The entire world is dealing with Coronavirus pandemic and sport has been severely hit. Many events have been cancelled, and sporting heroes are passing the time at their homes by following the self-isolation concept.
In the process, cricketers, as well as various cricket boards and cricketing bodies, are engaging with their fans on social media platforms. Recently, the International Cricket Council (ICC) took to it’s official Twitter handle and asked people to name their dream team. A team which they would watch for the rest of their life.
Several fans responded to the tweet and came up with their respective teams, including former England cricketer Graeme Swann. The off-spinner replied to ICC and revealed his dream team. He picked 11 players, and out of which, five were English cricketers and three Australians. The Northampton-born selected one each from India, Pakistan, and New Zealand.
Swann went for England’s Colin Milburn and New Zealand’s Martin Crowe as his openers. Milburn’s inclusion was a bit surprising as he had only played 9 Tests in his career.
Swann had options like England’s highest Test run-scorer (12,472) Alastair Cook; still, he went for Milburn. Crowe, on the other hand, featured in 77 Tests, where the right-handed batsman scored 5444 runs with 299 being his best. He is regarded as one of the greatest Kiwi cricketers.
For the middle-order, Swann decided to pick Sir Don Bradman at number three and Mark Waugh for the following place. For the number five position, the offie went with one of the greatest Indian batsman Sachin Tendulkar. The little master is the only Indian who has been included in Swann’s team.
Former England captain Ian Botham fills in the role of an all-rounder in Swann’s XI, while Alan Knott is the wicket-keeper. Both are considered as legends in English cricket.
Among bowlers, Swann went for one of the fastest bowlers ever, Harold Larwood. The right-armer played 21 Tests for England and took 78 wickets. Apart from Larwood, Swann picked one of the greatest Pakistani bowlers Wasim Akram. Just like Tendulkar, Akram is also the only Pakistan player in Swann’s team.
Swann has named England’s highest wicket-taker James Anderson as the other pacer. The Lancashire County bowler has 584 scalps to his name.
Another great Australian in Swann’s XI is none other than Shane Warne. The former leg-spinner is the second-highest wicket-taker in the history of red-ball cricket, taking as many as 708 wickets.
Here is Graeme Swann’s XI:
Colin Milburn, Martin Crowe, Don Bradman, Mark Waugh, Sachin Tendulkar, Ian Botham, Alan Knott, Shane Warne, Harold Larwood, Wasim Akram and James Anderson.
1.Milburn
2.Crowe
3.Bradman
4.Mark Waugh
5.Tendulkar
6.Botham
7.Knott
8.Warne
9.Larwood
10.Akram
11.Anderson— Graeme Swann (@Swannyg66) March 29, 2020
