Best all time XI for each country

[Blakus]

1. Hobbs
2. Hutton
3. Sutcliffe
4. Hammond
5. Barrington
6. Ames
7. Botham
8. Laker
9. Trueman
10. Barnes
11. Lohmann

12. Pratt

England's all-time team is extremely, extremely debatable though. Rhodes, Underwood, Larwood, Knott, Cowdrey etc often get picked by pundits. The only real certainties are Hobbs, Hammond and Botham.

Yeah for me the England XI is the hardest to pick. There's just so many relatively equal choices for each spot. Would add Ranji, Grace, Bedser, Statham and Verity to your list of contenders.

Here's my own XI (based on Test cricket)
1.Hobbs
2.Hutton
3.Hammond
4.Barrington
5.Compton
6.Botham
7.Knott
8.Rhodes
9.Trueman
10.Bedser
11.Barnes

 

[Zinzan]

Yeah for me the England XI is the hardest to pick. There's just so many relatively equal choices for each spot. Would add Ranji, Grace, Bedser, Statham and Verity to your list of contenders.

Here's my own XI (based on Test cricket)
1.Hobbs
2.Hutton
3.Hammond
4.Barrington
5.Compton
6.Botham
7.Knott
8.Rhodes
9.Trueman
10.Bedser
11.Barnes

Yup, an All-time English XI is frustrating to pick.

I'd be more comfortable selecting two sides, an English pre-1950 (based on when the player debuted) & post-1950s.

Would be interesting which team would look strongest on paper.

 

[Howe_zat]

So:

Hobbs
Sutcliffe
Hutton
Hammond
Compton
Rhodes
Ames
Larwood
Verity
Barnes
Lohmann

vs

Boycott
Gooch
Cowdrey
Barrington
Gower
Botham
Knott
Trueman
Statham
Underwood
Willis

A lot would depend on Botham's performance but the pre-1950 side takes it in my mind. Honourable mentions to Laker, Tyson, Wooley, Bedser, Peel etc.

 

[Migara]

Sri Lanka

Sanath Jayasuriya (LH, SLA)
Marvan Atapattu (RH)
Kumar Sangakkara (LH, rwk)
Aravinda de Silva (RH, OB)
Mahadevan Sathasivam (RH)
Mahela Jayawardane (RH, c)
Hashan Tillekaratne (LH, wk)
Chaminda Vaas (LH, LFM)
Rumesh Ratnayake (RH, RFM)
Muttiah Muralitharan (RH, OB)
Lasith Malinga (RH, RF)

Can replace Sathasivam with Thilan Samaraweera if you only want test players, and push Mahela to #5 and Thilan to #6

 

[Zinzan]

So:

Hobbs
Sutcliffe
Hutton
Hammond
Compton
Rhodes
Ames
Larwood
Verity
Barnes
Lohmann

vs

Boycott
Gooch
Cowdrey
Barrington
Gower
Botham
Knott
Trueman
Statham
Underwood
Willis

A lot would depend on Botham's performance but the pre-1950 side takes it in my mind. Honourable mentions to Laker, Tyson, Wooley, Bedser, Peel etc.

You're right, head to head would probably be something like;

Hobbs >Boycott
Sutcliffe > Gooch
Hutton > Cowdrey
Hammond >/=Barrington
Compton > Gower
Rhodes < Botham
Ames = Knott
Larwood <Trueman
Verity <Underwood
Barnes>/= Statham
Lohmann >Willis

 

[weldone]

South Africa

Bruce Mitchell
Barry Richards
Graeme Pollock*
Dudley Nourse
Jacques Kallis
Clive Rice
Aubrey Faulkner
Mike Procter
Mark Boucher+
Neil Adcock
Allan Donald

Reserves: Dale Steyn, Graeme Smith, Peter Pollock, Shaun Pollock, Hugh Tayfield

 

[Blaze 18]

India

1) Sunil Gavaskar
2) Virender Sehwag
3) VVS Laxman
4) Sachin Tendulkar
5) Rahul Dravid
6) MS Dhoni
7) Kapil Dev
8) Anil Kumble
9) Bishen Singh Bedi
10)Javagal Srinath
11)Zaheer Khan

Damn, that is a poor all-time side. India just have not produced enough test quality fast bowlers.

 

[Howe_zat]

Sri Lanka

Sanath Jayasuriya (LH, SLA)
Marvan Atapattu (RH)
Kumar Sangakkara (LH, rwk)
Aravinda de Silva (RH, OB)
Mahadevan Sathasivam (RH)
Mahela Jayawardane (RH, c)
Hashan Tillekaratne (LH, wk)
Chaminda Vaas (LH, LFM)
Rumesh Ratnayake (RH, RFM)
Muttiah Muralitharan (RH, OB)
Lasith Malinga (RH, RF)

Can replace Sathasivam with Thilan Samaraweera if you only want test players, and push Mahela to #5 and Thilan to #6

Two spinners, surely? I'd play de Silva ahead of Ratnayake. No love for Ranatunga either?

South Africa

Bruce Mitchell
Barry Richards
Graeme Pollock*
Dudley Nourse
Jacques Kallis
Clive Rice
Aubrey Faulkner
Mike Procter
Mark Boucher+
Neil Adcock
Allan Donald

Reserves: Dale Steyn, Graeme Smith, Peter Pollock, Shaun Pollock

Always makes me smile to see a SA side with four all-rounders in it. I love Shaun Pollock but it's hard to see where he fits in. Tayfield ought to be at least among the reserve options.

 

[weldone]

India

Virender Sehwag
Sunil Gavaskar*
Rahul Dravid
Sachin Tendulkar
VVS Laxman
Kapil Dev
Farooq Engineer*
Anil Kumble
Javagal Srinath
Subhash Gupte
Amar Singh

Reserves: Vijay Merchant, Gundappa Vishwanath, Bishan Singh Bedi, Mohammad Nissar

 

[weldone]

Always makes me smile to see a SA side with four all-rounders in it. I love Shaun Pollock but it's hard to see where he fits in. Tayfield ought to be at least among the reserve options.

Yeah that combo of 6 bowlers and 9 batsmen is something special. Nos. 5-6-7-8 of Kallis-Rice-Faulkner-Procter is a captain's delight.

Yeah, I feel the same about Pollock father-son. We don't need another alrounder, and if we need another bowler, then I shall personally take Steyn ahead of the Pollocks. And Tayfield yes, edited.

 

[ankitj]

South Africa

Bruce Mitchell
Barry Richards
Graeme Pollock*
Dudley Nourse
Jacques Kallis
Clive Rice
Aubrey Faulkner
Mike Procter
Mark Boucher+
Neil Adcock
Allan Donald

Reserves: Dale Steyn, Graeme Smith, Peter Pollock, Shaun Pollock, Hugh Tayfield

No Shaun Pollock? There are enough all-rounders already in any SA side, so I will rather take Pollock who can claim a spot on the basis of one skill alone over Clive Rice who perhaps cannot. Not having played test cricket is also an issue. Tayfield in place of Adcock is a strong case too. One quality spinner is needed.

 

[Faisal1985]

Pakistan
Saeed Anwar
Hanif Mohammad
Zaheer Abbas
Javed Miandad
Inzamam Ul Haq
Imran Khan
Imtiaz Ahmed
Wasim Akram
Sarfraz Nawaq
Abdul Qadir
Waqar Younis

12th = Mohammed Yousuf/ Fazal Mahmood

If we are considering players at there peak i would pick Akhtar over Sarfraz and Wasim Bari over Imtiaz.

But over all a heck of a team...

 

[ankitj]

If we are considering players at there peak i would pick Akhtar over Sarfraz and Wasim Bari over Imtiaz.

But over all a heck of a team...

I almost thought you will recommend Afridi. So relieved that you didn't

 

[weldone]

Australia

Matthew Hayden
Victor Trumper
Donald Bradman*
Greg Chappell
Steve Waugh
Keith Miller
Adam Gilchrist+
Shane Warne
Bill O'Reilly
Dennis Lillee
Glenn McGrath

Reserves: Arthur Morris, Allan Border, Clarrie Grimmett, Allan Davidson, Ray Lindwall.

 

[Howe_zat]

Any of Hill, Ponsford, Woodfull, Morris or Simpson over Hayden.

 

[Faisal1985]

I almost thought you will recommend Afridi. So relieved that you didn't

Whops....totally forgot...he should replace Imran

 

[weldone]

No Shaun Pollock? There are enough all-rounders already in any SA side, so I will rather take Pollock who can claim a spot on the basis of one skill alone over Clive Rice who perhaps cannot. Not having played test cricket is also an issue. Tayfield in place of Adcock is a strong case too. One quality spinner is needed.

If Rice is dropped to take a bowler, I shall take Dale Steyn ahead of Pollock father-son. And not playing test cricket isn't an issue in case of Rice because of many reasons (everyone knows how he performed against the best of oppositions, how the great alrounders of that generation rated him, and nobody should have a doubt that he could have played close to 100 tests if...). And I already have one quality spinner in Faulkner. Adcock, to me, is among 2 best bowlers South Africa has ever produced, alongwith Allan Donald (and arguably better than Donald, too).

 

[weldone]

West Indies

Viv Richards
Gordon Greenidge
George Headley
Brian Lara
Everton Weekes
Garry Sobers*
Clyde Walcott+
Malcolm Marshall
Joel Garner
Curtly Ambrose
Michael Holding

Reserves: Conrad Hunte, Frank Worrell, Jeff Dujon, Andy Roberts

 

[weldone]

England

Leonard Hutton
Jack Hobbs
Wally Hammond
WG Grace*
Ken Barrington
Ian Botham
Les Ames+
Jim Laker
Fred Trueman
Sydney Barnes
George Lohmann

Reserves: Herbert Sutcliffe, Geoff Boycott, Alan Knott, Hedley Verity, Harold Larwood.

 

[Howe_zat]

In the Windies side, I would rather have Headley open than Sir Viv. Wes Hall worth a mention. Lance Gibbs & Sonny Ramandhin are potential spin options too.