Outswinger@Pace
International 12th Man
Ashish Nehra - whenever he played for India, I feared for India.
Ashish Nehra - whenever he played for India, I feared for India.
I just think though whilst this is all well and good, in the long run the gap between Ponting and Yousuf in terms of their quality as batsmen is more than enough to cover for the position issue. Put simply, I would back a team with Ponting at #5 to score more runs more consistently than a team with Yousuf at #5.My thinking is along these lines.
If the team faces a top-notch attack with three great fast bowlers, a world-class spinner and a good all-rounder, planning the innings is important.
Langer & Sehwag would keep the run-rate ticking and the Aussie is the type who can knuckle down if it gets tough.
Lara and Tendulkar are truly great batsmen and being natural strokeplayers, they'd add runs quickly. These men are expected to take apart the bowling. Pace or spin matters not to them.
At this stage, I'd need a consolidator/accumulator (a good player of top-quality spin) + someone who can play with the tail. That's why Yousuf and Waugh (Sr.) would be my best bets. Kallis would take forward Waugh's role and Gilly is there to decimate the opposition!
I do not think the gap is that glaring. Yousuf actually would be a comparable all-round player in my books. Where Ponting scores highly is his ability to play pace on hard, bouncy tracks. I've seen him struggle pathetically against lateral movement and his lack of patience is not befitting an ATG player. This is just my opinion, not Gospel truth!I just think though whilst this is all well and good, in the long run the gap between Ponting and Yousuf in terms of their quality as batsmen is more than enough to cover for the position issue.
Not really......with sehwag up against good bowlers you always thought you were in with a chance............with Dravid you knew that they didn't call him the wall for nothing...maybe that's because you don't like Sehwag...but you can't deny that he has been a brute force against Pakistan...certainly more than the likes of Irfan Pathan and Dravid (though these 2 have also played a major role against Pakistan at times)
Genius. Never noticed that the first time.lol @ Khatmal in the list
Dravid was the consistent threat, but Sehwag always scared me more. He brutalized us like no other. If we were playing in the subcontinent, I was always afraid that he was going to break some type of a batting record against us that day.3 teams???How can you support 3 teams?
Never.I was more afraid of Dravid.
For Pakistan most feared in no particular order
Any bowler on any pitch that supports bowling
Md Yousuf from Pakistan?? Has been so-so against India, especially while playing in India. Had two series on either side of his purple patch and did nothing of note.Sanath Jayasuriya
Matthew Hayden
Andy Flower
Jacques Kallis
Mohd Yusuf
Inzamam Ul-Haq
Damien Martyn
Wasim Akram
Dale Steyn
Allan Donald
Glenn McGrath
Ashish Nehra - whenever he played for India, I feared for India.
Ofcourse he has been a force against us.And you are very right when you say that i don't like him - infact that's putting it very nicely.But everytime India played against Pakistan,Dravid's wicket was the one i wanted most from a pure non-emotional perspective.More than Sachin,Sehwag or anyone else's wicket....maybe that's because you don't like Sehwag...but you can't deny that he has been a brute force against Pakistan...certainly more than the likes of Irfan Pathan and Dravid (though these 2 have also played a major role against Pakistan at times)
Would disagree on Smith to be honest - got him out early too many times to be classed as reserving his best IMO.Graeme Smith seems to reserve his best for England too; ground us into the dirt in 2003 and added another couple of tons in both the 2008 & 2009/10 series for good measure.
Looking at it as an XI (vs Australia)
Tests:
Cook/Sehwag
AB de Villiers
Tendulkar
Richards
Sangakkara (wk)
Laxman
Flintoff
Wasim
Harbhajan
Steyn
Ambrose