Can your ODI XI beat the World XI?

How it works

1. Spin. Each spin draws a nation and a decade (the 2000s, 2010s or 2020s). There are 30 possible draws, and a spin never repeats one you have had.
2. Draft. Six spins give you eleven picks: one from the first spin and two from each of the others. You fill fixed spots: two openers, three middle-order batters, one wicketkeeper, two all-rounders or spinners, and three fast bowlers.
3. Play the series. Your XI plays five ODIs against the World XI. You see the scoreline, the story of each match, and how strong your batting, bowling and fielding were.

Who you can pick

The ODI game has 821 player cards. A player needs at least 10 matches to be in it. Each draw shows at most 25 players: the ones who played most for that side in that period, with every role covered. The cards show real career numbers only. No player rating is shown at any point, so the choice is your judgement.

• Ten nations can be drawn: Australia, Bangladesh, England, India, New Zealand, Pakistan, South Africa, Sri Lanka, West Indies and Zimbabwe.
• Ball-by-ball records of ODIs start around 2003. Players whose careers began earlier are included where official career totals were available for them.
• Afghanistan players are not in the game, because their matches are missing from the match data.
• Viv Richards is in the World XI but cannot be drafted: he played before the match records begin.

What decides the result

Every player is compared with every other player in the ODI game. Batters are measured on batting average, runs per match, strike rate and how often they made a hundred, each counting equally. Bowlers are measured on bowling average, wickets per match, economy rate and how often they took four or more wickets in an innings, each counting equally. All-rounders are measured on both. Long careers count for more than short ones, and a brilliant short career is pulled back toward the average.

A team’s score is 40% batting, 50% bowling and 10% fielding (catches and stumpings per match). The gap between your score and the World XI’s decides the series, with a small element of luck that is always the same for the same XI.

The World XI

The XI you have to beat. It is the same for everyone and does not change from game to game.

1. 1Sanath JayasuriyaOPN
2. 2Sachin TendulkarOPN
3. 3Virat KohliBAT
4. 4Viv RichardsBAT
5. 5AB de VilliersBAT
6. 6M S DhoniWK
7. 7Saqlain MushtaqSPIN
8. 8Muttiah MuralitharanSPIN
9. 9Wasim AkramPACE
10. 10Glenn McGrathPACE
11. 11Shaun PollockPACE

Read more about ODI cricket

• Every nation’s all-time ODI XI: the ten World Cup Run sides with real career numbers, and the World XI.
• What is a good strike rate?: real ODI, T20I and IPL benchmarks, by position and nation.
• What is a good batting average in ODIs?: benchmarks by position.
• What is a good bowling average in ODIs?: for pace and spin.
• What is a good economy rate?: the same for bowlers, pace and spin.

Other ways to play ODI

• The ODI Daily Challenge: the same six spins for everyone that day, one scored attempt, and a streak if you come back tomorrow. New spins at 00:00 UTC.
• Pick any ODI XI: no spins. Choose any eleven, send the link to a friend, and see whose XI wins the series.
• Challenge a friend from the same spins: every result has a share link that lets a friend draft from the exact draws you had.
• The World Cup Run: draft an XI, then play four group games against nation XIs, a semi-final and the World XI in the final. One slip is allowed in the group.

The Test game · ODI · T20I · IPL