We are just a month away from the start of the ICC Cricket World Cup and the fans and spectators are eagerly waiting for the start of the quadrennial event. It will be the 12th Cricket World Cup for men and all the 10 participating teams will be eager to hold the coveted title. It will be a new format and all teams will play each other in a round robin format.
The top 4 teams from the league stage will go through to the semi-finals. The quadrennial event will be played in England and Wales from 30th May. In the first match of the tournament, it will be hosts England who will take on South Africa in the opening clash of the tournament. This will be the 5th time England will host the quadrennial event.
Meanwhile ahead of the showpiece event, ESPN Cricinfo released their all time World Cup XI and only a solitary Indian in the form of birthday boy Sachin Tendulkar finds a place in the Playing XI. In the released players list, Sachin Tendulkar will open the innings Adam Gilchrist. The latter will also be the wicket-keeper in the team.
Former Aussie skipper Ricky Ponting will occupy the 3rd spot. Australia being the most successful team in World Cup with 5 world cup titles have 4 players in the XI. There are a couple of Sri Lankans and a solitary West Indian player. Former Pakistan skipper Imran Khan will lead the team. Despite winning the first two editions of the World Cup, only one name from Windies finds a name in the XI.
Wasim Akram will lead the pace attack while Lance Klusener has been designated as an all-rounder. Glenn McGrath is another fast bowler while Shane Warne and Muttiah Muralitharan will be the two spinners in the XI.
Here is ESPNCricinfo’s all-time World Cup XI:
Adam Gilchrist (wk)
Matches 31 Runs 1085 Average 36.16 Strike Rate 98.01 Dismissals 52
Sachin Tendulkar
Matches 45 Runs 2278 Ave 56.95 SR 88.98 100s/50s 6/15
Ricky Ponting
Matches 46 Runs 1743 Ave 45.86 SR 79.95 100s/50s 5/6
Sachin Tendulkar (L) and Ricky Ponting made it to the team (Credits: Getty)
Viv Richards
Matches 23 Runs 1013 Ave 63.31 SR 85.05 100s/50s 3/5
Kumar Sangakkara
Matches 37 Runs 1532 Ave 56.74 SR 86.55 100s/50s 5/7
Imran Khan (c)
Matches 28 Runs 666 Ave 35.05 Wickets 34 Ave 19.26
Lance Klusener
Matches 14 Runs 372 Ave 124.00 Wickets 22 Ave 22.13
Wasim Akram
Matches 38 Wickets 55 Ave 23.83 Economy Rate 4.04 4s/5s 2/1
Shane Warne
Matches 17 Wickets 32 Ave 19.50 ER 3.83 4s/5s 4/0
Muttiah Muralitharan
Matches 40 Wickets 68 Ave 19.63 ER 3.88 4s/5s 4/0
Glenn McGrath
Matches 39 Wickets 71 Average 18.19 ER 3.96 4s/5s 0/2