All Time ODI XI

[Owzat]

I noticed we didn't have a thread on this. Couldn't find one anyways.

It's been nearly 40 years of ODI cricket, so what do you think is the best ODI XI of all time?

I think a better way of doing it is to come up with ODI XIs for each country, then deciding which should make it to a World version. Any player not making his country's best ODI XI surely would be ineligible, and you reduce the field considerably which should in theory reduce reputation picks.

I'll do England and Zimbabwe, the latter first as it is slightly more straightforward with less to pick from and less quality

Zimbabwe

H.Masakadza : 115 ODIs, 3006 runs @ 27.08 & 29 wkts @ 35.21
G.Flower : 221 ODIs, 6571 runs @ 33.53 & 104 wkts @ 40.63
A.Campbell : 188 ODIs, 5185 runs @ 30.50
B.Taylor : 132 ODIs, 4112 runs @ 34.85
A.Flower (wk) : 213 ODIs, 6786 runs @ 35.34 & 133/32 ct/st (as wk)
D.Houghton (c) : 63 ODIs, 1530 runs @ 26.38
N.Johnson : 48 ODIs, 1679 runs @ 36.50 & 35 wkts @ 34.86
G.Whittall : 147 ODIs, 2705 runs @ 22.54 & 88 wkts @ 39.56
H.Streak : 189 ODIs, 2943 runs @ 28.30 & 239 wkts @ 29.83
P.Strang : 95 ODIs, 1090 runs @ 22.24 & 96 wkts @ 33.05
H.Olonga : 50 ODIs, 95 runs @ 7.31 & 58 wkts @ 34.09

EDIT : Taylor in for Ervine.

Bit of a struggle for top batsmen, and indeed top bowlers, but enough batting all the way down to 10 and besides three main bowlers plus Guy Whittall there are a few back up options in Neil Johnson, Grant Flower and Hamilton Masakadza. Who to open with is another quandry, a few opened more than in any other batting position and produced their best averages there.

Could consider Ray Price as an alternate for if there is spin, probably in for Guy Whittall. Murray Goodwin as another alternate.


R.Price : 102 ODIs, 406 runs @ 9.67 & 100 wkts @ 35.74
M.Goodwin : 71 ODIs, 1818 runs @ 27.13

England

N.Knight : 100 ODIs, 3626 runs @ 40.29
A.Stewart (c/wk) : 170 ODIs, 4677 runs @ 31.60 & 148/15 ct/st (as wk)
G.Hick : 120 ODIs, 3846 runs @ 37.34 & 30 wkts @ 34.20
A.Lamb : 122 ODIs, 4010 runs @ 39.31
G.Thorpe : 82 ODIs, 2380 runs @ 37.19
N.Fairbrother : 75 ODIs, 2092 runs @ 39.47
A.Flintoff : 141 ODIs, 3394 runs @ 32.02 & 169 wkts @ 24.38
I.Botham : 116 ODIs, 2113 runs @ 23.22 & 145 wkts @ 28.54
G.Swann : 67 ODIs, 468 runs @ 14.63 & 92 wkts @ 25.92
S.Broad : 87 ODIs, 393 runs @ 11.91 & 142 wkts @ 26.95
D.Gough : 159 ODIs, 609 runs @ 12.43 & 235 wkts @ 26.42

Fairbrother was the first name on the sheet, a must for batting and indeed fielding. I guess back up spinner would be Vic Marks for me, and also one or two narrow missers out

G.Gooch : 125 ODIs, 4290 runs @ 36.98 & 36 wkts @ 42.11
K.Pietersen : 127 ODIs, 4184 runs @ 41.84
P.Collingwood : 197 ODIs, 5092 runs @ 35.36 & 111 wkts @ 38.68
V.Marks : 34 ODIs, 285 runs @ 13.57 & 44 wkts @ 25.80

I could include KP statistically and destructively, perhaps for Lamb. Too tough to call, and I need to make a call so no time to muse over it right now.

 

[sifter132]

Thorpe and Fairbrother were talented, but neither performed for long enough for me. Only 2000 odd runs each isn't very many...although England's overall top run scoring chart is hardly littered with run machines

My Eng XI would be:
Trescothick
Stewart
Gower (fairly mediocre overall stats, but before he became captain he was awesome)
Pietersen
Hick
Lamb
Flintoff
Botham
Swann
Gough
Willis

Honourable mention...Phil DeFreitas. Effective, nagging ODI bowler and could bat too. You could play him at #8 either instead of Botham or instead of Hick and move everyone up one.


And for the Zim XI - Ray Price is a definite inclusion for me. I would put Price in and Brendan Taylor too - then take out two of Houghton, Ervine or Masakadza - there is plenty of batting already with Whittall dowan at #8, not to mention Streak and Strang. Speaking of, having Zims best ever batsman at #7 is not cool, move A.Flower up!! Something like:
Johnson
Campbell/G.Flower
B.Taylor
A.Flower
G.Flower/Campbell
Houghton maybe Taibu
Whittall
Streak
Strang
Price
Olonga

Bump --

Just spent a good hour or so watching Jonty Rhodes videos on YouTube. Man, his fielding is just breathtaking. I think Jonty deserves a shout in the world XI as a fielder alone. His stats with the bat aren't too shoddy either - an average of 35 with a SR of 80 is quite impressive for the 1990s.

I'd agree with you if Jonty were a clearly better fielder than anyone else in history, but while he's an undeniable legend, you've already got a guy in your XI who is basically as good: Ponting. Then combine that with other fielders down the years like Gibbs, Symonds, De Villiers, Mark Waugh - none of them are too far away from Jonty either in fielding prowess. Symonds would be be a better inclusion in your XI IMHO, particularly since he can finish better than Jonty and he's probably a better 5th bowler than Viv which is a distinct weakness in that team.

 

[StinkyBoHoon]

ok, I'm throwing in a curve ball to this india one.

V Sehwag
S Tendulkar
V Kohli (!!!! and yes, I'm serious)
M Azharuddin
Yuvraj Singh
MS Dhoni
Kapil Dev
Harbhajan Singh
A Kumble
Z Khan
Srinath

 

[Owzat]

Thorpe and Fairbrother were talented, but neither performed for long enough for me.

You cannot leave Fairbrother out, his fielding alone is up there with Jonty Rhodes. I think TMS did an all time England ODI XI a while back and there was a lot of criticism for his absence. Frankly you could leave out Thorpe, or any of them, for someone else, but Thorpe had the character to hold a faltering innings together which none of the current crew do - and frankly I can't see it in your side.

:no: to Gower.

Speaking of, having Zims best ever batsman at #7 is not cool, move A.Flower up!! Something like:

It is ironically the opposite of the current side with a lot of batting and less bowling, but I probably would have batted him higher if I hadn't just been going round to see my mum and sister to make funeral arrangements.

I probably would include Taylor, I was just distracted trying to get this done and leave. Not so keen on Price, I think he is over-rated

P.Strang : 96 wkts @ 33.05 (SR 45.32, ER 4.38, BB 5/21)
R.Price 100 wkts @ 35.74 (SR 53.71, ER 3.99, BB 4/22)

More potency with Strang, better batsman too.

 

[Owzat]

I'm going to steer well away from the bigger guns, do Sri Lanka and New Zealand, the first being fairly easy to identify the big guns and definite inclusions like Murali, Jayasuriya, Da Silva, Sangakkara, Vaas etc Got to put Arunja in for his captaincy alone

Sri Lanka

S.Jayasuriya : 444 ODIs, 13430 runs @ 32.36 & 323 wkts @ 36.75
U.Tharanga : 144 ODIs, 4627 runs @ 35.05
K.Sangakkara (wk) : 324 ODIs, 10472 runs @ 38.22 & 296/80 ct/st (as wk)
M.Attapattu : 267 ODIs, 8529 runs @ 37.57
M.Jayawardene : 372 ODIs, 10596 runs @ 33.53
A.Da Silva : 308 ODIs, 9284 runs @ 34.90 & 106 wkts @ 39.41
A.Ranatunga (c) : 269 ODIs, 7456 runs @ 35.85 & 79 wkts @ 47.56
C.Vaas : 321 ODIs, 2025 runs @ 13.68 & 400 wkts @ 27.54
F.Maharoof : 103 ODIs, 1042 runs @ 19.30 & 133 wkts @ 26.80
L.Malinga : 116 ODIs, 349 runs @ 8.12 & 185 wkts @ 26.35
M.Muralitharan : 349 ODIs, 674 runs @ 6.81 & 534 wkts @ 23.08

Not sure it really matters who the third seamer is with Vaas, Malinga and Murali in the side. Jayasuriya making up fifth bowler with Aravinda et al also able to bowl if needed.

New Zealand

N.Astle : 222 ODIs, 7090 runs @ 34.93 & 99 wkts @ 38.47
R.Twose : 87 ODIs, 2717 runs @ 38.81
R.Taylor : 109 ODIs, 3185 runs @ 37.47
S.Fleming : 279 ODIs, 8037 runs @ 32.41
M.Crowe (c) : 143 ODIs, 4704 runs @ 38.56 & 29 wkts @ 32.90
C.Cairns : 215 ODIs, 4950 runs @ 29.46 & 201 wkts @ 32.81
A.Parore (wk) : 179 ODIs, 3314 runs @ 25.69 & 111/25 ct/st (as wk)
J.Oram : 155 ODIs, 2377 runs @ 24.76 & 168 wkts @ 28.78
R.Hadlee : 115 ODIs, 1751 runs @ 21.62 & 158 wkts @ 21.56
D.Vettori : 271 ODIs, 2105 runs @ 17.40 & 282 wkts @ 31.49
S.Bond : 81 ODIs, 292 runs @ 16.22 & 147 wkts @ 20.88

Fairly 'conventional' line up with five batsmen, standard keeper although I think his stats do him a disservice, 2-3 all-rounders and a couple of good bowlers - assuming Bond is fit, if not then go with Mills who I'm replacing with Hadlee (glaring omission)

K.Mills : 135 ODIs, 859 runs @ 15.91 & 200 wkts @ 25.95

 

[Rehan_24]

My All Time ODI XI (The One I have grown up Watching)

1. Adam Gilchrist
2. Sachin Tendulkar
3. Ricky Ponting
4. B.C Lara
5. Inzamam-ul-Haq
6. Imran Khan
7. Wasim Akram
8. G.Mcgrath
9. Shoaib Akhtar
10. Shane Warne
11. Murlidharn

 

[shravi]

ok, I'm throwing in a curve ball to this india one.

V Sehwag
S Tendulkar
V Kohli (!!!! and yes, I'm serious)
M Azharuddin
Yuvraj Singh
MS Dhoni
Kapil Dev
Harbhajan Singh
A Kumble
Z Khan
Srinath

Ganguly over Sehwag as opener. Also, I'd find a way to include Dravid (not because I'm a fanboy) because he was one of India's best finishers and was the perfect anchorman.

You love Kohli, don't you?

 

[sifter132]

So fun to criticise some of these XIs

For India: Irfan Pathan has to get close...yes I'm serious. He's very average now, but if his career had ended in 2007 for example, he would have been both mourned and lauded as one of India's shining lights. Also Maninder Singh is someone I'd suggest instead of Bhajji. Not sure I'd pull the trigger on the swap, but he deserves a mention - very solid offie from the 80s

For NZ: come on Owzat - no Sir Richard Hadlee?? That is blasphemy dude. Glenn Turner deserves a look, Andrew Jones was a good batter too - if a bit slow. Despite you naming a very modern NZ XI, you've not chosen McCullum who I think is way more talented than Parore. And Ewan Chatfield, great moustache and great bowler from the 80s.

For SL: Kulasekara and Fernando would be close too - never really been a fan of Maharoof. And I'd have probably gone with Atapattu at the top, so Ranatunga is at least in the top 6. You love the long batting lineups don't you?

For Zim: my argument's not that Price is particularly awesome, but more that your team could use more bowling. I'd rather Price bowling than Guy Whittall. There is heaps of batting there already.

For Eng: Fairbrother is up there with Jonty?? Never heard that, knew Fairbrother was pretty good, but come on...One thing that bugs me about Fairbrother is that England didn't value/rate him much. He got dropped a couple of times, always batted low - deserved better. He performed well when he got the chance, but I can't see how a guy like that - who was really only a fringe player - could be the first choice in an alltime XI.

Can understand why Gower doesn't get much love with a career avg of 30, but he was a much better player than that. I guess those highlights of his 158 at the Gabba vs NZ are still with me... I forgot Goochie from my XI, but I'd have gone 1) Gooch, 2) Trescothick, 3) Gower, 4) KP - those are the top 4 100 makers in England's ODI history, exactly what you want at the top. Most of them good stroke players too who will move it along. Then Lamb and Flintoff, possibly Botham to finish, Stewart in there somewhere too.


And while I'm thinking of this stuff...I'll make the Aussie one...
1 Adam Gilchrist +
2 Mark Waugh
3 Ricky Ponting
4 Greg Chappell
5 Dean Jones
6 Michael Bevan
7 Steve Waugh/Simon O'Donnell/Andrew Symonds
8 Brett Lee
9 Shane Warne
10 Dennis Lillee
11 Glenn McGrath

Ponting, Chappell and Jones all liked #3, but I left Ricky there because he had a better 100s per innings rate, always want your big scorers at the top. Plus Jones seems like he'd finish an innings well, and I pity the fielding team with Jones and Bevan (and Steve Waugh) running 2s at the death - a couple of the fastest ever between the sticks. Mark Waugh over Hayden for extra bowling and fielding. #7 is really the only tough spot to pick. Don't really need a batsman of note there with that top 6, a 5th bowler more important. Symonds was the lesser bowler of those 3, so it was really between Waugh and O'Donnell. Steve's better batting and fielding won out. Shane Watson I suppose isn't far away either come to think of it...

 

[sami ullah khan]

Well I will make a Pakistan one then
Saeed Anwar
Mohammad Hafeez
Zaheer Abbas
Inzimam
Miandad
Muhammad Yousaf
Imran Khan
Moin Khan
Waseem Akram
Saqlain Mushtaq
Waqar Younis
Shoaib Akhtar

 

[Rehan_24]

My Pakistan X1

1. Saeed Anwar
2. Aamir Sohail
3. Muhammad Yousaf
4. Inzamam-ul-Haq
5. Imran Khan
6. Shahid Afridi
7. Rashid Latif
8. Wasim Akram
9. Waqar Younas
10. Shoaib Akhtar
11. Saeed Ajmal

 

[Anjula]

Ganguly over Sehwag as opener. Also, I'd find a way to include Dravid (not because I'm a fanboy) because he was one of India's best finishers and was the perfect anchorman.

You love Kohli, don't you?

Why not, he is the future of indian cricket

 

[6ry4nj]

My Eng XI would be:
Trescothick
Stewart
Gower (fairly mediocre overall stats, but before he became captain he was awesome)
Pietersen
Hick
Lamb
Flintoff
Botham
Swann
Gough
Willis

Honourable mention...Phil DeFreitas. Effective, nagging ODI bowler and could bat too. You could play him at #8 either instead of Botham or instead of Hick and move everyone up one.

I would actually go with that lineup.

Overall, how about this:

Jayasuriya
Gilchrist
Tendulkar
Lara
Bevan
ten Doeschate
Botham/Hadlee(c)
Bond
Lillee
Holding
Mendis

 

[Owzat]

For NZ: come on Owzat - no Sir Richard Hadlee?? That is blasphemy dude. Glenn Turner deserves a look, Andrew Jones was a good batter too - if a bit slow. Despite you naming a very modern NZ XI, you've not chosen McCullum who I think is way more talented than Parore. And Ewan Chatfield, great moustache and great bowler from the 80s.

I started with Jones then changed my mind. Hadlee for some reason completely slipped my mind, might well be as I have something else on my mind bar just talking about sport.

No way re McCullum, you don't just pick keepers on batting and you seem to flit between picking on stats then going against them, deciding some have played too few ODIs etc - make your mind up. I seem to recall Parore holding the record for most runs scored without conceding a bye.

Still can't believe people are ignoring Fairbrother, he was awesome and to average near 40 in ODIs back then was practically unheard of in a day when totals were more 230-280 than 330-400

 

[Owzat]

I'll do Bangladesh just for sheets and giggles

I.Kayes : 48 ODIs, 1315 runs @ 27.98
T.Iqbal : 113 ODIs, 3369 runs @ 30.08
R.Saleh : 43 ODIs, 1005 @ 23.93 & 15 wkts @ 30.60
A.Ali Khan : 19 ODIs, 532 runs @ 29.56
M.Mahmudullah : 80 ODIs, 1427 runs @ 31.02 & 44 wkts @ 46.09
M.Ashraful : 171 ODIs, 3396 runs @ 22.49 & 18 wkts @ 36.72
S.Al-Hasan (c) : 126 ODIs, 3637 runs @ 35.66 & 160 wkts @ 28.86
M.Rahim (wk) : 108 ODIs, 2047 runs @ 25.27 & 75/31 ct/st
M.Mortaza : 124 ODIs, 1197 runs @ 15.35 & 157 wkts @ 30.83
A.Razzak : 133 ODIs, 657 runs @ 12.88 & 185 wkts @ 28.13
S.Rasel : 52 ODIs, 81 runs @ 4.76 & 61 wkts @ 33.62

Unfortunately not very strong in batting, a number of decent but not enough strong all-rounders which leaves the likes of Mushfiqur Rahim and Shakib Al-Hasan lower down the order than ideal. But I think there's enough bowling there and deep enough batting it could shock a few of the bigger sides every now and then.

And probably @ sifter more than anyone, no batting order is rigid and inflexible unless you are an England captain and innovation is just a word you heard once but didn't get.

I've left Mohammed Rafique out simply because I think subsequent spinners have done more, not to say he (and others for other countries) doesn't deserve a mention or would be in contention if a fictional squad across the eras were possible to enter in a World Cup.

M.Rafique : 125 ODIs, 1190 runs @ 13.37 & 125 wkts @ 37.91

 

[StinkyBoHoon]

Ganguly over Sehwag as opener. Also, I'd find a way to include Dravid (not because I'm a fanboy) because he was one of India's best finishers and was the perfect anchorman.

You love Kohli, don't you?

ha, I swithered about ganguly since the ganguly/tendulkar opening pairing is one of the classic partnerships in cricket, I just give the nod to sehwag because he has played for india at a more succesful time. packing the team with tendu, ganguly, dravid, yuvraj seems alright, but really makes you wonder why they failed to win things in the early 2000s.