best XI in the past 20 years

[deeps]

since 1985, what is the best XI for each country? basically the best XI in modern day test cricket

AUSTRALIA:
M.Hayden
D.Boon/M.Taylor/M.Slater
R.Ponting
M.Waugh
A.Border
S.Waugh
A.Gilchrist
S.Warne
M.Hughes/J.Gillespie
C.Mcdermott
G.Mcgrath

INDIA:
K.Srikkanth
S.Gavaskar
M.Amarnath
R.Dravid
S.Tendulkar
M.Azzurhudin
R.Shashtri
N.Mongia/S.Kirmani
K.Dev
A.Kumble
J.Srinath

PAKISTAN:
S.Anwar
R.Raja
I.Ul Haq
J.Miandad
Z.Abbas
S.Malik
I.Khan
M.Khan
A.Qadir
W.Akram
W.Younis


that's all for now... out of the top 3 teams, i think the pakistan team would be by far and away the best side...followed by the indian side,and then australia (i am an australian supporter btw :P)

The pakistan lineup oozes talent and class, thw W's, miandad abbas,imran, qadir etc.

 

[Waughney]

Australia:
Hayden
Slater
Ponting
M. Waugh
S. Waugh
Border
Gilchrist
Warne
McGrath
McDermott
Gillespie

 

[Deja moo]

since 1985, what is the best XI for each country? basically the best XI in modern day test cricket


INDIA:
K.Srikkanth
S.Gavaskar
M.Amarnath
R.Dravid
S.Tendulkar
M.Azzurhudin
R.Shashtri
N.Mongia/S.Kirmani
K.Dev
A.Kumble
J.Srinath

I would put Sehwag instead of Srikkanth.
And no Gundappa Vishwanath ?He was the Dravid of the indian team in the 80's.

 

[chicane]

India:

Sunil Gavaskar
K.Srikkanth
R.Dravid
S.Tendulkar
M.Azharuddin
S.Ganguly (c)
K.Dev
N.Mongia (wk)
J.Srinath
Z.Khan
A.Kumble

 

[chicane]

I would put Sehwag instead of Srikkanth.
And no Gundappa Vishwanath ?He was the Dravid of the indian team in the 80's.

Maybe give Sehwag some more time. I think Vishi retired by 1985 or was at the end of his career.

 

[tooextracool]

bit surprised no one put dean jones in there.....id put him over mark waugh any day.

 

[Waughney]

Dean Jones hardly ever performed when the heat was on. he saved his best for when it was needed least.

 

[tooextracool]

Dean Jones hardly ever performed when the heat was on. he saved his best for when it was needed least.

eh?did you miss his innings in chennai in 85-86?to say that he 'hardly performed when the heat was on' in that match would be a serious understatement whatever way you look at it.
his 184* in the 5th test of the ashes series is quite a remarkable innings as well considering the next highest score in the side was 30 odd. if i remember correctly that was the only test that australia won in that series.
mark waugh from me was a real waste of talent, despite the fact that he played on flatter tracks and poorer bowling attacks he still averaged around 5 runs lower than dean jones....

 

[Swervy]

... out of the top 3 teams, i think the pakistan team would be by far and away the best side...followed by the indian side,and then australia (i am an australian supporter btw :P)

you are joking arent you?????

 

[deeps]

you are joking arent you?????

hmm...nope....look at the talent and skill there....take off ur canary yellow petal glasses or sky blue ones as well


and im not wearin green ones

 

[Mr Mxyzptlk]

I'd have to agree that the Pakistan lineup looks very strong for two reasons - Wasim and Waqar.

 

[chicane]

Wasim, Waqar and Imran.

 

[Swervy]

hmm...nope....look at the talent and skill there....take off ur canary yellow petal glasses or sky blue ones as well


and im not wearin green ones

yeah and look at what the teams with those players did in test matches...not too much....unless you call endless draws success (ok I am exagerating a bit)

I dont think a bowling line up of McGrath,Gillespie,Warne and McDermott would lose too much sleep at bowling at that Pakistan batting...Miandad being the one all time great as far as I can see.

And considering Imrans bowling was going off the boil after 85 due to injury, then the bowling looks a tad fragile..and then also take into account the Pakistan fielding and mental weaknesses, then I could only see an Aussie win in that match up.

if you got rid of Srikkanth and added say possibly Sehwag...or more to my approval Vengsarkar who was a great batsman, then that Indian batting line up is brilliant..although the bowling is a bit naff

 

[Langeveldt]

South Africa

1. GC Smith
2. HH Gibbs
3. G Kirsten
4. JH Kallis
5. DJ Cullinan
6. WJ Cronjé*
7. SM Pollock
8. DJ Richardson
9. P Symcox
10. M Ntini
11. AA Donald

 

[ReallyCrazy]

i'd have boucher instead of richardson.

 

[ReallyCrazy]

yeah and look at what the teams with those players did in test matches...not too much....unless you call endless draws success (ok I am exagerating a bit)

I dont think a bowling line up of McGrath,Gillespie,Warne and McDermott would lose too much sleep at bowling at that Pakistan batting...Miandad being the one all time great as far as I can see.

And considering Imrans bowling was going off the boil after 85 due to injury, then the bowling looks a tad fragile..and then also take into account the Pakistan fielding and mental weaknesses, then I could only see an Aussie win in that match up.

if you got rid of Srikkanth and added say possibly Sehwag...or more to my approval Vengsarkar who was a great batsman, then that Indian batting line up is brilliant..although the bowling is a bit naff

A bowling attack comprising WASIM, waqar, Imran and Qadir > McGrath, McDermott, Gillespie and Warne. Also consider the fact that these pakistani bowlers were better batters as well. I agree with Deeps the Pakistan team would be the best out of the 3. And Pakistan would own aust

 

[Langeveldt]

i'd have boucher instead of richardson.

Yeah its a tough one, they are both pretty good... I guess Richardson won for nostalgia's sake.. both excellent glovemen

 

[Swervy]

A bowling attack comprising WASIM, waqar, Imran and Qadir > McGrath, McDermott, Gillespie and Warne. Also consider the fact that these pakistani bowlers were better batters as well. I agree with Deeps the Pakistan team would be the best out of the 3. And Pakistan would own aust

well its up for debate I guess...as a strike force at its peak Waqar and Wasim were brilliant but McGrath and Gillespie at their peak (when both are fit) is probably as effective (relatively speaking) in a more batsman friendly scene that we have today....and certainly the Aussies are a lot more steady and reliable than anyone around at the moment...me personally , I would rather have McGrath and Gillespie at their peak just because I like that set up, that is just my opinion, but i can see why people would choose Waqar and wasim...too close to call in my opinion.

Imran was suffering later on in his career and his bowling suffered, but when on song, yep he was a great one.Edge to Imran over McDermott.

But it has got to be Warne over Qadir by a fair margin. Qadir was a great bowler, but warney is in a different league.

In my opinion, the bowling line ups are pretty evenly matched.One thing to consider, when Waqar,wasim,qadir and immy were playing together, shall we say between the start of 1988 up to the start of the 90's,Pakistan's opponents averaged 33 runs per wicket (and in 15 matches, Pakistan only won 2 and drew 11, an indication that when needed,opponents could handle the pakistan bowling)

If you take the Australians exactly 10 years later ( ok no McDermott,and it could be said Warne not quite at his peak), they won 14 of 26 games, in a similar timescale,lost 6 and drew 6 and their opponents average runs per wicket was only 28, in an era where bat was starting to dominate a bit more than before.

Batting wise, there is no contest, the Australians in the team that was chosen at the start of this thread have the batting sewn up..i would be confident that a line up with Border at 6 and Gilchrist at 7 could handle the best bowling.

Anyway, its all about opinion.

 

[chicane]

I dont think a bowling line up of McGrath,Gillespie,Warne and McDermott would lose too much sleep at bowling at that Pakistan batting...Miandad being the one all time great as far as I can see.

Well Saeed Anwar, Zaheer Abbas and Inzamam-ul-haq were/are all greats. These three in full flow are more than a handful.

 

[Swervy]

Well Saeed Anwar, Zaheer Abbas and Inzamam-ul-haq were/are all greats. These three in full flow are more than a handful.

yeah you are right, but I am talking about the elite batsman, ones who will be talked about in 50 years, like a Tendulkar for example...for me Miandad is the only one who could possibly be in that division of player as a batsman