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

[mr_mister]

Has to be Nourse c'mon

oh sorry made a mistake. Nourse easily won the vote against Weekes

 

[trundler]

Looks like the propaganda worked. Don't forget to vote for him in the draft, folks!

I think Miller was more of a bowler in the given period so I'll go for Weekes. Having Bedser there would've made the decision to go for 4 bowlers more clear cut as the bloke bowled more overs per match than Warne.

 

[Michaelf7777777]

Vinoo Mankad

 

[Fuller Pilch]

Martin Donnelly

 

[The Sean]

I wouldn't worry about the batting strength or a long tail - this is the only team with two players who both averaged over 100 in an English FC season.

 

[mr_mister]

Vinoo Mankad

very interesting and logical choice!

 

[Coronis]

You can have too many bowlers to share the overs, you can never have too many runs on the board. Despite Miller being there Tallon’s relative weakness with the bat makes me go for a batsman. Hassett.

 

[The Sean]

Everton Weekes.

Let's just rack up gargantuan scores in quick time and then trust Lindwall, Miller, Cowie and Johnston (plus Compton) to take the twenty wickets.

 

[a massive zebra]

Everton Weekes

 

[ataraxia]

Weekes is a legend, too tough to vote against him, so Everton it is.

 

[AndrewB]

Colin McCool (between Miller and Tallon)

 

[The Sean]

Colin McCool (between Miller and Tallon)

Great shout. I was very close to picking him myself so I'm glad he got a vote!

 

[mr_mister]

Weekes gets the nod!

Hutton
Morris
Bradman
Compton
Nourse
Weekes
Miller
Tallon+
Lindwall
Cowie
Johnston


now that's a solid batting unit! Choose the captain for it, while you

pick the opening batsmen for the 1950s side
pick the number 3 batsman for the 1950s side
and pick the opening bowlers for the 1950s side

 

[mr_mister]

i'll vote for Bradman again as captain

Hutton and Hanif Mohammad
Neil Harvey
Trueman and Alan Davidson

 

[The Sean]

You could argue that 1940s team is a bowler (or at least half a bowler) short compared to the other sides, but **** me what a batting line up.

Bradman to captain. Miller as vice captain, just to wind him up.

 

[The Sean]

For the 1950s, well it's a Hutton hat-trick isn't it? What a player. For the other opener, I am going to give a vote to a hugely underrated Aussie opener, Colin McDonald. I expect Hanif to get the nod for the team, and he was probably a greater player overall, but his career was split more evenly across the '50s and '60s. McDonald made very tough runs against very good attacks in an era when runs were hard to come by. Interestingly - and people of course put different levels of importance on this - if you pick an all time Australian XI based on their peak ICC Ratings, McDonald opens alongside Hayden.

We're spoiled for choice in the upper middle order but I'm going to go with Clyde Walcott at first drop, just edging out Harvey and May (and Sobers, in fact) - once he gave up the gloves and became a specialist bat he was a run machine.

Alec Bedser had his career defining series against Australia in 1953, Fred Trueman burst onto the scene brilliantly but with a skewed home record, and Fazal was excellent everywhere and virtually unplayable on matting. But I'm going to let my Aussie bias perhaps cloud my judgement and choose Lindwall and Davo to take the new ball.

Len Hutton and Colin McDonald
Clyde Walcott
Ray Lindwall and Alan Davidson

 

[Pothas]

Bradman

Hutton
Hanif Mohammad

Harvey


Then will go for my own English bias:

Trueman
Tyson

 

[Michaelf7777777]

Don Bradman
Len Hutton, Hanif Mohammad
Clyde Walcott
Alec Bedser, Fred Trueman

 

[mr_mister]

spoilt for choice with the pace bowlers this time aren't we

 

[The Sean]

spoilt for choice with the pace bowlers this time aren't we

Spinners too, when we get to them!