Greatest Team to never play a test

[S.Kennedy]

I once watched a final (when Gujarat won?) and there were even less spectators than the Sheffield Shield. Does England have the only domestic first-class competition which actually has fanbases and teams people follow?

 

[randycricfreak]

jadeja has three triple hundreds. lol

 

[morgieb]

I once watched a final (when Gujarat won?) and there were even less spectators than the Sheffield Shield. Does England have the only domestic first-class competition which actually has fanbases and teams people follow?

I think so, yeah. At least with FC/OD stuff, T20 domestics has an active following everywhere.

 

[stephen]

Tbf first class competitions are feeder comps for international teams. Fans like the longer format for international games but don't really have the time available to follow the lesser stuff.

 

[S.Kennedy]

Tbf first class competitions are feeder comps for international teams. Fans like the longer format for international games but don't really have the time available to follow the lesser stuff.

Fans of county cricket do not see it like this. I know county cricket fans who couldn't give a toss about the international team.

 

[TheJediBrah]

I once watched a final (when Gujarat won?) and there were even less spectators than the Sheffield Shield. Does England have the only domestic first-class competition which actually has fanbases and teams people follow?

I guess people in other countries have lives

 

[Dan]

Well, if you're looking for the best "team" that might have actually played together :

A South African xi :
Brian Whitfield,
Henry Fotheringham
Hylton Ackerman
Ken McEwan
Kevin McKenzie
Clive Rice
Alan Kourie
Ray Jennings *
Stephen Jefferies
Garth le Roux
Vince van der Bijl

Handy talent being left out too -- Hobson, Barnes, arguably Davo (not sure he would have played for RSA, but he would have been eligible).

If you include the guys who did play the odd Test and the start and end of isolation, there would have been one hell of a rivalry between South Africa and the West Indies through that period.

 

[stephen]

Fans of county cricket do not see it like this. I know county cricket fans who couldn't give a toss about the international team.

That's just odd.

 

[Starfighter]

If you include the guys who did play the odd Test and the start and end of isolation, there would have been one hell of a rivalry between South Africa and the West Indies through that period.

FWIW similarly strong SA XIs went 1-1 and 1-2 in tests and 4-2 and 2-4 in ODIs against the West Indies rebel teams in '83 and '83-84. I can't help but feel that the full strength WI team would have been consistently too strong for SA from around '81 onwards up to '89 or so. The mid-late seventies would have been the most interesting IMO.

Interestingly SA played Kourie and Hobson together in the first two tests in '83-84.

 

[morgieb]

Handy talent being left out too -- Hobson, Barnes, arguably Davo (not sure he would have played for RSA, but he would have been eligible).

If you include the guys who did play the odd Test and the start and end of isolation, there would have been one hell of a rivalry between South Africa and the West Indies through that period.

Was Barnes actually any good though? Stats look amazing but he did it all in the black competition.

But yeah this side in the 70's:

Richards
Barlow
Bacher/Wessels
G Pollock
Ackerman
Rice
Irvine
Proctor
Kourie
P Pollock/le Roux
van der Bijl

Would be crazy good. Then you can add Cook, Lamb, McEwen and Kirsten as you go deeper into the 70's to beef up a overly reliant batting lineup. That late 70's would go close to being the greatest side (potentially) of all-time.

And there might have been some great black/coloured cricketers who I don't know about too (like your Barnes example).

 

[harsh.ag]

FWIW similarly strong SA XIs went 1-1 and 1-2 in tests and 4-2 and 2-4 in ODIs against the West Indies rebel teams in '83 and '83-84. I can't help but feel that the full strength WI team would have been consistently too strong for SA from around '81 onwards up to '89 or so. The mid-late seventies would have been the most interesting IMO.

Interestingly SA played Kourie and Hobson together in the first two tests in '83-84.

Jeez how could you feel that given things would have been different had they retained test status.

 

[morgieb]

FWIW similarly strong SA XIs went 1-1 and 1-2 in tests and 4-2 and 2-4 in ODIs against the West Indies rebel teams in '83 and '83-84. I can't help but feel that the full strength WI team would have been consistently too strong for SA from around '81 onwards up to '89 or so. The mid-late seventies would have been the most interesting IMO.

Interestingly SA played Kourie and Hobson together in the first two tests in '83-84.

Yeah by the 80's Richards, Pollock, Proctor and van der Bijl would all have been past it, that probably turns themselves into their 90's team where they have a lot of grit but lack the true class to be consistently #1.

 

[S.Kennedy]

I guess people in other countries have lives

Why would having a supported first-class competition be detrimental to having a life? You people support one-day domestic cricket teams? Other sports such as football and rugby have well supported club competitions?

 

[S.Kennedy]

That's just odd.

Not really if you put club over country (like a lot do with premiership football). England are constantly grabbing players for international duty which annoys a lot of county fans.

 

[jimmy101]

Yeah I believe the Saffers would have been the undisputed #1 team from 1970 - 1976 had cricket been played in a vacuum during that time.

Imagine a series between late 70's Saffers & Windies. The greatest ever Test series that never happened IMO

 

[TheJediBrah]

Why would having a supported first-class competition be detrimental to having a life? You people support one-day domestic cricket teams? Other sports such as football and rugby have well supported club competitions?

What do you mean "you people"??

 

[Starfighter]

Yeah by the 80's Richards, Pollock, Proctor and van der Bijl would all have been past it, that probably turns themselves into their 90's team where they have a lot of grit but lack the true class to be consistently #1.

It's also worth noting that even if SA had retained test status the two sides would probably have never met anyway. None of WI, Pakistan or India played SA until readmission, refusing to play them in the 25-odd years between the war and the beginning of the boycott.

 

[Starfighter]

Yeah I believe the Saffers would have been the undisputed #1 team from 1970 - 1976 had cricket been played in a vacuum during that time.

Imagine a series between late 70's Saffers & Windies. The greatest ever Test series that never happened IMO

I can see the '74-76 Australian side being very competitive with them, maybe even beating them in Australia.

 

[jimmy101]

I can see the '74-76 Australian side being very competitive with them, maybe even beating them in Australia.

As always, a mid-70's meeting between SA & Aus would have been a mouth-watering prospect. And I can also see the Aussies triumphing if they played well enough. In fact, if you took the WSC split out of the equation, Australia would have been a powerhouse right up until the retirements of Chappell, Lillee & Marsh in the early 80's.

 

[S.Kennedy]

What do you mean "you people"??

Well I thought you Australians support bashy bashy teams?