Mumbai: Test cricket has occupied a special place in the hearts of every cricket afficionado. For the past 144 years, the longest format witnessed several success stories highlighting the physicality and mental toughness from players across the 22 yards. There have been memorable victories and hard-fought fabled battles, but a world champion was never crowned. That debate will be put to rest when the top two nations in Test cricket – India and New Zealand square off in the #UltimateTest in the ICC World Test Championship Final, LIVE and Exclusive on the Star Sports Network from June 18-22, 2021, 2 PM onwards.
To celebrate historic feats in Test cricket, Star Sports, India’s leading sports broadcaster, has strung together a mammoth activity to pick the Greatest Of All Time (G.O.A.T) of the 21st century in Tests from among Batsmen, Bowlers, All-rounders, and Captains. The one-of-a-kind initiative brought the entire cricket community together – right from the legends of the game, senior sports journalists around the globe, broadcasters, statisticians, analysts, anchors – the creme de la creme united under one roof.
NOMINEES
The nominees for the categories were carefully selected through a rigid process that included a set criterion for each category.
Men’s Test Batsman: Sachin Tendulkar, Steve Smith, Kumar Sangakkara, Jacques Kallis
Men’s Test Bowler: Muttiah Muralitharan, Shane Warne, Dale Steyn, Glenn McGrath
Men’s Test All-rounder: Jacques Kallis, Ben Stokes, Andrew Flintoff, Ravichandran Ashwin
Men’s Test Captain: Steve Waugh, Graeme Smith, Ricky Ponting, Virat Kohli
JURY
An elite 50-member jury was formed comprising legends of the game like Sunil Gavaskar, Ian Bishop, Harbhajan Singh, Shane Watson, Scott Styris, Gautam Gambhir among others, renowned sports journalists and coaches. Star Sports have also given fans a chance to be a part of the jury, as fan polls will be conducted between 15th and 17th June on Twitter. The polls for Captain and All-rounder will take place on the 17th.
Fan Poll for Test Batsman:
Vote for your #GOATOfThe21stCentury Test Batsman 👇, but first read the T&Cs here: https://t.co/0cSRQcZ4rM
— Star Sports (@StarSportsIndia) June 15, 2021
Fan Poll for Test Bowler:
Cast your vote for the #GOATOfThe21stCentury Men’s Test Bowler after reading the T&Cs: https://t.co/0cSRQcHtAe
— Star Sports (@StarSportsIndia) June 15, 2021
The winners for all the categories will be announced during the lunchtime show ‘Cricket Live’ during the ICC WTC Final from June 18-22, 2021 LIVE & Exclusive on the Star Sports Network.