2 Best XIs

The problem is the number 3 and 4 spot. So many potential players that could fill those spots but in the right order, it's difficult to find the best pair. For me, Tendulkar would always take the 4th spot but it's difficult to choose between Dravid and Ponting for that 3rd position.

piney, at their peak dravid was the best batsman ever. lets be honest, just check the stats, dravid averaged 59 from when he made debut till 2007. ponting averaged the same in this period, but dravid definately faced a more stronger attack ie, warne mcgrath type of bowlers compared to who ponting faced.
i think dravid is my personal favourate player and will always be ahead of ponting. i guess u cud say ponting was more fluent, but dravid, has the best defence and was always there when indian top players failed.

fleming and sangakarra are good shouts.

i think i'd have sagakarra in my 4th team though and fleming in the 5th team. not sure he's a better player than martin crowe.

OMG I've forgotten Dean Jones

viru - i didnt put gayle in my 2nd team. there arent that many stand out openers in the last 20 years or so tbh, so i dont think it's that unrealistic.

Thorpe has been missing from a lot of England fan's teams in my opinion, a very talented player.
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The selectors managed to miss him for a while too.

Incredible seeing as he's arguably england's best middle order batsman since the 60s.

Yorkie, just for you, my england 4th team :

Cook
Butcher
Trott
Bell
Fairbrother
M.Maynard
White
Russell
Small
Emburey/Giles/Tufnell
Anderson


It's amazing that atherton isnt in any of these teams, and perhaps he should be. his career was wrecked by his back.

From early 90's

Pakistan IX

Saeed Anwer
Amir Sohail
Younis Khan
Javed Miandad
Muhammad Yusuf
Inzamamul haq
Rashid Latif
Wasim Akram
Waqar Younis
Saeed Ajmal
Shoaib Akhter

strong team there pakistan. no doubt, it would take some side to beat that line up.

i find hoggie's selection of kallis in a world x1 since the mid 70s quite a surprise, and also the selection of grieg in the england team. regarding kallis, i think of him in the walsh bracket, as someone whose stats overstate his match winning ability. there are so many players over this period who are more likely to win a match imo. it's interesting by the way (but not unreasonable imo) that not one person has mentioned ex world record holder courtney walsh.

anyway, who did we all agree on then, in terms of a world team ? i know we're talking different periods, but it looks like the general concensus is something like :


gavaskar (ind)
dravid (ind)
iva richards (w ind)
lara (w ind)
tendulkar (ind)
kallis (sa)
gilchrist (aus)
akram (pak)
hadlee (nz)
marshall (w ind)
warne (aus)

12th man - murali (sl) or mcgrath (aus)

personally i'd have a more dominating opener in there to replace dravid - specifically greenidge (w ind) or haydn (aus).

i also think waugh (aus) is a much stronger candidate than kallis, as he is the most indefatigable cricket i have ever seen. the guy is not only a very shrewd captain, and an absoloute stand-out performer who scores when it matters, but the guy just refuses to lose. to me he is the ultimate match winner, and indispensible in any side for that. quite something for someone who started out as a poor man's version of simon o'donnell.

i would personally prefer ambrose (w ind) to wasim in most conditions, particularly as marshall moves the ball at pace, but - whilst i think that kallis and dravid are somewhat out of place in the company listed - i wouldnt complain too much if i had the attack as above at my disposal.

can we do some more teams ?

Dunno how I found this old thread but here goes

England

Gooch
Cook
Root
Gower
KP
Stewart
Stokes
Flintoff
Swann
Gough
Anderson

World XI

Sehwag
Hayden
Ponting
Lara
Tendulkar
Gilchrist
Imran
Warne
Marshall
McGrath
Murali

I started following Cricket in the late 90s

Pakistan:
Anwar
Younis Khan
Azam
Youssef
Inzi
Rizwan
Afridi
Akram
Ajmal
Waqar
Akhtar

England:
Trescothick
Cook
Strauss
Root
Pietersen
Stewart
Flintoff
Broad
Swann
Gough
Anderson

Pakistan have never had great openers barring Anwar in the last 25 years so had to put Younis Khan. Misbah is very unlucky to miss out but I needed an allrounder in the team.
With England I couldn't leave any of the 3 openers out so put Strauss at number 3. The likes of Atherton, Thorpe, Bell and Trott are unlucky to miss out.

comment by Snooker_49 (U10665)
posted 4 hours, 43 minutes ago
I started following Cricket in the late 90s

Pakistan:
Anwar
Younis Khan
Azam
Youssef
Inzi
Rizwan
Afridi
Akram
Ajmal
Waqar
Akhtar

England:
Trescothick
Cook
Strauss
Root
Pietersen
Stewart
Flintoff
Broad
Swann
Gough
Anderson

Pakistan have never had great openers barring Anwar in the last 25 years so had to put Younis Khan. Misbah is very unlucky to miss out but I needed an allrounder in the team.
With England I couldn't leave any of the 3 openers out so put Strauss at number 3. The likes of Atherton, Thorpe, Bell and Trott are unlucky to miss out.
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Somehow I forgot about Ben Stokes so he would get in ahead of Flintoff.