My Dream Test Eleven

Well, I was asked by a colleague of mine to put forward my dream test team over the past 10-15 years(say everyone who played after 1995-96).It is also assumed that every player is at their peak(a peak for a good/great player lasts for atleast 2-3 years I believe). So, here is my eleven.

1.Matthew Hayden
2.Virender Sehwag
3.Rahul Dravid
4.Sachin Tendulkar
5.Brian Lara
6.Jacques Kallis
7.Adam Gilchrist(Wicket-Keeper)
8.Shane Warne (Captain)
9.Wasim Akram
10.Muralitharan
11.Glenn McGrath

12th Man: Ricky Ponting

If I were to name a squad of 14, the other two who would make it are Steve Waugh and Curtly Ambrose(the 3rd pacer).Some players who just about miss out are Flintoff,Vettori,and Shaun Pollock.

It is strange that world cricket has not seen many top openers over the past 10-15 years. Langer, Jayasuriya, Graeme Smith, Gibbs, Saeed Anwar come close but Sehwag just makes it because of his outstanding record/attacking capability.

I pondered over a lot on my all-rounder with Pollock,Flintoff and Kallis being the contenders. But, I had to go for Kallis for his solidity in the batting. With all stroke-makers around, Kallis would nicely fit in between Lara and Gilly. Its basically a trade-off between batting all-rounder and a bowling one.

Let me know your thoughts on this team of mine.