England batsman Alex Hales picks his All Time XI

England’s opening batsman Alex Hales, who celebrated his twenty-ninth birthday last week, has named his greatest All Time XI.

The opening batsmen Hales picks are fellow teammate Alastair Cook and Indian batsman Virender Sehwag. Hales thinks the combination of right and left batting will complement each other and will work together well.

Alastair Cook is regarded as one of the greatest batsmen ever to play for England, and is one of the most prolific batsmen of the modern era, and is the leading run-scorer in Test matches for England. Sehwag is widely regarded as one of the most destructive batsmen of all time due to this aggressive batting style.

Next Hales pick Australian Rickey Ponting saying he knows him as a coach and mentor playing for the Mumbai Indians in the IPL. “He is a great guy, really knowledgeable, always willing to help any player, anytime, and I enjoyed that experience.”

Ponting is widely regarded as one of the greatest batsmen in the history of cricket during the ‘golden era’ of Australia cricket team and twice captained the team to victory in the 2003 and 2007 World Cups.

West Indies great Brian Lara is next who Hales is ‘arguably of the most flair batsman ever.”  Lara owns several batting records including the highest score in first-class cricket and the only quadruple century in Test cricket.

The wicket-keeping duties will be performed by Sri Lanka’s Kumar Sangakarra. He was not only outstanding behind the wicket but also with the bat. “It is a no brainer having him in the team,” says Hales.

The sixth and seventh spots are picked by South African Jacques Kallis and West Indies legend Sir Garfield Sobers whom Hales considers “arguable two of the greatest all-rounder of all time.” Sobers is widely considered to be cricket’s greatest all-rounder. He also became the first batsman ever to hit six sixes in a single over in first-class cricket.

Hales considers the remaining players as a long tail but hopes that batsman will do the job. The bowling includes the two greats spinners, Sri Lanka’s Muttiah Muralidaran and Australian Shane Warne.

“I faced him for a few overs. Generally you don’t know which way the ball is spinning, or is fizzing down. I had no idea, so I just gambled and just hit a couple,” Hales said about Muralidaran.

He is complemented by Shane Warne, who along with Muralidaran, hold the record for the most Test wickets. “Both of them can turn the ball on glass. Having two spinners is a no brainer for me,” said Hales.

The bowling line-up is finished by Pakistani seamer Wasim Akram and Australian Glenn McGrath. Hales said another left-right combination will help complement each other.

Wasim Akram is acknowledged as of the greatest bowlers, is considered to be one of the founders and perhaps the finest exponent of reverse swing bowling.

McGrath was the leading contributor to Australia’s domination of world cricket, known for maintaining an accurate line and length, and whose consistency enabled him to be one of the most economical and dangerous fast bowlers of his time.