IT'S FANTASY time, and after a really fantastic World Cup who could blame me for trying to take the best out of the best to produce the best? Double Dutch? OK, let me pontificate!

Picking the top player in the world is a familiar game, but I'm going to go further. What we're after here is the ultimate cricketer. An intriguing way of going about it is to run through the anatomy and see if we can build the perfect cricket body.

`From the feet up,' cries the coach, `Check your position from the feet up!'

The feet should be fast and tough as we are going to aim for the perfect allrounder. Among the batters I like Sachin Tendulkar's small and nimble feet, which gave him excellent balance. But we need a little more beef for the bowling department. Of the bowlers that spring to mind, Donald, Gough and Pollock have all suffered foot problems, so I am going to go for those of Javagal Srinath, who was brought up on the rough ground of India. Walking barefoot as a kid will really have toughened him up.

The calves need to be powerful both for the spring needed in the field and running between the wickets. We'll come onto Jonty Rhodes later, but Michael Bevan is also tremendously quick – probably the fastest over 100 metres in world cricket. The way he runs and turns between the wickets suggests he has the calves for us.

Knees and thighs I've decided to combine the two because the thighs need to be well developed to keep the knees in place. As much as pace and power, we're now looking for suppleness, since we're now dealing with the hamstrings. If I can cheat a little, I'll take Allan Donald's hamstrings, because anyone who can go 24cm past his feet in a hamstring stretch is going to be supple. In a tricky operation, I'll combine them with Rhodes's thighs. Jonty's ability to spring off the ground in both directions is phenomenal – just as Robert Croft!

Stomach and back The modern cricketing itinerary makes it vital to have strength in these two areas. These days, many players work very hard with weights to improve their strength – Bevan, for instance, and Jacques Kallis. But I'm going to choose Lance Klusener. Years of humping sugar cane on the farm has developed these areas nicely.

The shoulders and forearms are vital areas for both batsmen and bowlers. Viv Richards had huge forearms, and could make the ball disappear to the boundary with ease. Among today's players, Graham Thorpe looks strong in the forearms and plays punchy shots all around the wicket. Darren Lehmann and Inzamam-Ul-Haq both come into the reckoning too, but four our player to be an allrounder we need him to have the versatility of a spin bowler. In this case a pre-op Warne with the extra strength of Inzamam or Lehmann.

Wrists and hands Here a definite combination is needed, strength and suppleness. I am inclined to add fingers as well. First we're looking for the feel necessary to play spin, sometimes known as soft hands. The dexterity to ease the ball into the gaps with supple wrists is largely the property of the subcontinent. Saeed Anwar and Sachin Tendulkar certainly have it, but so does Australia's Mark Waugh. In fact, I'm going to go for Waugh because of his renowned catching ability, though it would be remiss of me not to mention Brian McMillan, a man known as `Buckets' for the very reason that his hands were very large and very little ever came out! For the bowlers we must have the fingers of Warne, whose ability to spin the ball copious amounts is revered worldwide. Warne also has a fantastic wrist. But for our Sobers-style allrounder, who bowls seam-up as well as spin, we need to spread the net wider. Glenn McGrath, Shaun Pollock and Wasim Akram are all masters at keeping the seam upright with a perfect wrist position.

The neck Look no further than Kallis (rugby-prop) and Sachin Tendulkar (the suppleness of the subcontinent), a divine mixture for batting. Among the bowlers, I like the look of Geoff Allott. Being a Kiwi, he's probably propped a scrum or two himself.

The cranial area How important is it? Not being a brain surgeon or even having studied the brain – in fact I am still hunting for most of mine! – I'll stick to individual attributes of character or intelligence. The ideal cricketer would have the guts and determination of Steve Waugh, together with the calmness under pressure of Hansie Cronje, and the never-say-die attitude of both. The speed of thought of Mark Taylor would also have to come into the reckoning here.

After a lot of thought I've decided that what we're looking for is a blend of 13 contemporary players, incorporating physical or mental features from each one. Just imagine having Garry Sobers and this man in one team!

• The technique and balance of Sachin Tendulkar
• The mental strength of Steve Waugh
• The hand speed of Brian Lara
• The agility of Michael Bevan between the wickets
• The hands of Mark Waugh
• The power of Lance Klusener
• The athleticism and suppleness of Allan Donald
• The height, accuracy and bounce of Glenn McGrath
• The guile and variation of Wasim Akram
• The fingers of Shane Warne
• The diplomacy and brains of Hansie Cronje
• The bounce and enthusiasm of Jonty Rhodes

Best bits: top, l-r Allan Donald, Steve Waugh and Sachin Tendulkar. bottom Jonty Rhodes, Shane Warne and Mark Waugh

Opposite Garry Sobers, the nearest thing yet the complete cricketer

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