Best Test XI from each nation (that you have seen)

[GIMH]

Crims

Langer
Hayden
Ponting
Clarke
Hussey
Watson
Gilchrist+
Warne
Gillespie
Clark
McGrath

Clark picked on the basis of the 06-07 Ashes and also one of the best spells I've ever witnessed in person at Headingley 09. Whole thing admittedly Ashes-centric as otherwise Damien Martyn would probably feature somewhere. Watson probably shouldn't be at six but felt I had to inude him. Think it's a fair line-up.

 

[Burgey]

Of the Poms I've seen, being serious, I think:

Boycott
Gooch
Gower
Gatting
Pietersen
Botham
Greig
Knott
Underwood
Anderson (there, I said it)
Willis

Tbh I scratched around for a number four and five there. I suppose I could say Cowdrey, as he came back in 74-75 which is the first series I remember watching (grandparents got a colour tv that year iirc). But I think Gatting is under rated tbh.

Openers and three pick themselves, as does Botham. I included Greig as he's versatile - medium pace and offies to compliment Underwood. Thought pretty hard about Gus Fraser but Anderson has been around a while now and deserves to be there IMO.

 

[zaremba]

Would want to find a place for Robin Smith or Thorpe in that batting order, in place of Fat Gatt. Gatt was a good player but his Test record wasn't all that.

 

[Burgey]

Would want to find a place for Robin Smith or Thorpe in that batting order, in place of Fat Gatt. Gatt was a good player but his Test record wasn't all that.

Yeah I thought about Smith, and I loved watching him play. Had some issues with spin, sadly for him, but he murdered fast bowling. I'll always remember that 160 odd he scored in the ODI in 93 in a losing side. An amazing knock.

Thorpe would be a good shout.

 

[Jacknife]

Jeez, you're a whelp Corrin. All very modern names there.

The best combined England side I've seen is:

Martin Moxon
Kim Barnett
Ravi Bopara
Mathew Maynard
Graeme Hick
Mark Ealham (I mean, come on)
Geraint Jones
Paul Jarvis
Neil Foster
Mark Ilott
Nick Cook

Bringing the lols since the late 80s

Paul Jarvis was one of my favorite players when I was younger, complete ****e for England mind.

 

[Burgey]

Paul Jarvis was one of my favorite players when I was younger, complete ****e for England mind.

Had a decent County record didn't he? He had a test or two in either 89 or 93 but never got it done.

 

[morgieb]

England

Cook
Vaughan
Trott
KP
Bell
Flintoff
Prior
Broad
Swann
Anderson
Jones

 

[zaremba]

Had a decent County record didn't he? He had a test or two in either 89 or 93 but never got it done.

Looked really promising when he played as a youngster for Yorkshire: quick and skilful. Then played for England, was completely ineffective, got injured a lot, got signed by my lot in c1993 and his career never recovered.

 

[_Ed_]

Jeez, you're a whelp Corrin. All very modern names there.

The best combined England side I've seen is:

Martin Moxon
Kim Barnett
Ravi Bopara
Mathew Maynard
Graeme Hick
Mark Ealham (I mean, come on)
Geraint Jones
Paul Jarvis
Neil Foster
Mark Ilott
Nick Cook

Bringing the lols since the late 80s

 

[zaremba]

Jeez, you're a whelp Corrin. All very modern names there.

The best combined England side I've seen is:

Martin Moxon
Kim Barnett
Ravi Bopara
Mathew Maynard
Graeme Hick
Mark Ealham (I mean, come on)
Geraint Jones
Paul Jarvis
Neil Foster
Mark Ilott
Nick Cook

Bringing the lols since the late 80s

The awful thing is, I could with some confidence pick at least one full XI that was comfortably worse than that lot, and possibly two.

 

[Jacknife]

Looked really promising when he played as a youngster for Yorkshire: quick and skilful. Then played for England, was completely ineffective, got injured a lot, got signed by my lot in c1993 and his career never recovered.

Pretty much sums his career up, as a kid I loved his bowling style and until he got those back to back injuries he was really quick. Everyone thought he'd be bowling for England for years but for one reason or another I didn't wok out that way.

 

[sunilreddy]

England

Cook
Stewart+
Vaughan*
Trott
Kevin Pietersen
G Thorpe
Flintoff
Swann
D Gough
Anderson
A Caddick

 

[sunilreddy]

Srilanka

Atapattu
Jayasuriya
Sangakkara
A Desilva
M Jayawardene
T Samaraweera
Hasan Tilakaratne
C Vaas
M Muralitharan
L Malinga
D Fernando

 

[sunilreddy]

Pakistan

S Anwar
Younis Khan
Md Yousuf
Inzamam ul Haq
Saleem Malik
Moin Khan
Shahid Afridi
W Akram
W Younis
S Mustaq
S Akthar/Mustaq Ahmed

 

[wpdavid]

Quite a bit of change here I think

Cook
Trescothick
Hussain
Trott
Pietersen
Thorpe
Prior+
Flintoff
Swann
Broad
Anderson

Batting order not important.

Cook the best opener of my time watching England, no-brainier that he comes in for Athers. He might have to skipper this lot as well

Don't let Nasser hear you say that

 

[GIMH]

I edited the side to put Nasser in and then forgot I had written that about needing a skipper. My word. No-brainer.

 

[Nigel Benjamin]

Bangladesh:
Tamim Iqbal
Nazimuddin
Habibul Bashar*
Shariar Nafees
Shakib al Hasan
Mushfiqur Rahim+
Marmadoola
Mohamed Rafique
Mashrafe Mortaza
Nazmul Hossain
Rubel Hossain

Zimbabwe:
Grant Flower
Alistair Campbell*
BRM Taylor
Andy Flower
Guy Whittal
Sean Ervine
Tatenda Taibu+
Heath Streak
Andy Blignaut
Ray Price
Chris Mpofu

 

[Beleg]

Anwar
Afridi
Inzamam
Miandad
Younis
Malik
Moin Khan
Akram
Saqlain
Younis
Akhtar

that's as good a bowling attack as any. the second opener doesn't pick itself so i had to look at the team balance. malik was a pretty capable batsman and the middle order contains some of the best players of spin bowling i've ever seen.

 

[NUFAN]

Zimbabwe:
Grant Flower
Alistair Campbell*
BRM Taylor
Andy Flower
Guy Whittal
Sean Ervine
Tatenda Taibu+
Heath Streak
Andy Blignaut
Ray Price
Chris Mpofu

Not really sure how Taibu could make the team ahead of someone like Paul Strang or even Henry Olonga - I'm assuming you've seen them (if not, forget about me).

 

[smash84]

Zimbabwe:
Grant Flower
Alistair Campbell*
BRM Taylor
Andy Flower
Guy Whittal
Sean Ervine
Tatenda Taibu+
Heath Streak
Andy Blignaut
Ray Price
Chris Mpofu

Why is Taibu in the team as wk when Andy Flower is there?