ICC Greatest Test Team

[Fusion]

Refused to vote because of the one AR rule and restricting players to one category. I want both Imran and Sobers in my team.

 

[salman85]

Screw Sobers.I want Imran!

Sunil Gavaskar
Herbert Sutcliffe
Donald Bradman
Viv Richards
Brian Lara
Imran Khan
Adam Gilchrist
Curtly Ambrose
Wasim Akram
Malcolm Marshall
Shane Warne

 

[Prince EWS]

Yeah, I can definitely understand them forcing everyone into the same team balance, otherwise counting votes and forming an eleven becomes quite confusing, but they should've made us pick two allrounders in that case - or none, and just listed Sobers as a batsman, Imran and Hadlee as bowlers etc. Any system which makes me want to leave out the man I consider the best cricketer of all time for balance reasons definitely needs to be examined.

It's particularly harsh on Hadlee. How many people would pick Hadlee to bat 6 or 7 in an all-time eleven followed by four specialist bowlers? None, that's how many.

Also I'm disappointed to find yet another online World XI poll that snubs Lohmann, but I didn't really expect any different.

 

[weeman27bob]

Yeah, I can definitely understand them forcing everyone into the same team balance, otherwise counting votes and forming an eleven becomes quite confusing, but they should've made us pick two allrounders in that case - or none, and just listed Sobers as a batsman, Imran and Hadlee as bowlers etc. Any system which makes me want to leave out the man I consider the best cricketer of all time for balance reasons definitely needs to be examined.

It's particularly harsh on Hadlee. How many people would pick Hadlee to bat 6 or 7 in an all-time eleven followed by four specialist bowlers? None, that's how many.

Also I'm disappointed to find yet another online World XI poll that snubs Lohmann, but I didn't really expect any different.

I'm not trying to say he was awful or anything, but was Lohmann really as good as the statistics suggest?

 

[hang on]

annoyed that neither imran nor hadlee can be picked again as bowlers. also forcing one to select only one spinner....!

just hope that this time they do not end up selecting akram like cricinfo did. that was a dreadful selection since better bowlers were left out (variety be damned!).

gavaskar
hutton
bradman
tendulkar
richards
sobers
gilchrist
warne
marshall
ambrose
mcgrath

 

[robinjr]

picked this

Gavaskar
Hobbs
Bradman
Tendulkar
Richards
Gilchrist
Hadlee
Warne
Marshall
Lillee
McGrath

 

[hang on]

picked this

Gavaskar
Hobbs
Bradman
Tendulkar
Richards
Gilchrist
Hadlee
Warne
Marshall
Lillee
McGrath

how did u manage to pick hadlee? have they changed the criteria?

 

[robinjr]

how did u manage to pick hadlee? have they changed the criteria?

Hadlee is my allrounder.Listed Gilly ahead of him on the paper.

 

[Prince EWS]

I'm not trying to say he was awful or anything, but was Lohmann really as good as the statistics suggest?

No, he wasn't. He played in an era where scores were a lot lower in general, and he also played against a couple of poor South African sides. He certainly wasn't the equivalent of what a bowler averaging 10 today would be. However, I don't believe these factors are quite enough to negate him as one of the greatest bowlers of all time - the global average was lower, but it wasn't ten.

 

[hang on]

Hadlee is my allrounder.Listed Gilly ahead of him on the paper.

Gotcha.

But no Sobers?

 

[Teja.]

Post 1920 because I don't have reasonably good knowledge of the less popular cricketers of the period before that

Herbert Sutcliffe
Jack Hobbs
Donald Bradman
Wally Hammond
George Headley
Adam Gilchrist
Kieth Miller
Malcolm Marshall
Fred Trueman
Glen McGrath
Muttiah Muralidaran

ftr. I think Imran's a better cricketer but Miller's better for the balance for the side. Pretty crappy system, It must be repeated.

Herbert Sutcliffe
Jack Hobbs
Donald Bradman
Wally Hammond
Garry Sobers
Adam Gilchrist
Kieth Miller
Imran Khan
Richard Hadlee
Shaun Pollock
Muttiah Muralitharan

would be my AT XI without restrictions.

 

[Prince EWS]

Haha, I don't think there are many non-South Africans who rate Pollock more highly than I do, but I think you've just managed it, Teja.

 

[smash84]

Any system which makes me want to leave out the man I consider the best cricketer of all time for balance reasons definitely needs to be examined.

It's particularly harsh on Hadlee. How many people would pick Hadlee to bat 6 or 7 in an all-time eleven followed by four specialist bowlers? None, that's how many.

.

Still hard to digest that you rate Imran above even Bradman. I have to be one of the biggest Imran fanboys around and even I find that hard to fathom.

True regarding Hadlee. Very harsh on him.

 

[Prince EWS]

Still hard to digest that you rate Imran above even Bradman

I rate allrounders. Learn to deal, bro.

 

[smash84]

I rate allrounders. Learn to deal, bro.

haha.....if you say so

 

[centurymaker]

I rate allrounders. Learn to deal, bro.

no wonder your sims are massively tilted in favour of teams with decent all-rounders.

 

[vcs]

I rate allrounders. Learn to deal, bro.

Specialists >> All-rounders.

 

[smash84]

no wonder your sims are massively tilted in favour of teams with decent all-rounders.

haha........nicely tying in the pieces centurymaker

 

[silentstriker]

Weird to leave out Imran from the fast bowlers and keep him with all rounders where he will surely be trumped by Sobers.

 

[Outswinger@Pace]

I am a bit disappointed with this ESPNCricinfo and ICC's system of choosing only one all-rounder. The fact that two ATG fast bowlers in Hadlee and Imran have to miss out because they were cursed with reasonable batting skills defies logic, as many posters have mentioned!

Excuse the language, but I have to show the middle finger to any system that forces me to leave out Hadlee. So, I'd go my own route and put forward my best XI:

1) Jack Hobbs
2) Sunil Gavaskar
3) Don Bradman
4) George Headley
5) Allan Border
6) Gary Sobers
7) Adam Gilchrist (Wk.)
8) Imran Khan (Capt.)
9) Richard Hadlee
10) Malcolm Marshall
11) Muralidharan

Khan, Hadlee, Marshall and Murali wouldn't be required to score too many runs given that batting line-up. And if these four men (with some magic from Sobers) can't pick up 20 wickets, I don't know who can!