How would the current Aussie batting lineup do against the 1980's WI?

[Poker Boy]

Australia would struggle - it was England's attack that won the Ashes last year but even as an England fan I cannot put Hoggard, Harmison, S Jones, and Flintoff in the same league as Marshall, Garner, Croft, Holding, Ambrose, Walsh, Bishop...pace bowling standards (England apart) aren't even as good as the late 90's when Australia faced Wasim and Waqar, Donald and Pollock, Ambrose and Walsh...the current Aussies aren't used to that quality of bowling which is why England stopped them getting 400 and they'd probably struggle to get 300 against 80's Windies(and from what i've seen of that team they caught better than England did last year).

 

[Poker Boy]

Australia would struggle - it was England's attack that won the Ashes last year but even as an England fan I cannot put Hoggard, Harmison, S Jones, and Flintoff in the same league as Marshall, Garner, Croft, Holding, Ambrose, Walsh, Bishop...pace bowling standards (England apart) aren't even as good as the late 90's when Australia faced Wasim and Waqar, Donald and Pollock, Ambrose and Walsh...the current Aussies aren't used to that quality of bowling which is why England stopped them getting 400 and they'd probably struggle to get 300 against 80's Windies(and from what i've seen of that team they caught better than England did last year).

 

[Poker Boy]

Australia would struggle - it was England's attack that won the Ashes last year but even as an England fan I cannot put Hoggard, Harmison, S Jones, and Flintoff in the same league as Marshall, Garner, Croft, Holding, Ambrose, Walsh, Bishop...pace bowling standards (England apart) aren't even as good as the late 90's when Australia faced Wasim and Waqar, Donald and Pollock, Ambrose and Walsh...the current Aussies aren't used to that quality of bowling which is why England stopped them getting 400 and they'd probably struggle to get 300 against 80's Windies(and from what i've seen of that team they caught better than England did last year).

 

[Poker Boy]

Hussey in the best Australian lineup of the last 11 years? Thats quite a joke. Thats like me putting Cook down in the best England lineup of the past 11 years.....

Edit: Actually Cook is amongst the best English batsmen in the last decade, after Mark Ramprakash of course.

Quite right - Hussey and Cook COULD become great players but one good year does not make a career. Remember Tim Robinson anyone?

 

[R_D]

WI would dominate. You can't count on Hayden, Ponting, Gilchrist to score many runs. Only hope is Steve Waugh and Martyn and probaly Langer will grind out some good innings.
If anyone thinks Aus is going to dominate we also what Flintoff and co did to Aus batting lineup in the Ashes and i have no doubt the WI powerhouse would make the Aus team look like the Indian lineup of the 90's ( away from home that is).

 

[mavric41]

I reckon Australia would dominate. Most of those WIndies bowlers are in their 40's and 50's now.

 

[LongHopCassidy]

WI would dominate. You can't count on Hayden, Ponting, Gilchrist to score many runs. Only hope is Steve Waugh and Martyn and probaly Langer will grind out some good innings.
If anyone thinks Aus is going to dominate we also what Flintoff and co did to Aus batting lineup in the Ashes and i have no doubt the WI powerhouse would make the Aus team look like the Indian lineup of the 90's ( away from home that is).

I don't think it was the pace of England that destroyed Australia that series, though - it was pace combined with reverse swing for 50 overs or more, and anybody on any wicket would struggle to survive against that, never mind dominate. Marshall aside, none of the Windies were especially lauded for reverse swing or even conventional swing for that matter - pace was by and large the main drawcard. And the Australians haven't had a history of being dominated by pace - they've looked the goods against Wasim and Waqar (admittedly in their twilight), Donald, Pollock and certainly Shoaib.

I also find hard to believe that you're judging Ponting, Gilchrist and Hayden to fail against pace - admittedly quality pace - presumably on their current form (and with Ponting even that doesn't apply). Hayden has dominated attacks throughout his career - nay, built his reputation on it - and is 'found out' after two bad series. Likewise with Gilchrist.

 

[R_D]

To tell you the truth i don't remember Hayden or Gilchrist destroying too many good pace attacks and there might be a bit of case for Ponting. He played really well against SA recently but than again that attack was decent at best.

I dont' mean to be hard on the aussie batsman but doesn't it seem like a too much of coincidence that only time they faced a good bowling attack, they all went out of form. Than again most teams would've struggled against England in that series.

 

[Matt79]

Yeah, but one of those batsmen was Katich who, in all fairness, is not in the same league as some of his immediate predecessors, like Steve, or even Mark Waugh or Lehmann. If we're pitting the peak Windies attack against the Aussies, its only fair to pick the peak batting line up of recent years, which would be Hayden, Langer, Ponting, WaughM, WaughS, Lehmann/Martyn, Gilchrist. Of those, Hayden might be vulnerable. Langer would get sconed fifty times over the series, but assuming he wasn't concussed would average 40. Ponting might not average 57, but would get runs. Both Waughs DID face the bowlers we're talking about and do ok, and Lehmann or Martyn would also probably break even. Gilchrist would probably get one or two decent scores, and in terms of his career track record, they would be at vital times and probably win the match.

As a whole they'd be down on their normal standard, but a long way from disgraced. And the Windies bats would have the same problems vs McGrath and Warne.

 

[LongHopCassidy]

Has it occurred to anyone to sim this match? Have a five-Test series in Australia and the West Indies.

 

[Poker Boy]

The thread does say how would the CURRENT Aussie batting line-up do? If you were to pick the best Aussie batting line-up from the last 10 years you would first have to decide who they are. In my opinion forget Hayden and Langer(Hayden had six Tests against good WI and SA pace attacks in 1996-97, scored one hundred and got dropped, and HOW many times would the 80's Windies hit Langer on the head? ) IF Australis had a top six of Taylor, Slater, Boon, the Waugh twins and Ponting that would stand a better chance. As for Gilchrist I don't think his style of batting would work - Botham tried to counter-attack against them and never got a hunderd. PS - off-topic - who would you pick for a COMBINED XI out of 80's Windies and 21st centuary Australia? During the 2001 Ashes I thought about it and picked - Greenidge, Haynes, Richards, the Waugh twins, Lloyd(capt), Gilchrist, Warne, Marshall, Garner, McGrath. 12th man: Holding. Anyone fancy playing that team?

 

[Matt79]

I'd leave out Lloyd for either Ponting or Richardson.

If you want to say the CURRENT team, that's fine, but that includes a back in form Hayden, Hussey, and one of Clarke, Watson or Symonds. Everybody's saying they'd get smashed because of the Ashes last year, and I was making the point that Katich is gone, and Hayden at least has had a major form reversal.

 

[Slifer]

Has it occurred to anyone to sim this match? Have a five-Test series in Australia and the West Indies.

Here goes:

IN Australia under 2000 + conditions:

1st test. Gabba: Aust.
2nd test. MCG: Draw
3rd test. SCG: Aust.
4th test. Adelaide: Draw
5th test Perth: WI

AUST. Winning at home 2-1

IN the WI under 1980s conditions:

1st test Sabina: WI
2nd test Bourda: Draw
3rd test QPO: WI
4th test Kensington: WI
5th test ARG: Draw.

WI winning at home 3-0.