TWO YEARS BEFORE AND ONE YEAR LATER

[bagapath]

Rule: select a date. Post a team that you believe was the best in the world on that date. Then check stats from two years before and one year later to compare the best XI that could be picked over the three year period

Date: 15 September 1985. (First day of televised cricket in my village)

Team I had in mind:

Gavaskar
Greenidge
Viv Richards
Javed Miandad
Allan Border
Ian Botham
Imran Khan
Jeff Dujon +
Richard Hadlee
Malcolm Marshall
Abdul Qadir


Best XI over a three year period two years before and one year later:

Greenidge
Haynes
Vengsarkar
Gatting
Border
Kapil Dev
Dujon +
Hadlee
Marshall
Holding
Garner

 

[_00_deathscar]

Isn’t that basically just creating a first XI and second XI from the same time period?

 

[Victor Ian]

Isn’t that basically just creating a first XI and second XI from the same time period?

I don't think so. I think it selecting your 'best' team at a point in time then seeing how it compares with stats.

Great idea, if I understood it correctly.

 

[Fuller Pilch]

Rule: select a date. Post a team that you believe was the best in the world on that date. Then check stats from two years before and one year later to compare the best XI that could be picked over the three year period

Date: 15 September 1985. (First day of televised cricket in my village)

Team I had in mind:

Gavaskar
Greenidge
Viv Richards
Javed Miandad
Allan Border
Ian Botham
Imran Khan
Jeff Dujon +
Richard Hadlee
Malcolm Marshall
Abdul Qadir


Best XI over a three year period two years before and one year later:

Greenidge
Haynes
Vengsarkar
Gatting
Border
Kapil Dev
Dujon +
Hadlee
Marshall
Holding
Garner

One year later (1986) Martin Crowe was the best batsman in the world.

 

[Lillian Thomson]

I'm not into the stats mongering side of it. But I'll put up a date and a team if someone else wants to do the rest.

October 1976
Greenidge
Redpath
Richards V
Zaheer Abbas
Chappell G
Greig
Knott
Lillee
Thomson
Roberts
Underwood

Redpath a bit of a wild card ahead of Gavaskar based on two dominant Australian summers in 74/75 and 75/76.

 

[bagapath]

I'm not into the stats mongering side of it. But I'll put up a date and a team if someone else wants to do the rest.

October 1976
Greenidge
Redpath
Richards V
Zaheer Abbas
Chappell G
Greig
Knott
Lillee
Thomson
Roberts
Underwood

Redpath a bit of a wild card ahead of Gavaskar based on two dominant Australian summers in 74/75 and 75/76.

you pretty much nailed it

greenidge
redpath
richards
g chappell
lloyd
greig
Knott
Lillee
Thomson
Roberts
Underwood

Zaheer Abbas (PAK)

1975-1977

11

605

101

28.80

1

 

[AndrewB]

I'm not into the stats mongering side of it. But I'll put up a date and a team if someone else wants to do the rest.

October 1976
Greenidge
Redpath
Richards V
Zaheer Abbas
Chappell G
Greig
Knott
Lillee
Thomson
Roberts
Underwood

Redpath a bit of a wild card ahead of Gavaskar based on two dominant Australian summers in 74/75 and 75/76.

Greenidge (1510@47.18) and Redpath (1047@47.59) are fair choices, as would be Edrich (908@47.78), Gavaskar (1417@45.70) and Fredericks (2051@44.58). Boycott averaged 147.33 in the 1977 Ashes, but those were the only 3 Tests he played in the 3 years.

Richards (2438@56.69) and Chappell (2274@54.14) are the obvious picks in the middle order, but Zaheer (605@28.80) doesn't get close. Wasim Raja (673@51.76), who had a great series against the WI in 1976-7 is a possible replacement; there's also Lloyd (2184@49.63) or Majid Khan (1218@50.75). Javed Mianded (655@59.54) scored nearly all his runs against NZ.

Greig (1651@36.68; 61@34.63) wasn't having a great spell; you could make a case for picking Mushtaq Mohammad (831@36.13; 22@30.04).

Knott (1504@35.80: 63c 4st) is the best bat among the keepers, ahead of Lees (440@33.84: 8c 7st) and Marsh (1111@29.23: 96c 2st).

For fast bowlers, Lillee (120@23.20) looks an obvious pick; then any two from Roberts (119@24.89), Thomson (103@24.24), Willis (75@23.32) and Holding (57@23.64).

Bedi (84@23.10) has much the best figures for a spin bowler, ahead of Underwood (93@27.27).

 

[Lillian Thomson]

I think I slightly misremembered Zaheer Abbas. He had an amazing series against India but it was probably a year later than I initially thought. Of course I could have looked it up, but that would have defeated the object a bit.

 

[AndrewB]

I had a go at April 1973:

Geoff Boycott
Dennis Amiss (had a good series in WI in 1974)
Ian Chappell
Lawrence Rowe (also did well in that series v England)
Zaheer Abbas
Tony Greig
Alan Knott
Keith Boyce
Dennis Lillee
John Snow
Lance Gibbs

Checking the figures: Glenn Turner (1486@61.91) should be in ahead of Boycott (1297@49.88), and maybe Redpath (1034@54.42) ahead of Amiss (1773@52.14).

Rowe (1131@70.88) stays, but Greg (1580@56.42) is ahead of Ian (173@53.12), and Mushtaq Mohammad (1049@61.70; 24w@25.70) is well ahead of Zaheer.

I thought this was too late for Sobers, but he gets in as well (978@51.47; 37w@29.70). Greig also has decent figures (1699@44.71; 66w@30.75): I'd pick both (along with Mushtaq) and keep Chappelli in as an extra batsman.

Engineer (587@41.92) or Marsh (1070@39.62) should now be the keeper ahead of Knott (1428@31.73).

For the three main bowlers, Max Walker (54w@20.51) and Chandrasekhar (48w@21.68) are clearly the top two; then Lillee (43w@24.02) is just ahead of Boyce (39w@24.56) and Snow (46w@25.58), unless you want the extra batting depth from picking Boyce (313w@22.35). (Gibbs - 36w@33.05 - isn't close).

 

[AndrewB]

I think I slightly misremembered Zaheer Abbas. He had an amazing series against India but it was probably a year later than I initially thought. Of course I could have looked it up, but that would have defeated the object a bit.

It was 1978-9 - he scored about 580 in a 3-match series (the record until Gooch's 750 against India in 1990).

 

[wpdavid]

I think I slightly misremembered Zaheer Abbas. He had an amazing series against India but it was probably a year later than I initially thought. Of course I could have looked it up, but that would have defeated the object a bit.

I think that England supporters of our generation also tend to be swayed by his huge innings against us in 1971 and 1974. Watching someone that dominant during our formative years sticks in the memory.

Heck of an effort by you for the 1976 side btw.