The ATG Teams General arguing/discussing thread

[Burgey]

harsh, have you gone for virtually all modern players because of uncertainty about how the old timers would stack up, Bradman apart?

 

[TheJediBrah]

I stand by the XI I had in mind 15 years back. Nothing has changed.

Hobbs
Hutton
Bradman
Tendulkar
Richards
Sobers
Gilchrist
Imran
Hadlee
Marshall
Warne

#batdeep

 

[h_hurricane]

#batdeep

Always been a big fan of this especially in tests. And every one in that lower order is still ATG in bowling alone.

 

[harsh.ag]

harsh, have you gone for virtually all modern players because of uncertainty about how the old timers would stack up, Bradman apart?

Not really. It's just that techniques were so different back then, it's hard for me to appreciate it. This isn't a greatest XI as much as players I would like to watch XI.

Gavaskar and Hutton probably my picks for the greatest openers. Impossible to judge Hobbs in any way other than stats and maybe temperament.

 

[h_hurricane]

This is a very good side imho. Might have slightly different views on one or two but can honestly say there isn't a bloke in that XI who imo does not belong in the argument.

I think it's interesting that there's starting to develop a bit of a consensus surrounding the openers among a fair few people. There's no shortage of great openers from the modern era, but those two really endure.

If it was only player's I've seen live, my XI would be:

Gavaskar
Boycott
Ponting
Tendulkar
Richards
Border (c)
Gilchrist
Imran
Warne
Marshall
McGrath

Again, the likes of Lara, Greenidge, Kallis, Dravid, Ambrose, Crowe, Hadlee, Murali, Sanga, Lillee, Chappell all very unlucky. Picked Ponting basically on his peak and because he and Viv are the best players of raw pace I've seen. And how you've played pace has always been a big deal for me because of the physical threat, rather than looking nice as you dance down the deck like a ballerina to a rubbish finger spinner. I realize people will disagree, particularly regarding TOTAB, but my views on him are well known and not subject to compromise.

Of the players I have seen,

Graeme Smith
Viv Richards
Ricky Ponting
Sachin Tendulkar
Brian Lara
Jaques Kallis
Adam Gilchrist
Imran Khan
Wasim Akram
Malcolm Marshall
Shane Warne

Viv was an opener only in the initial part of his career and did well there. But the general scarcity of great openers in modern era makes me put him there.
Ambrose and Mcgrath were better bowlers than Akram but I want a better bat at #9 hence would take him. As Hadlee retired a short while before I started watching cricket, he misses out, else would have been perfect slot there.

 

[Burgey]

Yeah fair enough, that's a good side too. Akram a personal fave of mine so leaving him out was tough. Certainly would come in if I wanted some variation with a left armer, but Imran is to Wasim with the bat as Akram is to Ambrose I guess.

 

[TheJediBrah]

Personally I'd have McGrath in there just because the shade of extra class he provides could be a huge difference when it comes to bowling, but definitely not opposed to the batdeep philosophy.

 

[trundler]

This thread is basically the equivalent of 'how many angels on the head of a pin' for us.

That said, McGrath gets in on X factor for me. Plus, the extra bounce is a point of difference.

 

[Burgey]

Yeah it's certainly a nice exercise because it gets you reminiscing about the absolute best players you've ever watched, and that's always a good thing.

 

[CricAddict]

I stand by the XI I had in mind 15 years back. Nothing has changed.

Hobbs
Hutton
Bradman
Tendulkar
Richards
Sobers
Gilchrist
Imran
Hadlee
Marshall
Warne

This is a very good team and can truly beat the hell out of leather off the team that comes from Mars. Will be my ATG XI as well.

 

[Burgey]

Yeah it really is exceptional. Love the hitting power at 5-7 especially. Just insane stuff if those fellas get going. Mass entertainment.

 

[trundler]

I find the prospect of Hobbs, a simple Christian man born in the 19th century, playing alongside an egoistical manwhore like Warne very very amusing.

 

[h_hurricane]

I find the prospect of Hobbs, a simple Christian man born in the 19th century, playing alongside an egoistical manwhore like Warne very very amusing.

Any idea where he fielded ? Was he a good fielder ? Don't want him to end up dropping catches when Warne is bowling.

 

[TheJediBrah]

Imagine toiling at your absolute best to have a side 5/400 and then you deal with a Sobers & Gilchrist partnership

 

[Burgey]

Fortunately with that side, the second new ball is probably just around the corner...

I mean, a worse prospect is it’s 5/400 and bradman’s still there on 180 odd, sees Gilchrist walk out and thinks “I’ll up my rate here because I don’t want to be overshadowed.”

 

[harsh.ag]

Sometimes I wonder if facing an attack of McGrath, Hadlee, Ambrose, and Garner is tougher than a mixed bag of styles like Imran/Wasim, Marshall, Warne, One-of-those-4

 

[CricAddict]

Sometimes I wonder if facing an attack of McGrath, Hadlee, Ambrose, and Garner is tougher than a mixed bag of styles like Imran/Wasim, Marshall, Warne, One-of-those-4

I will always prefer a mixed bag. There are so many cases where a team has gone with 4 similar fast bowlers on a pacy pitch and the strategy failed outright.

 

[TheJediBrah]

I will always prefer a mixed bag. There are so many cases where a team has gone with 4 similar fast bowlers on a pacy pitch and the strategy failed outright.

Yeah . . . probably a fair bit of a gulf in quality to the ones we're talking about though. Not sure you can really compare.

 

[stephen]

Players I've watched XI:

Greenidge
Hayden
Ponting
Lara
Richards*
Tendulkar
Gilchrist+
Warne
Marshall
Ambrose
McGrath

If I removed the 80s players who I saw when I was about 5 years old (though oddly still remember glimpses of).

Hayden
Smith
Ponting
Lara
Tendulkar
Kallis
Gilchrist+
Wasim
Warne
Ambrose
McGrath

 

[stephen]

Players very unlucky (in no particular order):

Waugh
Border
Donald
Bishop
Bond
Steyn
Murali
Clarke, 2012 edition
Smith
Dravid

In fact, I may end up replacing Wasim with Steyn and Kallis with Waugh in my post-1990 side.