The Sky Commentary Team pick their team of the "Noughties"

[91Jmay]

My team would be:
Matt Hayden
Virender Sehwag
Ricky Ponting
Sachin Tendulkar
Brian Lara
Jacques Kallis
Adam Gilchrist
Shaun Pollock
Shane Warne
Glenn McGrath
Murali

Don't really think I'd need more than those four bowlers. Kallis at his best was a perfectly good 3rd seamer.

 

[GIMH]

Yup, both Murali and Warne have to make this side.

Don't understand how Flintoff can even be mentioned. If another seamer is desired, may as well just make it a 5 man attack.

If you pick based on the peaks reached during the decade then Flintoff is an easy pick for his 03-06

If you pick across the decade as a whole then he doesn't belong in the argument

 

[Red]

- Matthew Hayden
- Graham Smith
- Ricky Ponting
- Jaques Kallis
- Brian Lara
- Mohammed Yousuf
- Adam Gilchrist
- Shane Warne
- Jason Gillepsie
- Glenn McGrath
- Muralitharan

 

[Cabinet96]

PEWS to rage at Atherton's logic behind not needing runs after number five. Anyway, gotta love the people who don't pick Kallis in their team. How tragic can you get.

 

[hendrix]

If you pick based on the peaks reached during the decade then Flintoff is an easy pick for his 03-06

If you pick across the decade as a whole then he doesn't belong in the argument

Even at his peak I don't see how he'd be justifiable over Kallis

 

[GIMH]

Well there's no doubt I'm biased so

 

[Maximas]

I think Sanga is a little unlucky here

 

[Fuller Pilch]

I think Sanga is a little unlucky here

I agree. And dare I say it, but perhaps Shoaib Akhtar (love him or hate him) is too

 

[bagapath]

from those who are not mentioned in any of these these teams...

langer
gayle
sangakara (c)
pietersen
clarke
chanderpaul
prior (wk)
shakib
akhthar
bond
stuart clark

 

[watson]

PEWS to rage at Atherton's logic behind not needing runs after number five. Anyway, gotta love the people who don't pick Kallis in their team. How tragic can you get.

The train of logic is not hard to follow;

1. Warne and Murali are probably the greatest bowlers of the decade, so both have to be included in the team

2. The inclusion of 2 spinners leaves the team a third seamer short because Kallis is not an acceptable third seamer.

3. Ponting, Lara, and Tendulkar are the greatest batsman of the decade, so each have to included in the team.

4. Flintoff was a good fast bowler who batting at No.6 for England on 66 occasions and averaged 32. This average is not impressive but acceptable.

5. The loss in batting-strength is more than off-set by the gain in bowling strength. That is, the runs the team does not score will be more than compensated by Flintoff bowling out key opposition batsman and restricting the opposition's score. (ie. Extra wicket taking potential offered by Flintoff > Extra run scoring potential offered by Kallis)


Whether you agree with the above logic is another matter. I think that Point 5 is incorrect as both Flintoff and Kallis average 32 with the ball. Therefore, Flintoff does not give the bowling attack a significant advantage as first assumed.

 

[hendrix]

Just because Kallis hasn't often bowled first change doesn't mean that he couldn't do just as good a job as Flintoff - it just means he's invariably been part of a bowling attack that had better bowlers than the English. Also note that South Africa haven't had a test quality spinner in living memory, so the option to play another pace bowler has often been on the cards.

 

[Red]

Kallis is more than capable of being the third seamer in a 5 man attack. No need for Flintoff.

 

[Furball]

Even at his peak I don't see how he'd be justifiable over Kallis

Because Flintoff at his peak was a genuine all rounder.

 

[flibbertyjibber]

Because Flintoff at his peak was a genuine all rounder.

His peak was nowhere near long enough though to oust Kallis for me.

 

[harsh.ag]

- Matthew Hayden
- Graham Smith
- Ricky Ponting
- Jaques Kallis
- Brian Lara
- Mohammed Yousuf
- Adam Gilchrist
- Shane Warne
- Jason Gillepsie
- Glenn McGrath
- Muralitharan

Hang on. Are you Australian?

 

[Red]

Hang on. Are you Australian?

Yep. What's your point? That there are a lot of Australians in my team?

Guess that happens when Australia are considered one of the greatest teams of all time in that particular decade.

Team records | Test matches | Cricinfo Statsguru | ESPN Cricinfo

You know, winning 79 tests out of 118 and only losing 18 of them....

Would you change something?

 

[Cabinet96]

His peak was nowhere near long enough though to oust Kallis for me.

Ian Bell had a greater two year peak than Kevin Pietersen has ever had. Still doesn't mean he's been better in the last eight years.

There's no spin you can put on it to make Flintoff a better option than Kallis. It just isn't the case.

 

[fredfertang]

Flintoff electrified the atmosphere in cricket grounds and changed the course of matches - he's got to be a shoo-in

 

[Furball]

Ian Bell had a greater two year peak than Kevin Pietersen has ever had. Still doesn't mean he's been better in the last eight years.

There's no spin you can put on it to make Flintoff a better option than Kallis. It just isn't the case.

Kallis failed repeatedly against the greatest side of his era.

He's also ****ing boring to watch.

 

[GIMH]

Freddie>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>Kallis