Melbourne, Jan 3: Sachin Tendulkar, M S Dhoni, Virender Sehwag and Zaheer Khan find a place in commentator and former Australia captain Ian Chappell’s ‘World XI 2010’. Not a single Australian features in a line-up that also boasts of five South Africans cricketers.
Explaining the downfall of Australian cricket, Chappell wrote in his column in ‘The Daily Telegraph’, "It's been a slippery dip for Australia since the retirement of bowlers Shane Warne and Glenn McGrath. The ride gathered pace when Adam Gilchrist and Matthew Hayden called it a day. They have now hit the sand pit because of the struggles of the one player who kept the brake on the downhill ride, Ricky Ponting".
"Four years ago the Australian cricket team was cock-a-hoop. They'd regained the Ashes and had accentuated their superiority by smashing England at the MCG on the way to an eventual 5-0 series victory. Now the team is in tatters and it's best illustrated by a comparison of World XIs chosen at the end of the calendar year," he added. "In 2006, Australia had six players in the XI, with Brett Lee 12th man. In the 2010 side, no Australian made the XI and Shane Watson is the 12th man,” he wrote.
While pondering on the plight of Australian cricketers, Chappell showered praises on the ones who had made it to his XI and gave solid reasons for their selection.
On Sehwag, who he had recently likened to Sir Don Bradman, he wrote, "A dashing opener who can win a game in the opening session of a Test. The most dangerous batsman in world cricket". Appreciating the balance with which Sachin Tendulkar has ruled world cricket for over 20 years and comparing him to Ricky Ponting, he wrote, "Unlike Ponting, Tendulkar defied the advancing years and enjoyed a tremendous resurgence. He even rediscovered the art of dominating bowlers".
While praising India captain Dhoni’s leadership and citing it as a reason for his making it to the World XI Chappell said, "Dhoni has batted consistently, scoring runs when India need them and doing an adequate job with the gloves. He's a calm leader with some flair".
"Zaheer is a left-armer who has developed into a dangerous bowler with both the new and old ball. He performs well against good opposition," he added explaining that the bowler’s skill, along with consistency, finds him a place in the XI.
The South Africans that made to his list are captain Graeme Smith, batting main-stay Hashim Amla, all-rounder Jacques Kallis, batting star AB de Villiers and pacer Dale Steyn. "Smith is a solid opener who has the knack of making the tough runs when they're really needed. Hashim Amla is a player who really blossomed in 2010. He mastered the knack of scoring centuries and at an improved run rate," he elucidated.
"Kallis' churned out runs with his usual efficiency, displayed a safe pair of hands and bowled with some of his old pace and fire," he added.
"De Villiers came of age. His ability to accelerate the scoring rate stood out like a beacon in a predominantly average-conscious South African team," he further added.
From the England team, spinner Graeme Swann and Jimmy Anderson made it to Chappell’s XI as part of the bowling attack. Swann found a place in the side because he was a “probing and accurate spinner.” Furthermore, he was "a most improved attacking bowler who confirmed his progress with another successful year.” As for James Amderson, "[He] swings the ball both ways at a respectable pace and has greatly improved his accuracy. Along with Steyn, he's proved the worth of swinging the new ball".
