MCC vs ROW 05/07/2014 3:15 PM IST

                    The whole world is now busy with the FIFA World Cup. But there are other sports in the world, and particularly if your nationality is ‘India’, you wouldn’t forget the BIG TEST that starts on July 9, India vs. England. But some Crazy Cricket Fans like me turn on TV for cricket before that itself. If the BIG TEST starts on July 9, then there is a BIG MATCH on July 5 at the Lord’s celebrating the venue’s 200^th year. And the match witnesses the legends of the game returning to the field, donning a jersey, playing the game that they ruled once, again for a duration of 7 hours. And the teams would have not been much better than the Captains itself. The 3 letter legend ‘GOD’ alias Sachin Tendulkar leading the MCC side vs. the 6 letter legend ‘WIZARD’ alias Shane Warne leading the Rest of the World. More than the captains the squads also consist of retired players such as Gilchrist, Lara, Muralitharan, Dravid, Collingwood, Lee, and Tait and so on

Let us now see these squads line up for the BIG MATCH:-

MARYLEBONE CRICKET CLUB:

Sachin Ramesh Tendulkar (Captain):

The legend of the 7 letter game CRICKET would have got no better honors than to lead the famous side. To describe about him, words will not be enough, he has almost all the records that a batsman can hold in the game of cricket. And as usual he’ll be occupying the NON-STRIKER end with Aaron Finch.

                                                       Aaron Finch:

The dashing Aussie opener has been picked more probably to provide fire power at the start of the innings with all the legends who play are more comfortable with scoring off singles, twos and later going for an onslaught.

Brian Lara:

The Dashing left hander was probably the player who came to the rescue the Caribbean side when it suffered a major slide following the retirements of the legends Richards, Lloyd, Ambrose e.tc., He personally requested his skipper Tendulkar that he would like to play with him and Tendulkar accepted happily.

                                                      Rahul Dravid:

The success story of CSK in seasons 3&4 and KKR in 5&7 were more to solidity that was provided when wickets fell around. And likewise to provide that solidity in the middle comes the right-handed Rahul Dravid and the whole world knows how well he can build the innings around him and go for the big shots if the need arises.

Shivnarine Chanderpaul:

The batsman with the unorthodox stance when batting, also has the talent like Rahul Dravid and both of them would be more useful when a collapse occurs if at all in the big star studded batting line up.

                                                                        Chris Read (Wicket Keeper):

If all the players are from overseas who is going to give them inputs about the home conditions??? Here comes the England gloves man Chris Read behind the stumps to provide the inputs. Though his records does not speak for him, he is certainly the local boy in the team.

Daniel Vettori:

The spectacled bowler is one of the two spinners in the playing XI and he will be useful to control the run flow during the middle overs particularly after seeing that dashing line up the opposition.

                                                                        Brett Lee:

The Sydney Express comes back to cricket and many would love to see him bowl out an over with speeds over 150kmph. Such is the amount of pace he generates that rattles the opposition batsmen’s stumps and also his celebrations after he takes the wicket. 

Umar Gul:

The Art is bowling. Missing someone?? Yeah the Pakistanis... And here comes Umar Gul with his deadly pace and swing. The leading T20 wicket taker has something up his sleeve to bring the game under control

                                                      Saeed Ajmal:

The magician is back. This time he is along with Sachin... Saeed Ajmal has the Knack to turn games with his turn and bounce but with the pitches in England supporting pace, he would be really tested by the opposition bowlers.

Shaun Tait:

Tired watching balls zip through at one end at over 150kmph?? If you want them at both ends, here is Shaun Tait to provide you that. Along with Brett Lee they form a deadly combo of bowlers who touch speeds of 155kmph often.

Now we have seen the HOME team.

Next we have the AWAY team

REST OF THE WORLD:

Virender Sehwag:

Who else would you want to open the innings other than the Nawab of Najafgarh?? The dashing Indian opener is always a nightmare for the opposition and when he is on song, they are doomed. And this match could also provide him the platform for the return to India colours after a long gap.

                                                      Adam Gilchrist (Wicket Keeper):

The Wicket keeper who changed the role of the keepers in the game by playing the role of an attacking batsman in addition to his smart glove work. Adam Gilchrist was an automatic choice for the pick, and he is picked as an opener to partner Virender Sehwag.

Tamim Iqbal:

The choice of Tamim Iqbal as the third choice opener has some questions as either  Ponting or Kallis could have been picked for a no.3 spot rather than a third opener, but the selection committee believed in him and picked him for his exploits at the early stages of the innings. Whether it works out or not, we will see.

                                                      Kevin Pietersen:

KP shortly called, Kevin Pietersen is a dashing middle order batsman who can make merry on his day. Out of the national side with controversies, the match is like a stage for him to prove his talent after a poor IPL season with the DDs. 

Yuvraj Singh:

This line up surely consists of many hard hitters and this seems to continue with another batsmen in the list being Yuvraj Singh. Mostly remembered for his 6 sixes of an over off Stuart Broad, he can also be used as a left arm spinner and just like Sehwag, he can initiate a comeback through these performances.

                                                      Shahid Afridi:

Next to the line-up of the big hitters list is BOOM Afridi. He comes down the order and just changes the course of the match with his maverick performances and he is also a wily spinner with the ball.

Paul Collingwood:

We all saw in the RCB vs. RR match how the deadly RCB line up shattered into pieces where they had 5 big hitters and lacked solidity (a player who has the capability to build the innings around him when wickets tumble at the other end). To provide Solidity and Inputs about the local conditions is Paul Collingwood, the 2010 T20 World Cup winning captain. He can also roll up his sleeves to send some medium paced deliveries.

                                                      Peter Siddle:

This team is likely to have the Indian victory formula of 7 batsmen and 4 bowlers and Siddle would be the pace leader. Capable of swinging the ball in aiding conditions, he would be useful and also he make some contributions with the bat.

Tino Best:

Tino Best was the West Indian answer when they needed the quality of attack which Walsh, Ambrose and Holding produced. He will be partnering Siddle with the new ball to rattle the opposition.

                                                      Shane Warne (Captain):

The opponent captain is Sachin Tendulkar. Now who will find a way out to stop him and it is Shane Warne, Sachin’s biggest rival on-field to lead the Rest of the World. All of us know what wonders Shane Warne could do and it will be the epic Warne vs. Tendulkar to relish again.

Muttiah Muralitharan:

Now the game has seen return of many legends. If Sachin Tendulkar has almost all records in batting, this guy here has almost all records in bowling and together with Warne, they are sure to spin a web where the opposition will find it hard to bounce back.

NOTABLE MISSES:

Ricky Ponting, Jacques Kallis, Kumar Sangakkara, Mahela Jayawardena, Mathew Hayden, Glenn McGrath, Shoaib Akthar, Sanath Jayasuriya, Shane Bond, Chaminda Vaas, Shaun Pollock.

-S.T. Guha Karthikeyan