Selection in the safe hands of cricket legends
The six men entrusted to pick the players to challenge Australia's cricketing supremacy have impeccable credentials for the task. A shared total of 581 Test match caps and more than 900 ODI games are an indication of the unrivalled experience and judgemen
ICC Media Release
26-Apr-2005
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Chairman Sunil Gavaskar played 125 Tests for India as a prolific opening batsman, setting record after record as he compiled runs against the best and fastest bowling of his generation. He was the first batsman to pass 10,000 Test runs and his total of 34 Test centuries has only been equalled by compatriot Sachin Tendulkar.
Supporting the ex-India captain is another distinguished international cricketer in former England captain Mike Atherton, who won 115 Test caps and scored 7,728 runs for his country. His record of 54 Tests as captain is unmatched in English Test history.
New Zealand is represented by its first cricketing Knight, Sir Richard Hadlee, one of the greatest fast bowlers of all time. He was the first player to reach 400 Test wickets and held the Test record at his retirement in 1990 of 431 wickets. As an all rounder he also scored more than 3,000 runs in his 86 Tests and also played in 115 ODIs.
Clive Lloyd is the only man to lead his country to two ICC Cricket World Cup triumphs during an outstanding international career that lasted almost 20 years. His record as captain of the dominant West Indies team of the period was unrivalled. Clive played in 110 Test Matches, scoring 7,515 runs with 19 centuries and a top score of 242 not out. He also played in 87 ODI matches, lifting the World Cup in 1975 and 1979.
South Africa's Jonty Rhodes, one of the game's greatest-ever fielders, played in 52 Test matches and 245 ODIs. In addition to the thousands of runs he scored, his peerless fielding helped save many hundreds more. His superb fielding raised standards and improved techniques around the cricketing world.
Aravinda de Silva is Sri Lanka's greatest-ever batsman, who played a central figure in his country's dramatic ICC Cricket World Cup victory in 1996. In the final, he scored an unbeaten century and took three vital wickets to complete the upset win against Australia. During a career spanning 93 Test matches he scored 6,361 runs with 20 centuries and played 308 One Day Internationals, with 9,284 runs and 11 centuries; both career aggregate national records.