Alphabetical XIs news

The first Alphabet Match: A to C versus Rest of the Alphabet

The Alphabetical XIs published in these pages have been followed with a lot of interest and passion.

The T s: Terrific batting, terrifying bowling

Composing one from the cricketers with their last names starting with T, Arunabha Sengupta comes across magical names.

The S s: Spoilt for choice from a simply superb squad

Composing one from the cricketers with their last names starting with S, CricketCountry Historian Arunabha Sengupta is spoilt for choice from a simply superb squad.

Alphabetical XI Appendix: The small-sample Side

CricketCountry Historian Arunabha Sengupta has now formed a XI out of the men who were dropped from Alphabetical XI because they did not play too many Test matches.

The QUXZ XI: A brilliant spin attack

Composing one from the cricketers with their last names starting with the unusual letters Q, U, X and Z, CricketCountry Historian Arunabha Sengupta finds a side with an unusually strong spin attack.

The Y s: Small pool, some brilliant men

Composing one from the cricketers with their last names starting with Y, CricketCountry Historian Arunabha Sengupta finds some extraordinary cricketers from a very small pool.

The W s: The stellar trinity and more

Composing one from the cricketers with their last names starting with W, CricketCountry Historian Arunabha Sengupta wades knee deep in a pool of extraordinary talent.

The V s: Solid batting, quality bowling, two mammoth names

Composing one from the cricketers with their last names starting with V, CricketCountry Arunabha Sengupta finds himself forced to leave out a few quality spinners.

The N s: Limited pool, decent side with genuine greats

Composing one from the cricketers with their last names starting with N, CricketCountry Historian Arunabha Sengupta is constrained with limited number of candidates in the talent pool.

The M s: A major force with a magnificent bowling attack

Composing one from the cricketers with their last names starting with M, CricketCountry Historian Arunabha Sengupta finds plenty of big names, with a magnificent bowling attack.

The R s: Superb batting and versatile bowling from a problem of plenty

Composing one from the cricketers with their last names starting with R, CricketCountry Historian Arunabha Sengupta has to pick and choose from a number of superlative cricketers to have played the game.

The P s: Great batsmen, fantastic bowling attack, superb team

Composing one from the cricketers with their last names starting with P, CricketCountry Historian Arunabha Sengupta finds a plethora of great batsmen and some of the most fantastic bowlers to have played the game.

The O s: One great bowler, a magnificent batsman, one quality keeper

Composing one from the cricketers with their last names starting with O, CricketCountry Historian Arunabha Sengupta is constrained with limited number of candidates but there is at least one great bowler, a fantastic wicketkeeper and a very, very good batsman.

The F s: A surfeit of excellent all-rounders

Composing one from the cricketers with their last names starting with F, CricketCountry Historian Arunabha Sengupta finds a surfeit of excellent all-rounders.

The L s: Style and substance with bat, absolute brilliance with ball

Composing one from the cricketers with their last names starting with L, CricketCountry Historian Arunabha Sengupta finds plenty of style and substance, balance and brilliance, with perhaps the most potent bowling attack.