best team in world cricket right now

[Contra]

not sure if srs

haha well, you still have to go out there and get the wins

I'm sure India will win against Australia, but 4-0 isn't a given.

 

[Burgey]

Is rain expected?

I'm told it's not raining in Geelong..

 

[honestbharani]

I like how the Indian side is shaping up but I will still stick with what I felt earlier. Pak have done something away from home, they won TWO tests in England which I really do not see this Indian side accomplishing. RSA seem to have gotten on track, funnily coinciding with the return to form of a JP Duminy, as someone very clearly pointed out earlier in the thread as the reason for their slide. Guess to me it is still Pak, Eng, Ind, RSA, NZ, Aus but honestly you can make a good enough argument for everyone there except perhaps NZ to be the #1. Pak have a very good home record and have not been disgraced in Eng ( we will wait and see how it goes down south for them this year).. Eng have the best overall team to be competitive everywhere but then again they are not exactly dominant at home and are not chalking up away series victories either (would say they will be easily #1 if they can play to potential and hold on during critical moments to win test matches both home and away). RSA are back on track and based on the past results, they really can be called #1 but I would love to see them win series at home in more dominant fashion (and this squad might well just be setting out on a special run).. India are clearly becoming a very good side and with Ash getting better at #6, will be much more rounded as a bowling unit when we tour next time (and its honestly understandable why so many have difficulty putting India as #1, we just bully so much at home) but its too early to call them the best in the world for me, they are still a way off it. Aus have been utterly dominant at home, just as much as India have been apart from this one series, so it is too early to write them off and they can easily become #1 the same way as India, even if they continue to suck in the SC and Eng (and I think they will bounce back hard against Pak, dont rule out 3-0). NZ are actually in the best position coz no one seems to rate them as amongst the top sides but if you look at it objectively they are not that far away either and with Boult slowly seeming to come back to form, they could get back to where they were, a la RSA (and winning all their home tests or series would be a very good start).


Overall, there is no one #1 team right now in my eyes and I think that is the reality, even though it is fun to argue with various different parameters to keep disproving each others' theories.

 

[BeeGee]

Overall, there is no one #1 team right now in my eyes and I think that is the reality, even though it is fun to argue with various different parameters to keep disproving each others' theories.

It is indeed.

I wish there was a SA v India, home and away series. It would be awesome.

 

[Daemon]

If only India won in Jo'burg and Wellington and had a two test series in England :'(

Cricket in a very strange place at the moment. So much disparity in performances under different conditions.

 

[Zinzan]

If only India won in Jo'burg and Wellington and had a two test series in England :'(

Cricket in a very strange place at the moment. So much disparity in performances under different conditions.

Agree, I made the same point earlier that it took a WR partnership & the first NZ 300 to deny them in Wellington & squaring that series 1-1. I don't think India are quite a bad at touring as some have made out, & I expect they'll improve under Kohli in the next couple of years.

Their batting lineup matches any side going around & I think Shami & Bhuvneshwar are two proper test pace bowlers.

 

[Daemon]

Series that would be delicious now

England v SA home and away
India in NZ
India v Pakistan home and away
NZ in Bangladesh
Ashes in Australia
SA in SL

and of course Australia in Bangladesh for the lulz

 

[Blocky]

NZ loses whenever there is someone who either bowls 145KPH in the opposition or someone who can bowl spin, or some ****** batsman who somehow makes their name against our ****** over-rated opening pair.

 

[Tec15]

It's just funny that we've lived with the same ICC rankings methodology for about a decade now, & whilst nobody says it's perfect, it only ever seems contestable & controversial when India make it to number 1. I recall the same happening in 2010 or whenever it last was.

Then you must have missed it way back in 2003 when there was much teeth gnashing when it showed South Africa to be number 1 ahead of Australia. They have always been a joke. Australia were number 1 earlier this year based on their thumping wins over the West Indies and a feeble New Zealand, ffs. That shows how reliable the rankings are.

 

[Tec15]

Lol, who said anything about impossible? Why do you always take your language to such extremes in these arguments. You just did the same with 'neck and neck' to not being 'light-years away'. Now you're doing so by using language like 'it's not impossible for them....".

The fact remains India's bowling attack is far more suited to win a series in the UAE against Pakistan regardless of how you try and spin it by citing the fact some pace bowlers have had some success there. It's not about something being 'not impossible', it's about what's likely to be the best attack to be able to beat Pakistan in their backyard.

In their last series in the UAE against pretty much the same Pakistani team, South Africa squared the series with a thumping innings win. Certainly if their was a third test, I would have given South Africa pretty good odds of winning it. Just because England and Australia are non entities there, doesn't mean South Africa is. Pakistan has only ever won one series against South Africa btw.

 

[Tec15]

What cannot you get about the fact SA is a better away side in non-SC conditions than India, and India is both a better side at home than SA & imo a better away side in the SC. If you want to tie everything to historical results and suggest SA are truly a better equipped side to beat the likes of SL in a hypothetical series in SL starting tomorrow, you can think that. In my mind India are a far better SC side than SA as it stands right atm and the way they play their cricket. If you want to put a huge emphasis on what SA did 3 years ago in SL, that's another discussion.

Why wouldn't SA be able to win in Sri Lanka now? Sri Lanka now are much weaker than they were two years (Not three years as you claimed) ago especially with the bat. They also really struggled against pace and a better team than Australia would have won there this summer. India also lost a test to Sri Lanka just last year, choking after getting into a dominant position, so I don't see how they are oh so dominant away in the Subcontinent anyway.

India will get exposed away from home soon enough, just like the 2011 vintage which had reached number one did. Before that, they'll rack a up a big lead at number one thanks to their recent string of home series's, which will their partisans to talk them up but so what.

 

[honestbharani]

2011 vintage won series in NZ and drew in RSA at their very best. Why so much salt whenever India become #1?

 

[Groundking]

India could still lose to us this series ffs, I doubt it, don't get me wrong, but I really don't think it's beyond the scope of imagination that we could leave India with a 2-1 win...

 

[Slifer]

If by some miracle England manage to win or draw the current series then I'd give them the edge at number one. Anything else, especially another Indian thumping then love it or hate it but India would and should be number 1.

 

[Furball]

Anyone suggesting South Africa is seriously over-reacting.

 

[smash84]

Anyone suggesting South Africa is seriously over-reacting.

It's you who is over reacting

 

[Furball]

Thought that was pretty reasoned actually.

 

[CricAddict]

I like how the Indian side is shaping up but I will still stick with what I felt earlier. Pak have done something away from home, they won TWO tests in England which I really do not see this Indian side accomplishing. RSA seem to have gotten on track, funnily coinciding with the return to form of a JP Duminy, as someone very clearly pointed out earlier in the thread as the reason for their slide. Guess to me it is still Pak, Eng, Ind, RSA, NZ, Aus but honestly you can make a good enough argument for everyone there except perhaps NZ to be the #1. Pak have a very good home record and have not been disgraced in Eng ( we will wait and see how it goes down south for them this year).. Eng have the best overall team to be competitive everywhere but then again they are not exactly dominant at home and are not chalking up away series victories either (would say they will be easily #1 if they can play to potential and hold on during critical moments to win test matches both home and away). RSA are back on track and based on the past results, they really can be called #1 but I would love to see them win series at home in more dominant fashion (and this squad might well just be setting out on a special run).. India are clearly becoming a very good side and with Ash getting better at #6, will be much more rounded as a bowling unit when we tour next time (and its honestly understandable why so many have difficulty putting India as #1, we just bully so much at home) but its too early to call them the best in the world for me, they are still a way off it. Aus have been utterly dominant at home, just as much as India have been apart from this one series, so it is too early to write them off and they can easily become #1 the same way as India, even if they continue to suck in the SC and Eng (and I think they will bounce back hard against Pak, dont rule out 3-0). NZ are actually in the best position coz no one seems to rate them as amongst the top sides but if you look at it objectively they are not that far away either and with Boult slowly seeming to come back to form, they could get back to where they were, a la RSA (and winning all their home tests or series would be a very good start).


Overall, there is no one #1 team right now in my eyes and I think that is the reality, even though it is fun to argue with various different parameters to keep disproving each others' theories.

Breaking into paragraphs would have been helpful.

 

[vcs]

India could still lose to us this series ffs, I doubt it, don't get me wrong, but I really don't think it's beyond the scope of imagination that we could leave India with a 2-1 win...

I'm pretty sure this is "Like-Gambhiring", if there is such a thing.

 

[Black_Warrior]

Anyone suggesting South Africa is seriously over-reacting.

The guy who was overreacting was the one who suggested South Africa was finished as a test side after 2 series losses including a tough away series in India where they are unbeatable.