All-time Test XI described by cricketing quotes

Bowling attack

In his prime, Akram had the ability to terrorize every batsman in world cricket

#8 Shane Warne

"When you're a child there are a few authority figures you look to for certainties and reassurance in life. That's what shocked me at first about Warne's "Gatting ball" because I was too young to appreciate its technical perfection."

"I just saw stocky Gatting, greying at the temples, grasping desperately and failing; not just that but being humiliated. As Warne launched into celebration, the earth's orbit was suddenly a mystery to Gatting. But if Gatting didn't know what he was doing then maybe no adult did. He crumbled, so all adults did. Sport and life suddenly felt so different." - R Jackson

#9 Wasim Akram

"In sport it's often a single moment that hooks a fan for life - a stunning goal, a breathless rally, a mazy try. Test cricket can seduce someone over a series, finding an impressionable child and ensuring cricket never leaves them."

"In 1992, Wasim Akram was the master of my destiny. A magician going through his entire repertoire - levitation, rabbits out of the hat, sawing bodies in half, a spot of mind control. England were mesmerized, their batsmen operating in a world seconds behind the one Akram was bowling in." - D Brigham

#10 Glenn Mcgrath

"The young Glenn was described by Mike Whitney as "thin - but Ambrose-thin, not Bruce Reid-thin". Much later, Atherton compared McGrath to Ambrose on a vaster scale. McGrath's USP was an unremitting off-stump line and an immaculate length. He gained off-cut and bounce, specialized in the opposition's biggest wickets and he was unafraid to back himself publicly in these key duels." - A Miller

#11 Sir Richard Hadlee

"Few players in the history of cricket have carried the fortunes of their team to quite the same extent as Richard. He was born to the purple, his cricketing genes alive and throbbing from his early sporting years. The uber consummate professional." - D Cameron