As I mentioned in my last blog, there is no such thing as 'The Team' representing a particular nation, nor even a county these days. It's all horses for courses. After compiling my international XI for 2011, I noted that only two had also made my Test team of the year, one with the bat and one with the ball. Can you guess who?
The opening pair are the swashbuckling Shane Watson and the more patient Mohammad Hafeez. The Aussie was devastating in the World Cup and has struck 42 sixes during 2011 at a strike rate of more than a run a ball. That's pretty good in T20 but superb in the 50-over format! The Pakistani was the fifth highest run scorer and sixth highest wicket taker, too. Watson can also bowl some decent medium pacers, too, but doesn't take many wickets these days. However, he makes my team as a batsman alone, eclipsing even the legendary Virender Sehwag (hit by injury for half the year), Sri Lanka's World Cup heroes Dilshan and Tharanga and emerging Caribbean talent Lendl Simmons.
Kumar Sangakkara also compiled more than 1100 runs at an average above 50, a rarity. He thus repeats his status as number three in both my Teams of the Year. Perhaps surprisingly his strike rate is inferior to that of my number four, Jonathan Trott. Unfairly criticised for apparent slow scoring, the SA-born England star made over 1300 runs in ODIs, and nobody passed 50 more often. He is just the man you need to keep the scoreboard ticking over while the flashier men gamble for the boundaries. Only one man outscored Trott in 2011 and he was Virat Kohli. Great to see one of the Indian youngsters making a greater impact than his more illustrious and experienced countrymen.
Since taking over as Aussie captain, Michael Clarke has enjoyed a personal renaissance this year. His team are recovering from last winter's Ashes battering, particularly in the one-day game, and Clarke has been leading from the front, scoring 900 runs in 24 matches at over 50 apiece at an admirable strike rate of 80. He thus completes my specialist batting line-up.
My captain and wicketkeeper is MS Dhoni. Not only did he play such an important role in winning the World Cup but he has since shown why he is probably the finest 'finisher' in the one-day game. He scores at more than five runs an over and, because he is often still there at the end of the innings, whether batting first or chasing a target, averages almost 60!
While Watson and Hafeez provide the back-up, my front-line bowlers come from three different nations. A few years ago, Shahid Afridi would have been a genuine all-rounder and one of the most dangerous one-day batsmen in the world. These days, runs are harder to come by and it is his leg-breaks which are bamboozling batsmen. He has taken 45 wickets in 2011, second highest in the world, and at a meagre average of just over 20. Saeed Ajmal's 34 victims at 17 apiece earn him a spot in both teams of the year, keeping out Swann, Patel, Ashwin and Shakib.
My pace bowlers both have an unorthodox slinging action. Mitch Johnson took 39 wickets in 22 matches and has proved a useful late-order flayer of bowling at the death. he gets the nod just ahead of fellow Aussie Brett Lee. Lasith Malinga, of course, is just the bowler you want to cramp batsman at the start and end of an innings. He is clearly the number one T20 fast bowler, with his deadly fast swinging yorkers. However, he has proved to be almost as devastating over ten overs, often delivered in three spells, and has taken more wickets (48) in ODIs than anyone else in the past year. With his crazy delivery action and even crazier hair, the Sri Lankan is one of the most exciting men in world cricket and wraps up my One-Day XI of 2011.
Watson (Aus), Mohammad Hafeez (Pak), Sangakkara (SL), Trott (Eng), Kohli (Ind), Clarke (Aus), Dhoni (Ind, *+), Afridi (Pak), Johnson (Aus), Saeed Ajmal (Pak), Malinga (SL).
My next blog will examine the other players, including those not on the international stage, who have excelled in 2011.
