Chloe Amanda Bailey, the famous Australian sports journalist, was recently interviewed by Jay Bhavsar.
Bhavsar is a journalist in the making who allows avid cricket fans to express themselves. In his interview, the questions ranged from Chloe’s journey as a journalist to her love for the Indian cricket team.
Bhavsar also asked Chloe to name her all-time playing XI. Responding to him, Chloe was quick to point out that she has chosen her team based on modern-day cricket, and the list is a bit biased towards her favourite cricketers.
“Okay, let me just preface this with saying I have made this list on players from my living memory, and maybe it is slightly biased towards my favourite lads. You know me,” Chloe said.
She picked up Matthew Hayden and Kane Williamson as openers. Former Australian cricketer Hayden has the second most Test runs to his name as an opener. He was both aggressive and powerful as a batter, whereas Williamson is the current New Zealand captain who plays all formats and is at the top of the ICC’s Test Ranking for batsmen.
Next, she chose Sachin Tendulkar. One already knows that Tendulkar has been compared to legends like Sir Don Bradman and is regarded as the ‘God of Cricket.’
For the fourth position, Chloe couldn’t shy away from choosing Virat Kohli. The female presenter also made clear that she adores Kohli’s attitude on the field and the humility with which he carries himself off the field.
“I just think his(Kohli) personality resonates with a lot of people in Australia. He is an absolute entertainer. He is aggressive on the field, yet as soon as he is off it, he is so gracious and humble. I like watching his post-match interviews because he is always so level-headed and accepting of whatever the outcome of the match. But also, have you seen his cover drive?” Chloe asserted.
In the third-down position, Chloe opted for Steve Smith. Smith is one of the Australian greats on the making and is known for his unorthodox technique and resilience.
Ben Stokes and Adam Gilchrist landed at the sixth and seventh position on her list. While Stokes is currently ranked numero-uno in the ICC ODI all-rounder rankings, Gilchrist was famous for his aggressive style of cricket and wicket-keeping skills.
In the bowling department, Brett Lee, Jasprit Bumrah and Glenn McGrath made it to the pacers list, and Shane Warne was the sole spinner in it.
While McGrath was known for deceiving batters with his bounce and length, Bumrah is an ingenious death bowler known for his toe-crushing yorkers. Lee is one the quickest pacers the world has ever known, and Warne is remembered for bowling six different variations in the same over.
Here is Chloe’s all-time playing XI:
Matthew Hayden, Kane Williamson, Sachin Tendulkar, Virat Kohli (c), Steve Smith, Ben Stokes, Adam Gilchrist (WK), Brett Lee, Shane Warne, Jasprit Bumrah, Glenn McGrath.
