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All-time XI: West Indies
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Openers
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One of the most feared opening combinations and three other aggressive opening batsmen make up this enviable list
Tony Becca
June 14, 2010
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Players/Officials:
Roy Fredericks
| Chris Gayle
| Gordon Greenidge
| Desmond Haynes
| Sir Conrad Hunte
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In the early days of West Indies cricket, good opening batsmen were few and far between. In fact, as it was in the middle order, in those days there was one and only one man.
His name was Clifford Roach, he was a Trinidadian, he was a right-hander, and apart from scoring West Indies' first half-century, in their second Test - 50 at Old Trafford in 1928 - he ended up scoring six half-centuries in 16 Test matches, including the first century and the first double-century by a West Indian.
However, after the watershed series of 1950, when the West Indies won away from home for the first time with a 3-1 victory over England, things changed immensely, to the point where the pioneer is not numbered among the top West Indies openers off all time.
In that memorable series of 1950, West Indies produced a pair of openers: the stylish and attractive Jeffrey Stollmeyer and the solid, defensive left-hander Allan Rae. Unfortunately, however, like Roach neither one was considered good enough to make it to this list.
And although it is not as rich as those who batted in the middle order, what a list it is.
Starting with Conrad Hunte, the line-up from which the greatest pair of West Indies openers of all time will be selected includes undoubtedly the best opening partnership in the history of West Indies cricket, and also undoubtedly one of the best in the history of Test cricket: "Greenidge and Haynes" is almost synonymous with facing the new ball.
Individually all five contenders were master batsmen; four of them leading the way: one in the late 1960s, when West Indies were arguably the best in the world, and three others between 1976 and 1995, when the team were champions of the world.
The contenders
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Following on the heels of Stollmeyer and Rae in the 1950s, Hunte was an attractive and aggressive strokeplayer in the beginning, and addressed the world with a lovely innings of 142 against Pakistan in 1958 in his first Test. Scoring 260 in the third Test and sharing a partnership of 446 with Garry Sobers for the second wicket and 114 in the fourth Test, Hunte rattled up 622 runs in the series at an average of 77.75. With no one to stay with him long enough to get the shine off the ball, however, he changed his style. Instead of being a free-flowing batsman, he became solid and dependable - an opener who could be relied upon to set the stage for the likes of Sobers and Rohan Kanhai. A good hooker, but more so a wonderful player off his legs, Hunte scored 3245 runs in 44 Tests with eight centuries at an average of 45.06.
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A small, dashing left-hander, Fredericks feared no bowler. "Freddo", as he was popularly known, hit the ball hard and often. Although he played almost all the shots, he loved to cut and to hook, and those who saw him in action in Perth in 1975-76 will never forget his treatment of Australia's Dennis Lillee and Jeff Thomson. On the fastest pitch in the world, certainly in those days, Fredericks confronted the fastest and most feared bowlers in the world with shots that echoed around the ground like gunfire. In scoring 169 out of the 258 made while he was at the crease, he reached his century in 116 minutes (off 71 deliveries) with one six and 18 fours. "It was them or me," Fredericks said minutes after the onslaught. In 59 Test matches, he scored 4334 runs, with eight centuries, at an average of 42.49.
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A West Indian who learnt his trade in England and then represented the Caribbean, Greenidge is statistically the finest opening batsman ever produced in the region. On debut in 1974, he made 93 and 107. Greenidge hooked at the drop of a hat, drove the ball sweetly between cover and midwicket, and favoured the square cut. He played some memorable and valuable innings through a career that lasted 108 Test matches, during which he scored 7558 runs at an average of 44.72. His record also shows 19 centuries, the best of them probably being match-winning scores of 134 (after the team collapsed to 26 for 4) and 101 in 1976 at Old Trafford. He also made an unbeaten 214 off 242 balls at Lord's in 1984, when West Indies beat the clock to win by nine wickets.
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A perfect foil to the aggressive Greenidge, Haynes, a powerfully built batsman, was solid and watchful, and content, apparently, to be No. 2 to the man at the other end. Like most West Indians, Haynes was good all round the wicket. His back-foot strokes - the cut and the hook - were solid, but his driving, especially on the off side, was something to see. In 116 Test matches, Haynes scored 7487 runs with 18 centuries, five each against England and Australia, at an average of 42.29. On three occasions he carried the bat and on another, in 1980, when West Indies lost to New Zealand by one wicket in Dunedin, he was the last man out in both innings.
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Gayle is undoubtedly the biggest hitter of all opening batsmen in the history of West Indies cricket. A left-hander with limited footwork, he uses his bat like a hammer. In 2004 he brought up a century off 79 balls in Cape Town and blasted 105 off 87 with 18 fours, including six in one over from Matthew Hoggard at The Oval. There have been other days, however, like in Napier in 2008, when he controlled himself and batted to the end of the innings for 197 off 396 deliveries, and in Adelaide in 2009, when he batted undefeated for 165 in a desperate attempt to save a Test match; but in the following Test he was back to his usual self, smashing 102 off 72 deliveries with nine fours and six sixes
We'll be publishing an all-time West Indies XI based on readers' votes to go with our jury's XI. To pick your openers click here
Former sports editor of the Jamaica Gleaner and the Daily News, Tony Becca has covered West Indies cricket for 30 years
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Tony Becca
West Indies Jury
Jimmy Adams
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XI: Greenidge, Hunte, Headley, Richards, Weekes, Sobers, Hendriks (wk), Marshall, Garner, Ambrose, Gibbs
Tony Becca
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XI: Greenidge, Hunte, Headley, Lara, Richards, Sobers, Hendriks, Marshall, Holding, Roberts, Gibbs
Hilary Beckles
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XI: Worrell, Greenidge, Headley, Weekes, Richards, Sobers, Walcott, Marshall, Hall, Holding, Gibbs
Frank Birbalsingh |
XI: Greenidge, Haynes, Headley, Richards, Worrell, Walcott, Sobers, Dujon, Holding, Roberts, Gibbs
Imran Khan
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XI: Kanhai, Hunte, Headley, Richards, Lara, Sobers, Murray, Marshall, Holding, Ambrose, Gibbs
Ian McDonald
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XI: Greenidge, Kanhai, Headley, Lara, Richards, Sobers, Worrell, Dujon, Holding, Ambrose, Gibbs
Fazeer Mohammed
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XI: Greenidge, Hunte, Headley, Lara, Richards, Sobers, Walcott, Marshall, Holding, Ambrose, Gibbs
Joseph Perreira
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XI: Greenidge, Fredericks, Richards, Lara, Headley, Sobers, Walcott, Marshall, Holding, Ambrose, Gibbs
Garth Wattley
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XI: Hunte, Greenidge, Richards, Headley, Lara, Sobers, Worrell, Hendriks, Marshall, Roberts, Ambrose
Rudi Webster
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XI: Greenidge, Haynes, Headley, Richards, Weekes, Sobers, Worrell, Hendriks, Marshall, Roberts, Gibbs
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@bigwindy!Bigman,Sri Lanka only started playing test cricket in 1981/82,so it is the younger generation who had a weak Sri Lankan team to deal with.Furthermore,past Indian spinners like Prassana,Bedi,Venkat,Chadresekar,Borde,Nadkarni and others,were far more effective than the lot that the younger generation had to face.Also,I understand that some wickets were not covered,making it difficult for batsmen to score runs.
Posted by Rake1 on (June 17, 2010, 14:53 GMT)Talk of WI team without Viv Richards is absurd! Viv is King.
Posted by lsd123 on (June 17, 2010, 8:21 GMT)My best XI- Greenidge, Haynes, Lara, Headley, Richards, Sobers,Dujon,Marshall,Holding,Ambrose,Roberts (or Gibbs)
Posted by Auro_007 on (June 17, 2010, 8:20 GMT)I cannot believe the committee hasnt included George Headley in this list. Yes he will be seen in the nominations for the middle order but he with the names already there such as Lara Richards Kanhai Lloyd he may not even get a lookin. Surely a player of his caliber who scored 70 pc of the runs for WI and was called the Black Bradman needs to be in the ALl Time Windies XI.
Posted by unchained on (June 17, 2010, 5:48 GMT)gordon greenidge and conrad hunt as openers george headley viv richards frank worrel gary sobers walcott (wk) malcolm marshal curtley ambrose michael holding lance gibbs
Posted byGayle is a joke; a glorified swiper who benefits from much trashy bowling served up in the diluted game nowadays. He couldn't last 10 minutes at the crease against the greats of yesteryear!See how he attempted to hide from Vaas a few seasons back against the Lankans by dropping himself down the order? Trueman, Lindwall, Miller, Imran Khan,Lillee,Hadlee,& Donald to name a few would've been knocking him over with great regularity.If you have common sense and know where to put the ball sothat the big man can't free his arms,Gayle will become frustrated and swipe. Easy out. End of discussion, in this writer's view.
It's extremely difficult to select an all-time WI XI as any fan would know. But I've given it my best shot having seen all the WI teams since '62. Here goes: HUNTE, GREENIDGE,RICHARDS,SOBERS,LARA,WEEKES,WORRELL(CAPT.),DUJON,MARSHALL,AMBROSE & GIBBS.
It's generally acknowledged that Sir Frank was our best captain ever, followed by Lloyd.
Posted by Metman on (June 16, 2010, 16:07 GMT)With so many great WI. players to choose from,I have already chosen the best before !980 and after 1980,and as such to chose an all time greatest W.I. eleven,we would have to rely solely on averages,therefore my eleven will be-C.Hunte,G.Greenidge,E.Weekes,B.Lara.G.Headley,G.Sobers,C.Walcott,M.Marshall,J.Garner C.Ambrose and C .Walsh.Note,Viv.Richards had an av.of 50.23, Lara 52.83 ,Walcott 56.68,Sobers 57.78,Weekes 58.61 and Headley 60.83--In the bowling department,Marshall 20.94 runs per wicket,Garner 20.97 and Ambrose 20.99 were way ahead of the others.Although Croft 23.30,Holding 23.68 and Walsh 24.44 were close together,I gave my edge to Walsh,because he took twice as much wickets as Holding and over 3 and a half that of Croft.
Posted by graenew on (June 16, 2010, 7:45 GMT)1.greenidge, 2.headley, 3.richards (c), 4. lara, 5. weekes, 6.sobers, 7.walcott, 8. roberts, 9. ambrose, 10. marshall, 11.holding.
yes the west indies final 11 is tough!, but i had to find a place for headly as he has the best stats, as weekes avg is incredible too....had to omit garner for holding as garner/ambrose are like for like in terms of height etc...i went for holding as he offers express pace, i didnt go for gibbs as the fast bowlers on option are too good to ommit, walcott for keeper as again his batting avg is very good, better than dujon, i went for roberts too as he started the fast bowling era for the west indies, he was a very clever thinker.
Posted by wanderer1957 on (June 16, 2010, 2:43 GMT)My all time West indies eleven is ,Greenidge,Headly,Richards.Lara,Weeks,Sobers Walcott(keeper)Marshall,Garner,Holden,Ambrose.I think Roberts deserved selection maybe for Garner,These Players has the best numbers and that should count for something.
Posted byWI team of late 70s/early 80s can beat most teams and I would pick 8 from it and include Sobers, Ambrose and Lara in the final XI - Greenidge, Haynes, Richards, Lara, Sobers, Lloyd(c), Dujon, Marshall, Holding, Garner & Ambrose. Croft, Roberts, Kallicharan and Walsh will be a part of my 15 member team.