Recently, there has been a spate of articles on different kinds of World 11s on Cricinfo. Aside from the usual, there have been some fairly interesting elevens chosen by Ram Guha and Ian Chappell. Cricketers are dour characters, compared to others sportsmen like footballers and tennis players. So, I thought I would come up with a list of the most flamboyant cricketers, crickets who were not only swashbucklers on the field, but lived life on the edge off it and captured public imagination like few others did.
Herschelle Gibbs - When in form, Gibbs was the most exciting South African batsman to watch post their reinstatement in international cricket. He had natural flair, was a sweet timer of the ball, not afraid to take the aerial route as evidenced by his six-hitting spree in the 2007 World-cup and at his best playing in the cover region. He was never a favorite of the coaches- not fond of net practice and believing in playing more by instinct than anything else. Off the field, he often courted controversy, being hauled for smoking marijuana and making racist comments and most notoriously, for being involved in the match-fixing scandal. As it turned out, he was not very reliable as a fixer, either, scoring a matchwinning 74 in the game he was supposed to throw.
Geoff Boycott - Many would dispute this choice for Boycott was anything but an exciting cricketer on field, known for his soporific batting. Yet, off field he remained an extremely unpopular and controversial figure for England's most accomplished batsman of the era, uncompromising in the way he played his cricket. He was known for his bad running between the wickets and his tendency to scream at his partner like a virago during mix-ups, getting a lot of his partners run out during his time. He went on a self imposed exile for a few years, while at the peak of his powers, probably due to being overlooked for English captaincy. Later in his career, he excused himself from fielding in a test match in India citing illness as the reason but was out playing golf while his teammates were still on field, later claiming he went to the golf course to get some fresh air on medical advice! Finally, he was banned for organizing a rebel tour to South African which ended his career. After retirement, he developed a successful career as a commentator, opinionated and often caustic. In his late life, he also revealed a Rhett Butler side to him, claiming he was being sued for assault by his former girlfriend as he refused to marry her, for he was 'not the marrying kind.'
Viv Richards - King Viv, widely acknowledged as the most destructive batsman ever to have played the game and probably the best player of ferocious fast bowling. Like Gavaskar, he never wore the helmet even while facing the like of Lillee, Thomson, Imran, Hadlee or the famed qaurtet of his own side. The word 'swagger' has not been used to describe anything more aptly as Richards' presence at the crease. He looked relaxed, with a ready smile and a general air of disdain. He was at times a fairly interesting character off the field; his affair and love-child with Neena Gupta are stuff of folklore but the incident that stands out for me is Richards scoring three ducks as a 16 year old in a domestic match. He was out for a duck in the first innings but refused to leave the field causing a mini-riot that he had to be recalled and scored another duck. He came back in the second innings and was out again for naught.
Brian Lara - Lara was the most stylish and easily one of the two best batsmen of his generation. Unlike Sachin, he was much more flashy with an extremely attractive back-lift and had the capacity to attack for extended periods of time. Where Richards was brutal, Lara used to dazzle and there was an air of performance about his batting. Off the field, he was often controversial with his love-child with a journalist, problems with authority and tiffs with the cricket board over sponsorship contracts.
MAK Pataudi - Tiger Pataudi was a prince - handsome and an attractive stroke maker, son of probably an even more accomplished batsman whose early death made him a Nawab at the age of 11, a one-eyed aristocrat who was then the youngest captain ever, married to the most glamorous actress of his age; everything about him had an air of romance which is exactly what the star-starved Indian fans needed in the 1960s. He was a very good batsman and would have been a great one but for the loss of one eye and led a weak team with a lot of pride.
Imran Khan - Imran at his peak could take the pitch out of equation, bowling full and swinging both the new and the old ball at a ferocious pace. Possibly the best all-rounder since Sir Gary Sobers, this speaks volumes for he played in the era of Botham, Hadlee and Kapil. He was an inspirational captain for Pakistan, always leading by example but could also be a divisive figure with his equation with Javed Miandad and his controversial speech on winning the World Cup. Off the field, there have been many faces of Imran, a regular in the London partying scene in his youth to a philanthropist to what would many would regard, as a failed politician.
Ian Botham - Sir Beefy is the ideal candidate for this team. He was, according to Mike Selvey, a double-O cricketer with a license to thrill. Botham was already a legend before he made his international debut. As a teenager, he had been hit by an Andy Roberts bouncer. Where others would have retired hurt, he spat out his broken teeth and won the match for Somerset. He was a man of extremes, who could be best in the world on his day but constantly in trouble over smoking marijuana, public spats with Imran Khan, Peter Roebuck and Ian Chappell and extra-marital affairs.
Godfrey Evans - Among the finest keepers the game has seen, Evans was the first to make tumbling while taking a catch fashionable. According to Herbert Strudwick, he sometimes made simple catches look difficult, yet made the nearly impossible look easy and was one of the rare keepers to fling themselves infront of the wicket to take the bat-pad catches. He was an interesting charcter off the field too, always full of energy, settling down with a drink for an evening at the piano after a hard day's play.
Shane Warne - Warne was the coolest cricketer of his generation, a rockstar. For someone who just takes a couple of steps to wicket and bowls, he could bring a surprising theatrical element to his bowling - getting the crowd behind him, sledging, playing mind-games and plotting the fall of batsmen. Be it his first Ashes ball, the traumatising of Daryl Cullinan or his ominous observations about Gibbs' tendency to throw the ball much too quickly after catching it, Warne was coolness, personified. Off the field, he always kept himself in news with his text-messages, smoking, declarations of yet another mystery ball or ruminations on John Buchanan.
Shoaib Akhtar - At worst, he couldn't really do much apart from hitting a teammate with a bat, allegedly slapping the coach, getting caught for ball-tampering and talking in a weird accent. At his average, he could turn in an odd fiery spell for Kolkata Knightriders and maybe, beat Salman Khan in a race. At his best, he left Dravid and Tendulkar dumbfounded and turned in the most exciting run up I have ever seen.
Dennis Lillee - Considered by many as 'the complete bowler,' Lillee combined talent with showmanship. He scarily fast and an exponent of swing and cut. His career almost ended when his back break down, yet he returned after months of physiotherapy and a remodelled action to becomes one the best ever seen. He also took time off from all this to get an aluminium bat made, kick Miandad and almost cause Gavaskar to stage a walk-out.
MAK Pataudi - Tiger Pataudi was a prince - handsome and an attractive stroke maker, son of probably an even more accomplished batsman whose early death made him a Nawab at the age of 11, a one-eyed aristocrat who was then the youngest captain ever, married to the most glamorous actress of his age; everything about him had an air of romance which is exactly what the star-starved Indian fans needed in the 1960s. He was a very good batsman and would have been a great one but for the loss of one eye and led a weak team with a lot of pride.
Imran Khan - Imran at his peak could take the pitch out of equation, bowling full and swinging both the new and the old ball at a ferocious pace. Possibly the best all-rounder since Sir Gary Sobers, this speaks volumes for he played in the era of Botham, Hadlee and Kapil. He was an inspirational captain for Pakistan, always leading by example but could also be a divisive figure with his equation with Javed Miandad and his controversial speech on winning the World Cup. Off the field, there have been many faces of Imran, a regular in the London partying scene in his youth to a philanthropist to what would many would regard, as a failed politician.
Ian Botham - Sir Beefy is the ideal candidate for this team. He was, according to Mike Selvey, a double-O cricketer with a license to thrill. Botham was already a legend before he made his international debut. As a teenager, he had been hit by an Andy Roberts bouncer. Where others would have retired hurt, he spat out his broken teeth and won the match for Somerset. He was a man of extremes, who could be best in the world on his day but constantly in trouble over smoking marijuana, public spats with Imran Khan, Peter Roebuck and Ian Chappell and extra-marital affairs.
Godfrey Evans - Among the finest keepers the game has seen, Evans was the first to make tumbling while taking a catch fashionable. According to Herbert Strudwick, he sometimes made simple catches look difficult, yet made the nearly impossible look easy and was one of the rare keepers to fling themselves infront of the wicket to take the bat-pad catches. He was an interesting charcter off the field too, always full of energy, settling down with a drink for an evening at the piano after a hard day's play.
Shane Warne - Warne was the coolest cricketer of his generation, a rockstar. For someone who just takes a couple of steps to wicket and bowls, he could bring a surprising theatrical element to his bowling - getting the crowd behind him, sledging, playing mind-games and plotting the fall of batsmen. Be it his first Ashes ball, the traumatising of Daryl Cullinan or his ominous observations about Gibbs' tendency to throw the ball much too quickly after catching it, Warne was coolness, personified. Off the field, he always kept himself in news with his text-messages, smoking, declarations of yet another mystery ball or ruminations on John Buchanan.
Shoaib Akhtar - At worst, he couldn't really do much apart from hitting a teammate with a bat, allegedly slapping the coach, getting caught for ball-tampering and talking in a weird accent. At his average, he could turn in an odd fiery spell for Kolkata Knightriders and maybe, beat Salman Khan in a race. At his best, he left Dravid and Tendulkar dumbfounded and turned in the most exciting run up I have ever seen.
Dennis Lillee - Considered by many as 'the complete bowler,' Lillee combined talent with showmanship. He scarily fast and an exponent of swing and cut. His career almost ended when his back break down, yet he returned after months of physiotherapy and a remodelled action to becomes one the best ever seen. He also took time off from all this to get an aluminium bat made, kick Miandad and almost cause Gavaskar to stage a walk-out.
