Jake Ball picks Joe Root over Virat Kohli in his greatest XI

Nottinghamshire bowler Jake Ball has revealed his ‘All time XI’ cricket team and the player shares his opinion on some of the finest players the cricketing world has witnessed. The criteria for selection involved either having played with, against or influenced by the players. The 25-year-old who made his Test debut against Pakistan starting at Lord’s. Here’s a look at Jake Ball’s All-time XI.

Former Australian opener Matthew Hayden occupies the opening slot along with the ‘Master Blaster’ Sachin Tendulkar. Both batsmen, technically sound, and equally aggressive against the new ball bowlers. Tendulkar retired a couple of years back and holds a number of records, including ‘most runs scored by a batsman in Tests and ODIs’.

Former Australian Captain Ricky Ponting occupies the No.3 position on his list. Apart from being an exceptional player of the cricket ball, Ponting had a safe pair of hands while fielding at slips position and has taken some outstanding catches that will be remembered for a long time to come.

South Africa’s AB de Villiers is at the No.4 position and one of the great players of this generation with his ability to play shots all around the ground seems a sound selection. The 32-year-old player holds the record for scoring the ‘fastest century scored by a player’ (31 deliveries).

England International Joe Root has made the list at the No.5 spot, being one of the best players of the modern cricket. Being just 25 years of age, Root has already scored an unbeaten double century in the Test format and still has many years of cricket left in him.

Legendary South African all-rounder Jacques Kallis takes the 6th spot in Ball’s all-time XI for his patient batting style and pacing his innings beautifully in the ODIs. Kallis’s ability to bowl with consistency and picking up wickets at regular intervals has earned him an immense amount of respect all over the world.

Jake has chosen former English wicket-keeper Chris Read on the team and though he didn’t shine on the International level, Read’s domestic record speaks for itself. In addition to his great reflexes, the 37-year-old has appeared in 328 first-class matches with a high score of 236 and also appearing in 317 List A games with 125 being his best.

Legendary Australian spinner Shane Warne has also been included on this list. Warne has bowled some intense bowling spells that have destroyed teams and given Cricket Australia some incredible victories. Warne has picked up 708 wickets in the Test format and 293 wickets in the ODIs.

Former Australian seamer Glenn McGrath makes it to the list for his remarkable bowling skills. His performances in the 2005 and 2007 Ashes were absolutely brilliant, cementing his place in the ICC Hall of Fame in 2013.

South African fast bowler Dale Steyn takes up the No.10 spot on this list. Bowling with fierce pace, Steyn has picked up 406 Test wickets in just 82 matches and has also picked up 175 wickets in 112 ODIs.

Sri Lankan legend Muttiah Muralidharan has been picked as the final player on this list. Muralidharan is the leading wicket-taker on the International stage, holding the record for picking up the most number of Test Wickets (800) and also the most number of ODI wickets (534).

Jake Ball’s All time XI: Matthew Hayden, Sachin Tendulkar, Ricky Ponting, AB de Villiers, Joe Root, Jacques Kallis, Chris Read (wicket-keeper), Shane Warne, Glenn McGrath, Dale Steyn, Muttiah Muralitharan