sharpening his pencil.

5: Jacques Kallis

Matches: 164

Runs: 13,140

Batting Average: 55.44

Wickets: 288

Bowling Average: 32.61

To this day, Jacques Kallis has his detractors, but it is hard to argue with the sheer numbers the burly all-rounder has posted over his stellar career.

The 38-year-old has compiled an incredible 44 centuries in his long career and needs just 239 runs to overtake Ricky Ponting to become the second highest run scorer of all time.

And when you add the South African's underrated bowling, which has procured 288 wickets at a miserly economy rate of 2.82, then Kallis becomes a must pick.

6: Ian Botham

Matches: 102

Runs: 5,200

Batting Average: 33.54

Wickets: 383

Bowling Average: 28.40

The match-winning talents and larger-than-life persona of Ian Botham would help galvanize this team and also aid in any drinking contests that could take place after the close of play.

Beefy averaged 33.54 with the bat and 28.40 with the ball, but he was one of those players whose contributions can't be measured by pure statistics alone.

His presence lifted his team's confidence and his aggressive style of play put the opposition on the back foot. Most cricket fans don't need to see the highlights of the famous 1981 Test again but...here they are anyway.

With bat, ball or even with his bucket-like catching in the slips, Botham was a game changer and who knows, he may also be needed to run out Boycott at some point.

7: Adam Gilchrist

Matches: 96

Runs: 5,570

Average: 47.60

Before Adam Gilchrist came along, a wicketkeeper's main job was to catch the ball behind the stumps while chipping in with the bat if possible.

But with his ultra-aggressive batting and permanent positive attitude Gilchrist changed the future requirements of the role. 

Whether hammering home an advantage against an already demoralised team or digging his side out of trouble from an under-par score, the Australian glovesman was a vital cog in their all-conquering team of the late twentieth century.

Gilchrist seems like a nice guy too which could be useful in keeping a potentially volatile dressing room under control.

8: Imran Khan (captain)

Matches: 88

Runs: 3,807

Batting Average: 37.69

Wickets: 362

Bowling Average: 22.81

Any team that has Imran Khan, who chalked up over 17,000 first-class runs, coming in at eight has a formidable batting line up. 

But his true value to this side is with the ball. Khan influenced a generation of pace bowlers from a spin-obsessed sub-continent with his ability to move the ball both ways and his legendary in-swinging yorker.

And with his wealth of experience from captaining Pakistan in 48 Tests and leading them to success in the 1992 World Cup, Khan is the ideal man to take charge of the Bleacher Report XI in this match.

9: Muttiah Muralitharan

Matches: 133

Wickets: 800

Average: 22.72

How could the world's leading Test wicket-taker not be in the Wisden All-time XI? Well, the man with 800 scalps in the highest form of the game is welcome in the Bleacher Report XI any day of the week.

Muttiah Muralitharan was almost unplayable both at home in Sri Lanka and on overseas tours to the likes of England, Australia and the Caribbean.

Although dogged by accusations of throwing throughout parts of his career, Murali was cleared by the ICC and led his country's bowling attack for many years.

Sure, Sir Don Bradman may average close to a hundred, but it's unlikely he ever had to face anyone like Muralitharan.

10: Glenn McGrath

Matches: 124

Wickets: 563

Average: 21.64

Glenn McGrath's modus operandi was simple: Aim for the off-stump while trying to pitch the ball on a good length for every single delivery. 

Rarely erring from this base strategy enabled the metronomic Australian to collect more than half a thousand wickets, all the while operating at a miserly economy rate of just 2.49.

Deadly with the new ball and a fearsome combatant who seemed to find a way of getting into opposing player's head, McGrath makes up one half of a fearsome opening Bleacher Report XI bowling partnership.

11: Curtly Ambrose

Matches: 98

Wickets: 405

Average: 20.99

Arguably the most intimidating of the pace bowler production line that was the West Indies in the '80s and '90s, Curtly Ambrose gave batsmen nightmares.

Preferring to do his talking on the pitch (according to cricinfo the fast bowler refused most interviews simply saying "Curtly speak to no man"), the 6'7" Antiguan released the ball with searing pace and steepling bounce from a height of almost 10 feet.

Ambrose's hostility and pace also prevented him going for many runs which, when combined with McGrath's relentless accuracy, would make this duo a nightmare pair for opening batsmen to face.

Venue and Conditions

Paul Kane/Getty Images

Venue

Welcome to the W.A.C.A. Ground, circa 1980-1993. With both sides boasting a mouthwatering array of talent it is difficult to imagine one particular wicket drastically suiting one team over another.

However, for this hypothetical situation, it's unlikely that the Wisden XI's top order will have faced the express pace and accuracy offered by the Bleacher XI's potent bowling attack on one of the fastest and most bounciest wickets in world cricket.

Indeed, Curtly Ambrose once took the incredible figures of 7 for 1 in Perth, while Glenn McGrath claimed a hat-trick there in 2001.

The surface would surely provide a real test for the older traditional players especially the portly WG Grace.

Conditions

Another benefit of it being in Perth, Australia is that the game would hopefully be played out under sunshine so as not to overly aid the movement of Sidney Barnes, Malcolm Marshall and Wasim Akram.

Result

Ryan Pierse/Getty Images

Result

Bleacher Report XI win by five wickets after chasing down a tricky low score in the fourth innings.

Man of the match: Ian Botham

Agree? Disagree? Let us know in the comments section.