The Super Series between Australia and the Rest of the World XI promises spine-chilling contests
The month of October will usher in a festival of cricket, something that has not been witnessed in nearly 35 years. The last time a team comprising players from around the world took on the might of the Australians, and that too on their own turf, was back in 1971-72, when Sir Garfield Sobers led some of the most charming stars in Zaheer Abbas, Bishen Singh Bedi, Tony Greig, Intikhab Alam, Clive Lloyd and Rohan Kanhai against Ian Chappell’s side.
Once again a mouth-watering prospect presents itself and there is plenty in store to whet the appetite. Cricket crazy spectators will be treated to a celebratory occasion as the ICC World XI take on champions Australia led by Ricky Ponting in three One-Day Internationals to be followed by a six-day Test at the Sydney Cricket Ground.
Last year, the ICC had announced it would stage the inaugural ICC Super Series in Australia in October 2005 with a combined world XI against the number one ranked One-Day International team and the leading Test nation. The Johnnie Walker ICC Super Series is expected to become a regular feature on the international cricket calendar and is planned to be played every fourth year.
The 1970 Rest of the World team including Clive Lloyd, Rohan Kanhai, Mike Procter, Barry Richards and Garfield Sobers played an exceptional five-match series against England in England. In the summer of 1971-72, a Rest of the World team including Bishan Bedi, Zaheer Abbas, Intikhab Alam, Tony Greig, Kanhai, Lloyd and Sobers took on Ian Chappell’s Australian team in Australia. In 1987 in a bi-centennial game at Lord’s the MCC took on a Rest of the World side featuring Alan Border, Kapil Dev, Sunil Gavaskar, Ravi Shastri, Desmond Haynes and Imran Khan. In 1999, as part of ICC Cricket Week, an Asian XI played a Rest of the World team featuring Michael Bevan, Chris Cairns, Adam Gilchrist, Jacques Kallis and Mark Waugh.
The 1971-72 visit by a world team for a tour including 12 first class matches, with five representative matches against Australia came in place of the proposed tour by a South African team. The Springboks visit, which would have been the fifth such official visit to Australia, was cancelled by the Australian Board of Control, following sustained political and moral pressures and in view of practical problems.
The Rest of the World, a multi-national team chosen by the Australian authorities, did include two South African Test players, the brothers P.M. and G.R. Pollock (who were later arrivals) and H.M. Ackerman. There were also players from England, the West Indies, India, Pakistan and New Zealand. In the end, the tour was rated a considerable success. The visitors, somewhat unbalanced in bowling, made a disappointing start, but after their failure in the second Test (in Perth), the matches began to catch the imagination of the public.
Australia’s team was not always fully representative; for example, the spinner J.W. Gleeson was kept out of the firing line. The Test series confirmed the outstanding potential of D.K. Lillee who, on his fast and hard home wicket in Perth, gave a remarkable performance, with great speed and excellent control of swing, which was often late. In this most important feature for Australia cricket, he routed the visitors in their first innings taking eight wickets for 29 runs, including the last six wickets in 15 balls fro no runs.
Later, in Sydney, R.A.L. Massie showed his ability to swing the ball in the manner in which he subsequently performed in England, where he and Lillee were the Test new ball bowlers. The most distinguished innings of the season came from the World XI captain, G.S. Sobers, when in Melbourne at the New Year he scored 254 runs against Australia. It was an unforgettable display, combining such elegance of stroke play, power and aggression that the crowds responded ecstatically.
On May 3, 1972, Sobers scored 139 not out in three hours, 36 minutes, and he hit 21 fours. It was majestic batting. After a rest day, Sobers resumed his great innings sedately but recovered his aggression until, obviously tired, he was dismissed for 254. He had batted in all for six hours and 16 minutes, and he had hit two sixes off successive balls from O’Keefe, and 35 4s.
Sir Donald Bradman said of this innings: “I believe Gary Sobers’ innings was probably the best I’ve ever seen in Australia.”
R.G. Pollock played a century innings of tremendous power in the fifth Test, in Adelaide, in which the touring team clinched the series, 2-1. The veteran West Indian, R.B. Kanhai, played a superb innings in Perth — his third century in successive first-class matches.
Tony Greig was conspicuous success, and the spin bowlers Intikhab Alam (Pakistan) and B.S. Bedi (India) showed a high sense of responsibility.
The Test match will take place at the Sydney Cricket Ground from 14 to 19 October and will form part of the Johnnie Walker Super Series that also includes three one-day internationals at Telstra Dome in Melbourne on 5, 7 and 9 October.
Australia has not lost a home Test series since 1993 or ODI series since 2002. Australia were well-placed despite 2-1 defeat in the Ashes. They are still a formidable bunch of players who give a tough time to their opponents.
Elite panel umpires Aleem Dar, Darrell Hair, Rudi Koertzen and Simon Taufel have been selected to undertake all of the on-field and off-field duties during the three One-Day International matches in Melbourne and the Super Test in Sydney.
The one-off Test match will be played over six days. The match will have official Test status. The three One-Day matches will be played in an indoor venue. Matches will be 50 overs per side and will have official ODI status.
The World XI Selection Panel comprised six former greats: Sunil Gavaskar (Chairman — India); Michael Atherton (England); Sir Richard Hadlee (New Zealand); Clive Lloyd (West Indies); Jonty Rhodes (South Africa); and Aravinda de Silva (Sri Lanka). Cricket fans in Australia, India, South Africa and the United Kingdom will be able to watch the action from the Johnnie Walker Super Series on their mobile phones as a result of a ground-breaking initiative between the International Cricket Council and Player One, a leading mobile content publisher.
The World XI and Australian squads for the series are as follows:
WORLD XI
ODIs: Shaun Pollock (Capt), Shahid Afridi, Rahul Dravid, Andrew Flintoff, Chris Gayle, Jacques Kallis, Brain Lara, Muttiah Muralitharan, Makhaya Ntini, Kevin Pietersen , Kumar Sangakkara, Virender Sehwag, Shoaib Akhtar, Daniel Vettori.
Test: Graeme Smith (Capt), Mark Boucher, Rahul Dravid, Andrew Flintoff, Steve Harmison Inzamamul Haq, Jacques Kallis, Brian Lara, Muttiah Muralitharan, Shaun Pollock, Virender Sehwag, Shoaib Akhtar, Daniel Vettori.
AUSTRALIA
ODIs: Nathan Bracken, Michael Clarke, Adam Gilchrist, Brad Hogg, James Hopes, Mike Hussey, Simon Katich, Bret Lee, Damien Martyn, Glenn McGrath, Andrew Symonds, Shaun Tait, Shane Watson.
Test: Michael Clarke, Adam Gilchrist, Matthew Hayden, Brad Hodge, Simon Katich, Justin Langer, Brett Lee, Stuart MacGill, Glenn McGrath, Ricky Ponting, Shaun Tait, Shane Warne, Shane Watson.
The month of October will usher in a festival of cricket, something that has not been witnessed in nearly 35 years. The last time a team comprising players from around the world took on the might of the Australians, and that too on their own turf, was back in 1971-72, when Sir Garfield Sobers led some of the most charming stars in Zaheer Abbas, Bishen Singh Bedi, Tony Greig, Intikhab Alam, Clive Lloyd and Rohan Kanhai against Ian Chappell’s side.
The 1971-72 visit by a world team for a tour including 12 first class matches, with five representative matches against Australia came in place of the proposed tour by a South African team. The Springboks visit, which would have been the fifth such official visit to Australia, was cancelled by the Australian Board of Control, following sustained political and moral pressures and in view of practical problems.
On May 3, 1972, Sobers scored 139 not out in three hours, 36 minutes, and he hit 21 fours. It was majestic batting. After a rest day, Sobers resumed his great innings sedately but recovered his aggression until, obviously tired, he was dismissed for 254. He had batted in all for six hours and 16 minutes, and he had hit two sixes off successive balls from O’Keefe, and 35 4s.
