The selection of the inaugural world XI was more about a gut feeling than the numbers, and that led to some temporary madness with the rogue selection of Australian left-armer Mitchell Johnson - a decision I cop grief for even now.
Once burnt, twice shy, so I over-compensated with last year's side and selected a side based almost entirely on statistics.
Consistency is the theme this time around. Unless there was a more compelling case, I went with the incumbent.
Openers
Alastair Cook returns after missing selection in 2012.
It has not been his most stellar year but he is still the best option to open alongside South Africa's Graeme Smith, who retains his spot.
Indian Shikhar Dhawan scored a century on debut and has made a bright start to his international career after spending years watching Virender Sehwag and Gautam Gambhir.
New Zealand's Peter Fulton had a very decent year and who will forget Hamish Rutherford's 171 on debut?
Middle order
There is a real logjam in the middle with Hashim Amla, Younis Khan, Kumar Sangakkara, Ian Bell, Michael Clarke and Shivnarine Chanderpaul all having legitimate claims.
A special mention must also go to Bangladesh's Mominul Haque, who has made a very impressive beginning.
Chanderpaul is often under-rated and claims a spot for the first time. He replaces Clarke at No 5 with Amla and Sangakkara retaining their spots at No 3 and No 4.
All-rounder
India's Ravichandran Ashwin bumps South African immortal Jacques Kallis. Kallis is a hugely under-appreciated cricketer whose career record is truly phenomenal.
He has scored more than 13,000 runs and is slowly closing in on 300 wickets. He is one of the all time greats.
But Ashwin has been mightily impressive since making his debut two years ago.
He has taken 104 wickets at 27.47 and scored 770 runs at 40.52 in just 18 tests.
He bowls spin but he has being hailed as India's answer to Ian Botham.
Wicketkeeper
Englishman Matt Prior's glovework is still the benchmark and catches still win matches.
That said, he loses his spot simply because South African AB de Villiers mounts a more compelling case.
De Villiers has been in magnificent form with the bat this year, scoring 743 runs at an average of 82.55, and he leads the ICC test batting rankings. Australian Brad Haddin deserves a mention.
His strike rate of 2.83 dismissals a game this year is higher than both Prior or de Villiers.
Seamers
Nice and easy. South African's Dale Steyn and Vernon Philander are No 1 and No 2 on the ICC bowling rankings and demand selection.
The third seamer's role came down to English pair Stuart Broad and James Anderson. Broad offers more with bat and is the leading wicket-taker in 2013, so he gets the nod.
Spinner
There was not much to separate the right arm offspin of Graeme Swann (England) and Saeed Ajmal (Pakistan), and Ashwin has that role covered, anyway, so it was very tempting to go with a bolter like Indian left-armer Ravindra Jadeja.
He has a wonderful ODI record and has made the most of his limited opportunities at test level. He is also a very handy batsman who averages more than 50 at first-class level.
Pakistan's Abdur Rehman is another quality option. Some world teams have him as their spinner. Ajmal retains his spot in my team but it was a toss of a coin.
12th man
Michael Clarke. Because he is awesome and because it would not be a world team without one token Australian. How far they have fallen. Cue the evil laughter.
Test cricket remains the sport's premier form, but we also name a limited-overs team.
George Bailey (Australia), Rohit Sharma (India), Virat Kohli (India), Misbah-ul-Haq (Pakistan), Kumar Sangakkara (Sri Lanka), Shane Watson (Australia), Ravindra Jadeja (India), Mitchell Starc (Australia), James Anderson (England), Lasith Malinga (Sri Lanka), Saeed Ajmal (Pakistan), Mahendra Dhoni (India, 12th man).
Last year: Brendon McCullum (New Zealand), Chris Gayle (West Indies), David Warner (Australia), Hashim Amla (South Africa), Kohli, Sangakkara, Watson, Graeme Swann (England), Starc, Malinga, Ajmal, Steven Finn (England, 12th man).
