-
Welcome to the Cricket Web forums, one of the biggest forums in the world dedicated to cricket.
You are currently viewing our boards as a guest which gives you limited access to view most discussions and access our other features. By joining our free community you will have access to post topics, respond to polls, upload content and access many other special features. Registration is fast, simple and absolutely free so please, join the Cricket Web community today!
If you have any problems with the registration process or your account login, please contact us.
Furball's Greatest XI
- Thread starter Furball
- Start date
Hurricane
Hall of Fame Member
home track bully imo
Furball
Evil Scotsman
Andrew Strauss
Truth be told, there’s been very few great opening batsmen in the last 10 or so years, and a lot of very good or even great middle order batsmen. When trying to come up with my final XI, the openers caused me a lot of grief. Off the top of my head, there’s no-one I find particularly great to watch; all my batting heroes are middle order players. I’d need to tweak my criteria slightly to get a player I was happy with. I toyed with 3 or 4 names in this slot and none of them really seemed to fit in my side; some I’ve never liked, some have blotted their copybooks in the last few years. Yet when I considered Andrew Strauss, it immediately struck me that he fitted the bill perfectly.
Strauss took to Test cricket like a duck to water in his maiden Test, in fact in his maiden year in Test cricket. Australia, and particularly Warne, caused him some grief in 2005 but Strauss, like he always does, found a way to adapt, ending the series with two centuries to his name. Throughout his career he continued to confound expectations and find a way of proving his worth to England, from his Test best score in New Zealand when it looked like he would be banished from the side in 2008, to his glorious rebirth in ODI cricket after 2009. His 158 against India in Bangalore in the 2011 World Cup is comfortably the best innings I’ve seen from an Englishman in ODI cricket, whereas his 161 against Australia at Lord’s in 2009 is one of the best innings I’ve seen because of how faultless it was and how methodically it was crafted.
Ultimately though, Strauss’ greatness was in his captaincy. Thrust into the captaincy under the most trying of circumstances, his captaincy era will be hard to top in my time watching cricket. He was perhaps not the most imaginative of captains, but the regard he’s held in by his troops is clear and I’ll always associate him with the twin triumphs of the 2010/11 Ashes – which the players owed those of us who endured sleepless nights to watch the debacle in 2006/07 – and England becoming the number 1 Test side with their 4-0 whitewash of India. After a lot of ups and downs between home Ashes series in 2005 and 2009, Strauss’ era really was a golden age for English cricket, and Strauss’ leadership during that time means he’ll always have a place in my cricketing heart. Whilst there have been batsmen with better averages and batsmen who have been better to watch, greatness isn’t all about your numbers or how you played the game, and it is as my greatest captain that Strauss also takes his place in my Greatest XI.
Furball's Greatest XI
1. AJ Strauss*
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.
8.
9.
10. JM Anderson
11.
Truth be told, there’s been very few great opening batsmen in the last 10 or so years, and a lot of very good or even great middle order batsmen. When trying to come up with my final XI, the openers caused me a lot of grief. Off the top of my head, there’s no-one I find particularly great to watch; all my batting heroes are middle order players. I’d need to tweak my criteria slightly to get a player I was happy with. I toyed with 3 or 4 names in this slot and none of them really seemed to fit in my side; some I’ve never liked, some have blotted their copybooks in the last few years. Yet when I considered Andrew Strauss, it immediately struck me that he fitted the bill perfectly.
Strauss took to Test cricket like a duck to water in his maiden Test, in fact in his maiden year in Test cricket. Australia, and particularly Warne, caused him some grief in 2005 but Strauss, like he always does, found a way to adapt, ending the series with two centuries to his name. Throughout his career he continued to confound expectations and find a way of proving his worth to England, from his Test best score in New Zealand when it looked like he would be banished from the side in 2008, to his glorious rebirth in ODI cricket after 2009. His 158 against India in Bangalore in the 2011 World Cup is comfortably the best innings I’ve seen from an Englishman in ODI cricket, whereas his 161 against Australia at Lord’s in 2009 is one of the best innings I’ve seen because of how faultless it was and how methodically it was crafted.
Ultimately though, Strauss’ greatness was in his captaincy. Thrust into the captaincy under the most trying of circumstances, his captaincy era will be hard to top in my time watching cricket. He was perhaps not the most imaginative of captains, but the regard he’s held in by his troops is clear and I’ll always associate him with the twin triumphs of the 2010/11 Ashes – which the players owed those of us who endured sleepless nights to watch the debacle in 2006/07 – and England becoming the number 1 Test side with their 4-0 whitewash of India. After a lot of ups and downs between home Ashes series in 2005 and 2009, Strauss’ era really was a golden age for English cricket, and Strauss’ leadership during that time means he’ll always have a place in my cricketing heart. Whilst there have been batsmen with better averages and batsmen who have been better to watch, greatness isn’t all about your numbers or how you played the game, and it is as my greatest captain that Strauss also takes his place in my Greatest XI.
Furball's Greatest XI
1. AJ Strauss*
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.
8.
9.
10. JM Anderson
11.
Last edited:
King Pietersen
International Captain
I nominate a collaboration XI from Adders and Benchy next week.
Prince EWS
Global Moderator
I can exclusively reveal that Hamilton will not be in the lineup.
Howe_zat
Audio File
To be honest I don't think that much of Strauss' captaincy. Probably something more to do with the ordinary England team of 2006-09 than the good one that followed. He got the job because he was the only senior batsman who was sure of his place, being the middle of a purple patch that didn't really represent the latter part of his career.
And so for a while afterward it seemed to be keeping him there - any criticism was met with a circling of the wagons rather than a more honest evaluation you might expect if it had been someone less senior.
Tactically it seems to have been Flower's doing, especially considering how Cook's captaincy appears to have been made in the same shop.
So I see him as a connection, someone who pulled the England side together in 2009 and had a phenomenal Ashes that year with what was really quite a pants batting order behind him. After that, I don't think I'd have missed him.
And so for a while afterward it seemed to be keeping him there - any criticism was met with a circling of the wagons rather than a more honest evaluation you might expect if it had been someone less senior.
Tactically it seems to have been Flower's doing, especially considering how Cook's captaincy appears to have been made in the same shop.
So I see him as a connection, someone who pulled the England side together in 2009 and had a phenomenal Ashes that year with what was really quite a pants batting order behind him. After that, I don't think I'd have missed him.
Furball
Evil Scotsman
Rahul Dravid
Joining Strauss in opening the batting is India’s Player of the 00s. The eagle-eyed amongst you will notice that Rahul isn’t exactly an opening batsman, yet such is the difficulty I’ve had in finding two opening batsman I’m happy with that it’s up to opener he goes. And as he’s such a great team player and all round classy bloke, I’m sure he’d have no trouble doing it. He spent virtually the entire England tour as a make-shift opener, and at Edgbaston might as well have opened given Sehwag’s contribution, and managed to have one of the great series with the bat, so he’ll have no trouble managing it.
Dravid stands alone from the other middle order bats in this side because he’s perceived as being a bit dour, a bit of a blocker. It’s a shame, because often what is forgotten is a fabulously elegant player when he elects to actually play his shots instead of leaving or defending. His back foot play to Graeme Swann in the 2011 tour was an absolute joy to watch in terms of elegance, and his general play that tour simply couldn’t be faulted. England had answers to every Indian batsman bar Dravid.
Dravid’s “dourness” was often borne out of the need to knuckle down and be the rock that scored the tough runs that the middle order could work around. Dravid’s contribution to Indian cricket during his career cannot be understated; in ten years India went from being pathetic away from home to the number 1 side in the world, and a big innings from Dravid was often at the heart of many an Indian victory. Off the field he’s a class act too; it never failed to amaze me how often it was Dravid that fronted up to the media after yet another on-field debacle in England. Yet somehow through it all Dravid still somehow managed to keep his sense of humour. On the field, he deserved a better finale than his final series in Australia. One of the greats of the modern game and an easy pick for my Greatest XI.
Furball's Greatest XI
1. AJ Strauss
2. R Dravid
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.
8.
9.
10. JM Anderson
11.
Joining Strauss in opening the batting is India’s Player of the 00s. The eagle-eyed amongst you will notice that Rahul isn’t exactly an opening batsman, yet such is the difficulty I’ve had in finding two opening batsman I’m happy with that it’s up to opener he goes. And as he’s such a great team player and all round classy bloke, I’m sure he’d have no trouble doing it. He spent virtually the entire England tour as a make-shift opener, and at Edgbaston might as well have opened given Sehwag’s contribution, and managed to have one of the great series with the bat, so he’ll have no trouble managing it.
Dravid stands alone from the other middle order bats in this side because he’s perceived as being a bit dour, a bit of a blocker. It’s a shame, because often what is forgotten is a fabulously elegant player when he elects to actually play his shots instead of leaving or defending. His back foot play to Graeme Swann in the 2011 tour was an absolute joy to watch in terms of elegance, and his general play that tour simply couldn’t be faulted. England had answers to every Indian batsman bar Dravid.
Dravid’s “dourness” was often borne out of the need to knuckle down and be the rock that scored the tough runs that the middle order could work around. Dravid’s contribution to Indian cricket during his career cannot be understated; in ten years India went from being pathetic away from home to the number 1 side in the world, and a big innings from Dravid was often at the heart of many an Indian victory. Off the field he’s a class act too; it never failed to amaze me how often it was Dravid that fronted up to the media after yet another on-field debacle in England. Yet somehow through it all Dravid still somehow managed to keep his sense of humour. On the field, he deserved a better finale than his final series in Australia. One of the greats of the modern game and an easy pick for my Greatest XI.
Furball's Greatest XI
1. AJ Strauss
2. R Dravid
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.
8.
9.
10. JM Anderson
11.
Last edited:
honestbharani
Whatever it takes!!!
You are going to have a pretty good slip cordon too.. Your openers are also gonna be your ifrst and second slips, I think..
mightymariner
U19 12th Man
Great selection in Dravid, always seems like a really nice chap when I hear him on the radio. Though I do remember watching him having his hands in his pockets for like two days in the field when India last came over.
Furball
Evil Scotsman
Glenn McGrath
Every country, even India, have their great fast bowlers. Everyone loves their fast bowlers. But what makes a fast bowler truly great? Some are made great by their pace. Some intimidate with their presence. Some befuddle batsmen with swing and seam movement, or crush toes with deadly yorkers.
In McGrath’s case, it’s a spell of bowling at Lord’s on the first day of the 2005 Ashes that still gives me goosebumps 8 years later. It’s the way he publically targeted the opposition’s top batsmen, and then regularly backed up his words by getting them out again and again and again and again. More times than any other fast bowler to have ever played the game. It’s the way he adapted to every opposition and all conditions and was a success everywhere, despite not having the obvious tools like extreme pace or swing that his more celebrated contemporaries possessed. It was the confidence to name Marcuss Trescothick as his 500[SUP]th[/SUP] victim then go ahead and dismiss him for his 500[SUP]th[/SUP] wicket. It’s the way he was still accurate enough and sharp enough to bounce Kevin Pietersen in an ODI after his Test retirement and break his ribs. Or the way he continued to be great right up until the end, dominating a World Cup dominated by Australians.
But the thing for me, more than anything else that sums up McGrath’s greatness as a bowler is the way that in 2009, nearly 3 years after his Test retirement in an exhibition T20 game against the Australian XI, he told television viewers exactly how he was going to dismiss David Warner. Then went ahead and did it:
His match figures in that game, bowling to Warner, Haddin, Clarke, Dussey, White, Voges and Bailey, were 4-1-18-3 by the way. Not bad for an old codger a few months shy of his 40[SUP]th[/SUP] birthday. There’s no one else I can think of that had such control over his art that he could nominate Warner for a dismissal like that.
Never mind your Larwoods, Lindwalls, Davidsons, Truemans, Lillees, Holdings, Garners, Marshalls, Imrans, Ambroses, Wasims, Waqars, Donalds or Steyns. Glenn McGrath was the greatest of them all.
Furball's Greatest XI
1. AJ Strauss
2. R Dravid
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.
8.
9.
10. JM Anderson
11. GD McGrath
Every country, even India, have their great fast bowlers. Everyone loves their fast bowlers. But what makes a fast bowler truly great? Some are made great by their pace. Some intimidate with their presence. Some befuddle batsmen with swing and seam movement, or crush toes with deadly yorkers.
In McGrath’s case, it’s a spell of bowling at Lord’s on the first day of the 2005 Ashes that still gives me goosebumps 8 years later. It’s the way he publically targeted the opposition’s top batsmen, and then regularly backed up his words by getting them out again and again and again and again. More times than any other fast bowler to have ever played the game. It’s the way he adapted to every opposition and all conditions and was a success everywhere, despite not having the obvious tools like extreme pace or swing that his more celebrated contemporaries possessed. It was the confidence to name Marcuss Trescothick as his 500[SUP]th[/SUP] victim then go ahead and dismiss him for his 500[SUP]th[/SUP] wicket. It’s the way he was still accurate enough and sharp enough to bounce Kevin Pietersen in an ODI after his Test retirement and break his ribs. Or the way he continued to be great right up until the end, dominating a World Cup dominated by Australians.
But the thing for me, more than anything else that sums up McGrath’s greatness as a bowler is the way that in 2009, nearly 3 years after his Test retirement in an exhibition T20 game against the Australian XI, he told television viewers exactly how he was going to dismiss David Warner. Then went ahead and did it:
His match figures in that game, bowling to Warner, Haddin, Clarke, Dussey, White, Voges and Bailey, were 4-1-18-3 by the way. Not bad for an old codger a few months shy of his 40[SUP]th[/SUP] birthday. There’s no one else I can think of that had such control over his art that he could nominate Warner for a dismissal like that.
Never mind your Larwoods, Lindwalls, Davidsons, Truemans, Lillees, Holdings, Garners, Marshalls, Imrans, Ambroses, Wasims, Waqars, Donalds or Steyns. Glenn McGrath was the greatest of them all.
Furball's Greatest XI
1. AJ Strauss
2. R Dravid
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.
8.
9.
10. JM Anderson
11. GD McGrath
Last edited:
nightprowler10
Global Moderator
**** that's awesome. The Larry Bird of cricket.
honestbharani
Whatever it takes!!!
A greater McGrath story is when he mentioned how he would get Sherwin Campbell as his 299th wicket and then get Lara as his 300th. He did both in 2 balls and added Jimmy Adams as his 301st the very next ball too, and celebrated his taking 300 wickets with a hattrick... Seriously, the big guy upstairs listens to this fella for some reason 