[watson]

Watson's XI

Bowling
1. Marshall and Garner is the most potent and devastating new ball partnership in the history of modern cricket! Their Strike Rate together (44.77) is better than Holding + Roberts, Lillee + Thomson, Lindwall + Miller, or Ambrose + Walsh.

2. Hedley Verity dismissed Don Bradman no less tha 8 times. If Marshall and Garner don't claim Bradman's wicket then it is most likely that Verity will.

3. Ian Botham is one of cricket's greatest swing bowlers. Prior to 1983 he was one of the best of all time, and therefore compliments the pace and aggession of Marshall and Garner perfectly.

4. The leg spin of Bruce Mitchell, and nagging medium pace bowling of Greg Chappell are an ample back-up to the front-line four.


Batting
1. Bruce Mitchell and Matthew Hayden form an aggressive right-left opening combination. Both openers are among the greatest batsman of their era.

2. The middle order is superb. No one could possibly doubt that Headley-G.Chappell-Tendulkar-Crowe-Botham is a reliable and rock-solid combination with G.Chappell being an absolute stand-out against fast bowling and Tendulkar the master of spin.


Wicket-keeping
Wasim Bari is probably Pakistan's best ever wicket-keeper and one of the main reasons for Imran Khan's success.


Fielding
Mitchell, Greg Chappell, Botham, and Hayden form a brilliant slips cordon who boost the potency of Marshall and Garner to a higher level.


Leadership
Greg Chappell was a shrewd and intelligent captain who was rated very highly by Mike Brearley when they opposed eachother. Yet another strength for an incredibly strong team - even if I say so myself.