Establishing the best decade for cricket: Finding the ATG XI from 12 decades of test cricket - then having a KO tourney to decide the best

[Coronis]

Yeah I’ll take Woolley.

 

[Michaelf7777777]

Warwick Armstrong

 

[trundler]

Armstrong for me also

 

[Line and Length]

Woolley

 

[a massive zebra]

Woolley

 

[Fuller Pilch]

Armstrong finished his test career in 1921. If he's considered might as well pick Bradman.

 

[mr_mister]

so did Mcdonald to be fair

 

[Fuller Pilch]

True

 

[a massive zebra]

No disrespect to Walter Hammond and George Headley, but is there any point in having a vote for the number 3 in the 1930s team?

 

[trundler]

One hopes some misinformed contrarian will pop up and get lynched

 

[mr_mister]

No disrespect to Walter Hammond and George Headley, but is there any point in having a vote for the number 3 in the 1930s team?

fair point.

 

[mr_mister]

Woolley gets 9 votes, Armstrong, 2. Team is complete. I thought it might be difficult knowing where to bat Gregory due to him being used all over the order, but it ended up being pretty simple lol


Hobbs
Sutcliffe
Macartney
Hammond
Taylor
Woolley
Gregory
Tate
Oldfield +
Grimmett
Mcdonald



Now, choose the captain while we move onto the 1920s side


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Bradman
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-
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Pick the two openers
Pick the number 4
Pick the opening bowlers

 

[mr_mister]

Hutton and Mitchell
Headley (Hammond batted 4 and Headley 3 so I think moving to 5 wouldn't be as big a jump for Hammond, plus we will likely need his pace bowling in this side so he should maybe bat lower)
Larwood and Constantine

 

[Fuller Pilch]

Hutton, Jardine (no room for him in the middle order and the side could do with his captaincy)
Headley
Cowie, Larwood

Taylor I guess

 

[mr_mister]

oh and i'll vote for Herbie Taylor to captain the 20s side

 

[Line and Length]

Len Hutton, Stewie Dempster
George Headley
Harold Larwood, Mannie Martindale

Hammond to captain the '20s

 

[a massive zebra]

Herbie Taylor for captain. I guess uniformed logic would give the captaincy to Hobbs, as he was the oldest player in the side and probably the highest profile and best cricketer of the decade. But I remember reading that he didn't enjoy captaincy and had no designs on it. Hammond did not captain in the 1920s and was not well respected as a captain when he did later in his career.

Len Hutton
Bill Ponsford (Dempster only played a few Tests and yet played many years of county cricket, averaging 44 in a high scoring era. Surely Sutcliffe/Ponsford/Mitchell were much better than that. Went with Ponsford as he was younger than Sutcliffe and averaged 8 more than Mitchell in the 1930s)
George Headley
Harold Larwood
Learie Constantine (not the second best opening bowler of the 30s, but the three best spinners of the 1930s were all much better bowlers than the second best opening bowler, and his inclusion as opening bowling allrounder might allow us to fit them all in)

 

[Teuton]

Hutton & Mitchell
Headley
Voce & Martindale

Tough pick for captain. Taylor captained 1 win from 18 tests (with a poor team of course). Hammond didn't captain until the late 30s but i guess he gets it by default

 

[Coronis]

Mitchell Ponsford
Headley
Voce Bowes

Hammond

 

[ataraxia]

Taylor

Hutton & Sutcliffe
Headley
Larwood & Tate

Very tough. Going with amz's reasoning with a couple of changes.