Wednesday, March 13, 2002 Viv Richards once said that if he had to choose someone to bat for his life he would choose me. I was flattered. I think Viv meant that he thought I was a fighter, and if I had to choose my best alltime XI they would have to be fighters too.

Over a century of cricket history gives me plenty of choice but my selection - and apologies to all the great players that I have never seen with my own eyes - is made up mainly of my contemporaries. I do not think it is fair to compare players of my era and afterwards with players whose statistics I know but whose technique and temperament I cannot gauge. Here goes.

At the top of the order I'll begin with Barry Richards and Sunil Gavaskar. Even though Barry only had a brief Test career because of apartheid, I saw plenty of him in county cricket and World Series Cricket. He was calm, never under pressure, and played incredibly straight. Sunil was one of those batsmen who would rarely give you his wicket once he was set. He was a highly intelligent cricketer who played in a well-considered manner. He knew when to attack and when to resort to his rock-like defence. On a turning wicket he would sometimes come down the track to every delivery and hit against the spin. Both those tactics take real skill. Hanif Mohammad might have challenged these two for a place, but although I heard he was a genius I never saw him play.

The middle order begins with Zaheer Abbas, who was the best No. 3 of his day. He was stylish, attacking, and played strokes all around the wicket. Next man in is Viv Richards, the Master Blaster. He could destroy any bowling attack and he was entertaining with it. His great talent was that he could pick up the ball so early - that's why he could hook off the front foot. He was also big-hearted and loved to dominate.

Ian Chappell was a quality player and a real fighter. He had a big heart and he was especially good against fast bowling. The same goes for Garry Sobers, who I saw some of in my early days. He was an allround genius, who could bowl fast or spin, bat anywhere in the order, and field brilliantly because he was so athletic. He also wins my vote as captain. Gary had a great understanding of the game. He also had a wonderful manner and true leadership qualities.

Imran Khan is my allrounder of choice. He had immense fighting qualities and was very committed to the team cause. He was an intelligent and genuinely quick bowler, and a solid batsman. I would choose him ahead of Ian Botham and Kapil Dev.

Again, my choice for the keepers' gloves was another warrior. Rodney Marsh could pull off unbelievable catches and was more than a handy batsman. It is still too early to say that Adam Gilchrist would be a better choice than Rodney. He is going with a bang at the moment, but he still has much more to prove.

I had a few run-ins with Dennis Lillee. That is why I know how much winning mattered to him. I have never seen a bowler like him, who could bowl outswing so accurately and with such speed. Dennis was unique in that he could bowl to a full cordon of slips and gullies and never feel the need to put fielders elsewhere. You had to be a top-class batsman to score against him, and a mediocre batsman stood no chance. In 1976, he had a stress fracture in his back and he was told that if he played again his career might end. Dennis was so determined to help his side that he decided to play. He was out of the game for six months as a result. That tells you everything you need to know about his attitude.

The only out-and-out fast bowler to rank with Dennis is Michael Holding. He was so fast that you really struggled to pick up the length of the ball. He had sheer pace, accuracy, and a lethal yorker. It is appropriate that he was known as "Whispering Death", because his run-up was so calm and relaxed that you could not imagine the speed that he was about to generate.

Last among equals is Abdul Qadir. Forget Shane Warne, Abdul was the best legspinner, and he is the one who really popularised the art. He had mastery of more variations than any other spin bowler I have seen - he really was a magician. It was virtually impossible to guess what the delivery was going to be, and his flipper and googly were especially lethal.

So that's my first-choice XI. You might be surprised that there is no room for Brian Lara or Sachin Tendulkar. No Ian Botham or Wasim Akram. No Shane Warne or Steve Waugh. Great players though they are (or were), I do not believe that they match up to the players I have chosen.

If I could add two more to make it a squad of 13, I would throw in Richard Hadlee and Muttiah Muralitharan. Richard had a great understanding of the game, and of batsmen. He had a beautiful outswinger, which is the danger delivery for a right-hander. I have not seen an offspinner to match Murali. There is still a lot of talk about his action, but ICC has cleared him so that should be the end of it.

I have been lucky to watch and play against many wonderful players in my time, but if I had to choose a team to fight for my life I would gladly stake it on these 11 champion cricketers.

Javed's alltime fighters XI
1 Barry Richards, 2 Sunil Gavaskar, 3 Zaheer Abbas, 4 Viv Richards, 5 Ian Chappell, 6 Garry Sobers (capt), 7 Imran Khan, 8 Rodney Marsh (wk), 9 Abdul Qadir, 10 Dennis Lillee, 11 Michael Holding. In reserve: Richard Hadlee, Muttiah Muralitharan.

Javed Miandad, Pakistan's most prolific batsman and later their coach, was talking to Kamran Abbasi. His column appears every Wednesday.

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