Lord Ted’s XI

In the wake of Armstrong and Benaud and Constantine we come, as we must, to Dexter.

THE D XI

1. Stewart Dempster (NZ)
2. Ted Dexter (ENG) (Capt)
3. Rahul Dravid (IND)
4. KS Duleepsinhji (ENG)
5. Martin Donnelly (NZ)
6. Basil D’Oliveira (ENG)
7. Jeff Dujon (WI)  (Wkt)
8. Alan Davidson (AUS)
9. Bruce Dooland (AUS)
10. Allan Donald (SA)
11. Dilip Doshi (IND)

This was a more difficult selection than some and a degree of ingenuity and no small measure of research were required before I could finalise the XI. A reminder of the criteria: the side must, as best as is possible, be balanced, however balance must not be fetishised to the point that it compromises excellence. Style and flair are favoured, generally speaking, over solid reliability. In other words, the numbers are not exclusively the final court of appeal.

Equally, there’s a preference for fielding two spinners if possible, while the past is also privileged over contemporary players upon whom history has yet to deliver a verdict.