Greatest non-Asia ODI XI of all-time

Middle order :

Ricky Ponting (c)

Ricky Ponting was a stylish batsman and had a huge appetite for runs

Ricky Ponting was the greatest Australian batsman of his time and few would disagree that he is one of the greatest ever too.

His aggregate of 13,704 runs in 375 ODIs at an average of 42 and a Strike Rate of 80 easily puts him among the pantheon of all-time batting greats in ODI cricket. He was a voracious batsman who excelled in playing all kinds of shots but his pull shot in particular was a treat to watch.

Few contemporary batsmen pulled and hooked more fiercely than this Aussie legend. He was a big match player with fine performances in the World Cups, the most notable one being the majestic 140 that helped a rampaging Aussie team steamroller India in the 2003 World Cup final.

While his test captaincy record might have been marred by Ashes defeats, he did not face many setbacks as the ODI captain. He led the Kangaroos to two World Cup titles. Who other than Ponting to lead this formidable side? He is an automatic choice and finds no competition.

Vivian Richards

Sir Vivian Richards - the greatest batsman ever?

Even in today's cricket, a strike rate of 90 is considered a splendid one for a batsman, but think of a batsman scoring at that rate in the 1970s and 1980s when the Strike Rates of most of his contemporary greats hovered around just 70. Sir Vivian Richards did exactly that and was undoubtedly the most devastating batsman of his era. He did not just score runs rapidly but got them in truckloads too.

While discussing Richards' greatness, his bowling skills often slip under the radar mainly due to his stupendous batting ability. He was good at bowling too as his record of 118 wickets in 131 innings demonstrates.

With players like Clive Lloyd, Desmond Haynes and Gordon Greenidge in its ranks, the all-conquering Windies team of the 1980s experienced no shortage of batting greatness but Richards was always a cut above his fellow greats.

The giant from Antigua, who relentlessly destroyed the bowling attacks of his day and did so, striking much terror in the hearts of the bowlers, is an easy choice for our side. If any frontline pacer has an off day, Richards could be called in to send in a few overs.

Brian Lara

Brian Charles Lara's batting was poetry in motion

While the West Indian team of Vivian Richards' era was invincible and decimated all the opposition, the team of Brian Lara's era was its antithesis. It followed the path of a steady and swift decline, plummeting to incredible lows. However, 'the Prince of Trinidad' kept on scaling peak after peak of batting greatness and rose in stature. He was one of the premier batsmen of his time. It is not an exaggeration to say that, for a significant part of his career, the West Indian team was a one-man army with the indefatigable Lara being that lone soldier. Perhaps, no other country's hopes relied on single player as much as the West Indian hopes did on this man.

Lara is the only West Indian batsman to breach the 10,000-run mark in ODIs. When in his elements, he can pulverise any bowling attack in the world effortlessly and set the scoreboard galloping. The elegant southpaw will be a vital cog in our middle order and will bat at no. 5.

AB de Villiers

De Villiers is the most entertaining batsman in today's cricket

Hitting sixes is one thing and hitting them like AB de Villiers is another! De Villiers can smash sixes in the most inconceivable manner and to the most unexpected corners of the park. It is not a hyperbole to claim that there is not a single area in the ground that de Villiers cannot hit a six over, if he wishes to. And this is precisely this ability, that earned him the nickname - 'Mr. 360', set him apart from fellow greats and made him a crowd favourite.

Does a batsman need to sacrifice Strike Rate in the quest for higher batting average? No, ask de Villiers. His batting average of 53 and a Strike Rate of 100 are both phenomenal by any yardstick. If many South Africans rate de Villiers as the greatest batsman ever to emerge from their country, they may not be mistaken.

How else can you keep a batsman of such calibre out of this team? The creative genius and the daredevil from Pretoria needs only 30 or 40 balls to wreak incalculable damage on the bowlers and will be our no.6.

He is a wonderful wicket-keeper too but with Gilly donning the gloves, de Villiers will not be entrusted with wicket-keeping duties.