How many spots are up for grabs in an all-time WI eleven?

[AFRO]

It's something that i've often thought about, the amount of greats we've had over the years is truly astonishing and i actually think our reserve all-time eleven team could be better than most others FIRST eleven!! , anyway lets look at it for a second,

Many peoples all-time eleven looks like this..

Greenidge
Haynes
Headley
Richards
Lara
Sobers
Dujon (wk)
Ambrose
Holding
Marshall
Gibbs/Garner

Obviously many people wouldn't feel comfortable leaving out the three "W's" but i think that middle order is just too good, i think someone would have to be a world-beater to get any of those names out of the side to be honest, i do think there is three places that are vulnerable though, and those places are filled by Haynes, Dujon and Gibbs/Garner,

Now let me start with Haynes, he was great to watch and obviously him and Greenidge often laid the foundations for others to take advantage of, but with an average of just 42 i think that leaves the door open for someone, and that someone i'm thinking about is one Kraigg Brathwaite!! , he's already got his first 50 aged 18, so you can imagine what he will be doing when he's 23 or so!! , i think he's gonna be a serious threat to Haynes's position by the time he's 28,

Then we have Duj, great batter and did well with the gloves, his average is 31 which is decent for a wicketkeeper but when you look at the likes of Adam Gilchrist he proved what a massive impact a keeper-batsman can have on a team, so if we have a keeper that comes along and averages somewhere in the high 30s to mid 40s then Duj spot is gone,

Lastly the Gibbs/Garner spot, i put them side to side because many people think we should have a spinner in the team while others believe that Garner was the bowler who had the bigger impact so he should be in, my view is that spot should go to a spinner, Gibbs was good but a spinner in the Warne/Murali class would really put the icing on this all-time eleven imo, whether we'll ever produce a spinner in that class remains to be seen, Bishoo has started well but if i had to bet now then i'd say Narine might be the one, i just think he's got that same ability to captivate people like Warne and Murali did, it was evident in the champions league where Commentators and Indian fans alike were raving about him.

[mapoui]

Greenidge
Haynes
Headley
Richards
Lara
Sobers
Dujon (wk)
Ambrose
Holding
Marshall
Gibbs/Garner

yu have bite a big issue here. yu will get plenty argument over Walcott who was a giant of a batsman boy. if Walcott played in Lloyds time he wud be second to none in the history of the game.

against Oz in 1955 wen westindies got wood from start to finish that man stood up and scored 5 tons in one series..against the absolute best in the world..great players like Lindwall and Miller.

yu ought to get some argument over Kanhai as well, a most deserving consideration. Kanhai did not take the time to score about 2-3K more runs which was well within his reach. had he done so there would be no argument about hs place

in the keeping nobody yet better than Hendricks was, who cud bat as well, much more than dan to save his life. saved westindies several times with the bat

my keeping list in order of quality is Hendricks, Alexander, David Murray, Dujon, Ridley Jacobs, Mike Findley, Deryck Murray, Desmond Lewis, Ivan Mendonza, David Williams.

in the pace I see Macco as first, Ambrose, Holding,Garner, Roberts, Croft, Walsh, Hall, Griffith, Gilchrist. so we coincide with the first three.
I must also add at least Fredericks at the top of the order if not Hunte as well

[mapoui]

I wud 3 changes...Fredericks for Haynes. Haynes was terrific but Fredericks was great..the tuffer the opposition the more he was sure to score.

my keeper would be Hendricks the best keeper/bastman the westindies has produced.

and I wud straight-up include gibbs and not a fourth pacer. gibbs as spinner was as great a bowler..or greater... than any of the pace he beats out

so my side... with bows to Walcott and kanhai:

Fredricks
Greenidge
Richards
headley
Lara
Sobers
Hendricks
Marshall
Holding
Ambrose
Gibbs

[AFRO]

I wud 3 changes...Fredericks for Haynes. Haynes was terrific but Fredericks was great..the tuffer the opposition the more he was sure to score.

my keeper would be Hendricks the best keeper/bastman the westindies has produced.

and I wud straight-up include gibbs and not a fourth pacer. gibbs as spinner was as great a bowler..or greater... than any of the pace he beats out

so my side... with bows to Walcott and kanhai:

Fredricks
Greenidge
Richards
headley
Lara
Sobers
Hendricks
Marshall
Holding
Ambrose
Gibbs

But Hendriks average with the bat was only 18 though!! , can he really be considered better than Duj? imo an all-time eleven should have players who have brilliant records and took WI cricket to another level,

Like i said above out of the players today i think Brathwaite and Narine may have a chance of being all-time greats if they fulfill their potential.

[mapoui]

well if not hendricks Alexander.

I gave yu my list of keepers. duje is fourth! and Deryck Murray is way down.

the career that wud have surpassed dem all is david Murray the Bajan. he degraded into kruggerands from apartheid, then drugs.

a sorry end to a very talented cricketer. but he played enuff to be rated very highly

[BallOil]

What is allyuh criteria for selection?

[mapoui]

well AFRO is clear. mine is a lil more greyish.

I know Hendricks was one of the greatest keepers to have played the game. but his batting was a lil weak although he popoped up in the savious role when westindies needed runs.

alexander was great, one of the best aganinst pace but not so good to spin. Dujon too! alexander turned out to be an excellent batsman by the time he called it quits. Duje was a batsman who turned himself into a keeper

David Murray as all-round and a very good batsman though not quite as good with the bat as Dujon and alexander ultimately. but he did not play enuff and lost his head and his life to drugs

I admit my bias for hendricks but I have to make a compromise and take the next best man...alexander.

but I nah budge from alexander because he was a better keeper than Dujon and a very good batsman though not of Dujes class with the bat. I will let the keeping tip in alexanders favour

[mapoui]

I prolly have a bias too for Fredericks over haynes.

haynes may have been technically superior to Fredericks and had an apparent emotional advantage in that he adjusted himslf to game conditions seemingly at will.

when haynes had to grind it was no problem. Fredericks could grind too and did it a lot. but his propensity especially late in his career was to attack bowling...any bowling at all in all conditions.

Haynes is prolly the correct pick but I cant forget that 169 at Perth with against the Oz 4-prong.

the fastest bowlers in the world, one prolly the fastest ever.... on a lightening fast surface, the umps on their side and the crowd baying for blood...and Fredricks, mano ah mano, hooking lightening off his nose.

one of the greatest sights ever in test cricket.

I dont think Haynes could have done that. I dont think he was good enuff.

so Fredericks.

and so you see my criteria

[Westdem]

I wud 3 changes...Fredericks for Haynes. Haynes was terrific but Fredericks was great..the tuffer the opposition the more he was sure to score.

my keeper would be Hendricks the best keeper/bastman the westindies has produced.

and I wud straight-up include gibbs and not a fourth pacer. gibbs as spinner was as great a bowler..or greater... than any of the pace he beats out

so my side... with bows to Walcott and kanhai:

Fredricks
Greenidge
Richards
headley
Lara
Sobers
Hendricks
Marshall
Holding
Ambrose
Gibbs

Loke your alltime team but I won't pick Holding...I have to give Walsh de edge there...The wicketkeeping spot will have de most debate...I will put Deryck Murray there...

[mikesiva]

It's not fair to compare batting averages in the 1970s and 1980s to nowadays....

Sabina Park and Kensington Oval, for example, heavily favoured pace bowling, while nowadays pitches around the world are better for batting on, even Perth, which also used to be a pace bowler's dream pitch! So, when Greenidge, Haynes and Dujon average in and around the 40s in Test cricket, that's probably equivalent to 50s in Test cricket nowadays.

To give you a comparison: there's no way you can tell me that Samaraweera's a better batsman that Greenidge or Haynes....