Tough one, as the most "obvious" combinations are very batsman heavy. But you need 20 wickets to win Test matches and that is what I decided to prioritize.
So instead of focusing on the batting, I have tried to go the other way - figure out the best possible bowling attack first, for ALL possible conditions, and only then fill in the batsmen.
I started from the bottom of the lineup and worked my way up.
This led to leaving out Bradman (need Warne), and leaving out Lara/Sobers (Malcolm Marshall is probably the best fast bowler in history -
https://www.espncricinfo.com/westindies/content/player/52419.html#profile).
I initially chose Kallis from SA, but then went with Steyn to make the fast bowling attack truly formidable. This left the batting far too weak, so had to then drop Murali for Sanga.
Most teams have Rashid Khan from Afg, and I initially did too...but with Warne in the team, and with Shakib in as well, I decided to go for a batsman. Searching for the best Test averages (obviously not enough data to go on) led to Ibrahim Zadran, who happens to be an opening batsman - which allows Sachin and Sanga to go down a bit closer to spots they are more used to.
The end result is an OK-ish batting lineup, but look at this bowling attack! Gonna be some low scoring thrillers with this team!
1. Jack Hobbs, Eng
2. Ibrahim Zadran, Afg
3. Sachin Tendulkar, Ind
4. Kumar Sangakkara, SL
5. Martin Crowe, NZ (c)
6. Andy Flower, Zim (wk)
7. Shakib Al Hasan, BD
8. Wasim Akram, Pak
9. Malcolm Marshall, WI
10. Dale Steyn, SA
11. Shane Warne, Aus
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Topic: All time Test XI.... but.... (Read 23964 times)