Michael Clarke picks Ben Stokes as his No.1 draft pick for World XI

In the episode, Clarke went with all-rounder Ben Stokes as his first pick. Stokes, who has been one of the chief architects in changing England’s sagging fortunes in limited-overs cricket, made the world take notice of him through his versatility in all three aspects of the game. So, Clarke believes that the all-rounder is currently the hottest property in the international cricket.

Justifying his pick, the 36-year-old said, “I’m probably picking Ben Stokes as my first player. Bat, bowl, field. I think he’s the best allrounder in the world. The last three years he’s come on in leaps and bounds. I think he’s an amazing talent and he’s an entertainer – I love watching him play. I’m probably picking Virat Kohli as my first batsman. Smithy (Steve Smith) is not far behind. He’s either my No.3 or No.4 in that team. Smithy’s runs are unbelievable, all forms of the game, he’s been playing some unbelievable cricket.”

Chappell suggested that a bowler, who can pick up 20 wickets in a match, is more valuable to the team, by saying, “I’m looking for someone who can win you matches so I’m probably going to be looking for a bowler rather than a batsman. There’s plenty of good batsmen – Kohli, Smith, Williamson, Root – any of those four you could pick anyone and they’re going to do a good job. I’d be picking Mitchell Starc first up. The hardest thing to do in a cricket match is get the 20 wickets. You can always find enough batsmen to get you 300 runs. If you get 300-350 run with a decent attack you can win more than you lose, but that’s only if you’ve got a decent attack. That’s why I’d go for a bowler No.1.”