Best team since Waugh/ Ponting’s Australia?

[Spark]

Statsguru harder. Clarke played one test in that series. Please try watching actual cricket before posting your biased drivel here.

Not even a full Test tbh - got injured twice in that game and wasn't on the field for basically the whole of the last day.

On another note, that last sentence is a bit overboard, tone it down please.

 

[honestbharani]

Ok but those were still early times for Smith and Kohli in their captaincies. Talking about the period when India were no.1

Keep shifting goal posts.

Iam not siding with him but he is right it's like Kohli played one test and Rahane captained the other 3 last year.

Read his post again. The point in discussion was "Smith's Australia" and this apparently "better Australia".

 

[subshakerz]

Keep shifting goal posts.

I'm not. Read earlier. I was talking about competition by other teams for no.1 during India's time in that position, as in, 2016 onwards. So was talking about that phase of Smith's captaincy (2016-2018) when Australia were inconsistent.

 

[honestbharani]

I'm not. Read earlier. I was talking about competition by other teams for no.1 during India's time in that position, as in, 2016 onwards. So was talking about that phase of Smith's captaincy (2016-2018) when Australia were inconsistent.

...

Keep shifting goal posts.

 

[Shri]

On another note, that last sentence is a bit overboard, tone it down please.

not really overboard

mods have always acted like its fair game to have a go at hb before and there's sudden mod work being done here

 

[OverratedSanity]

This team is better than Smith's SA but can't beat thrift store Smith's SA. Don't ask me how it makes sense, it just does.

 

[honestbharani]

This team is better than Smith's SA but can't beat thrift store Smith's SA. Don't ask me how it makes sense, it just does.

I dont think this RSA will be that bad at all. Their bowling will always keep them competitive. Batting is gonna cause them lose more than they win probably but this was a very good performance. Its like England at home. Conditions, esp. when they actually dont have games at Durban or Paarl means 200-300 are par scores all the time and so the 30s and 40s and 50s become super important. Even not so good batting line ups can sometimes string together those runs, esp. at home and win games that way.

The biggest difference between the 00s sides and current sides are the facts that no more CEO pitches means less draws away - usually means more losses. Add in the fact that is our first generaiton of players now emerging for whom T20 was a regular and important part of the calendar. Defensive techniques are gonna suck more and more, teams are gonna win shootouts at home more and more even if the other side is far better mano y mano.

 

[Slifer]

A bit off topic but when did playing 5 frontline bowlers become a trend?? India, RSA, England and NZ all seem to be following this trend. Their batting are already unreliable so what's the point of needlessly weakening them with an extra bowler. Just my 0.02...

 

[Pup Clarke]

I'm going to say Strauss's England. Probably the 10/11 Ashes was the culmination of a bunch of quality cricketers peaking at the right time. They had a quality XI with a relentless seam bowling attack plus a proven world class spinner and really good fast bowling depth.

Thinking their best XI during that period would be : Cook, Strauss, Trott, Pietersen, Bell, Collingwood, Prior, Bresnan, Broad, Swann, Anderson
Tremlett, Finn and Onions as bench strength who could all contribute when required

 

[_00_deathscar]

A bit off topic but when did playing 5 frontline bowlers become a trend?? India, RSA, England and NZ all seem to be following this trend. Their batting are already unreliable so what's the point of needlessly weakening them with an extra bowler. Just my 0.02...

It just came in handy. Imagine if we had only gone in with Bumrah, Shami, Siraj and Ashwin (who was rendered useless) and Siraj got injured in his fourth over. And 2 are usually decent with the bat (Ashwin and Lord in our case).

Also, mostly since it was realised that most batsmen suck anyway and the bowlers can score a similar-ish amount of runs. It’s not like Sachin Tendulkar level batsmen are being kept out.

 

[Chrish]

I'm going to say Strauss's England. Probably the 10/11 Ashes was the culmination of a bunch of quality cricketers peaking at the right time. They had a quality XI with a relentless seam bowling attack plus a proven world class spinner and really good fast bowling depth.

Thinking their best XI during that period would be : Cook, Strauss, Trott, Pietersen, Bell, Collingwood, Prior, Bresnan, Broad, Swann, Anderson
Tremlett, Finn and Onions as bench strength who could all contribute when required

Yeah was a quality side.. Probably underrated.

 

[Slifer]

It just came in handy. Imagine if we had only gone in with Bumrah, Shami, Siraj and Ashwin (who was rendered useless) and Siraj got injured in his fourth over. And 2 are usually decent with the bat (Ashwin and Lord in our case).

Also, mostly since it was realised that most batsmen suck anyway and the bowlers can score a similar-ish amount of runs. It’s not like Sachin Tendulkar level batsmen are being kept out.

I'm just saying, in the past 4 front line bowlers has usually been enough.

 

[centurymaker]

This Indian bowling is so ATG level. Im so impressed. Thanks for hyping up these bowlers so much. Well done! Keep up the bs praise

 

[TheJediBrah]

not saltshakerz' scales. They are always tilted to begin with

Please try watching actual cricket before posting your biased drivel here.

Do you have to? No one else is making personal attacks. Or at least come up with some new lines

 

[subshakerz]

I'm going to say Strauss's England. Probably the 10/11 Ashes was the culmination of a bunch of quality cricketers peaking at the right time. They had a quality XI with a relentless seam bowling attack plus a proven world class spinner and really good fast bowling depth.

Thinking their best XI during that period would be : Cook, Strauss, Trott, Pietersen, Bell, Collingwood, Prior, Bresnan, Broad, Swann, Anderson
Tremlett, Finn and Onions as bench strength who could all contribute when required

Yet SA comprehensively beat them at home in 2012.

 

[subshakerz]

I dont think this RSA will be that bad at all. Their bowling will always keep them competitive. Batting is gonna cause them lose more than they win probably but this was a very good performance. Its like England at home. Conditions, esp. when they actually dont have games at Durban or Paarl means 200-300 are par scores all the time and so the 30s and 40s and 50s become super important. Even not so good batting line ups can sometimes string together those runs, esp. at home and win games that way.

The biggest difference between the 00s sides and current sides are the facts that no more CEO pitches means less draws away - usually means more losses. Add in the fact that is our first generaiton of players now emerging for whom T20 was a regular and important part of the calendar. Defensive techniques are gonna suck more and more, teams are gonna win shootouts at home more and more even if the other side is far better mano y mano.

This SA is in rebuilding phase and inexperienced, especially the batting lineup. Similar to Smith's side around 2003 to 2005 when they lost a lot of series home and abroad.

 

[subshakerz]

This Indian bowling is so ATG level. Im so impressed. Thanks for hyping up these bowlers so much. Well done! Keep up the bs praise

They are really good. They had an off day which does happen.

 

[centurymaker]

They are really good. They had an off day which does happen.

They are very good but not ATG in ‘away conditions’.

 

[CodeOfWisden]

This team is better than Smith's SA but can't beat thrift store Smith's SA. Don't ask me how it makes sense, it just does.

Smith's SA is better than Kohli’s India but couldn't beat Dhoni's India. Don't ask me how it makes sense, it just does.

 

[subshakerz]

Smith's SA is better than Kohli’s India but couldn't beat Dhoni's India. Don't ask me how it makes sense, it just does.

You say that as if Dhoni's India was some club team. Dhoni's India was no.1 at the time and had a far superior batting lineup to Kohli's India. Drawing with that team, especially in India, is perfectly acceptable.