All-Time Test XI for the Top 8 Nations.

[drainpipe32]

Like this thread, but there's probably a few already! I can only really judge what I've seen, so here's my Aussie team.

Australia
Hayden
Langer
Ponting
Bradman (Martyn)
Waugh*
Miller (Clarke)
Marsh+ (Gilchrist)
Lindwall (Gillespie)
Warne
Lillee (Lee)
McGrath

Easy to choose the attack. Ray Lindwall's stats look really good, but so do Alan Davidson's. This made me tempted to blow em both and go with Gillespie, but I didn.t

The ones in brackets are players I've seen in particular.

The openers I chose because they're probs the best partnership ever. The others were obvious.

 

[piriyanth]

South African XI[/B]
1)Graeme Smith
2)Gary Kirsten
3)Hercelle Gibbs
4)Jaques kallis
5)Jonty Rhodes
6) Mark Boucher
7) Lance Klusener
8) Shaun Pollock
9) Dale Steyn
10) Makahya Ntini(in form)
11) Allan Donald

This XI is from 90's onwards, since I don't know any South African players play before that.

Still a brillant team though

Pakistan XI
1) Saeed Anwar
2)Younis Khan(in form)
3) Mohammad Yusuf(in form)
4) Inzamam Ul Haq
5) Imran Khan
6) Moin Khan(wk)
7) Sahid Afridi
8) Abdul Razzaq
9) Wasim Akram
10) Saqling Mustaq
11)Shoaid Akhtar

Can't remember any decent opener other than Anwar, so I just put Younis Khan there

 

[Howsie]

The reason i picked Reid over Vettori, was because i was picking the best teams for a hypotetical "home" test. New Zealand conditions traditionally help seamers, so its basically utilising home advantage to maximize their chances of winning.

Byt yes for a hypotetical overseas test. I would drop Reid & pick Vettori.

Even if conditions suit seam bowling, you really wouldn't need five seamers would you? Plus what decade is this team picked for, New Zealand in the last five years really wouldn't be called a seamers paradise. If where picking these teams now to play in this decade Vettori would offer a lot more then a 5th seamer.

 

[King Pietersen]

England

Sir Jack Hobbs
Herbert Sutcliffe
Len Hutton
Ken Barrington
Wally Hammond
IT Botham
Alan Knott +
Jim Laker
Fred Trueman
GA Lohmann
SF Barnes

Australia

Victor Trumper
Arthur Morris
Sir Donald Bradman
Ricky Ponting
Steve Waugh
Allan Border
Adam Gilchrist +
Keith Miller
Shane Warne
Dennis Lillee
Glenn McGrath

West Indies

Gordon Greenidge
Desmond Haynes
Sir Viv Richards
Brian Lara
Sir Garfield Sobers
Everton Weekes
Jeffrey Dujon
Malcolm Marshall
Michael Holding
Curtley Ambrose
Joel Garner

India

Sunil Gavaskar
Virender Sehwag
Rahul Dravid
Sachin Tendulkar
Mohammad Azharuddin
Kapil Dev
Farokh Engineer +
Anil Kumble
Bishan Bedi
Javigal Srinath
Subhash Gupte

South Africa

Graeme Smith
Barry Richards
Gary Kirsten
Jacques Kallis
Graham Pollock
Aubrey Faulkner
Mark Boucher +
Shaun Pollock
Mike Proctor
Dale Steyn
Allan Donald

CBA to do the other sides, but they'd be my teams for England, Australia, West Indies, India and South Africa.

 

[Fatal Shot]

The openers I chose because they're probs the best partnership ever.

Yeah tweaking right...

 

[shravi]

India

Sunil Gavaskar
Vijay Merchant
Rahul Dravid
Sachin Tendulkar
Vijay Hazare
Kapil Dev
+ Farukh Engineer
Javagal Srinath
Bishen Singh Bedi
Erapalli Prasanna
Mohammad Nissar

Near misses/Judgement Call: Virender Sehwag, Mohammad Azharuddin, BS Chandrasekhar and Amar Singh

 

[King Pietersen]

The openers I chose because they're probs the best partnership ever. The others were obvious.

You were joking with that part right?

 

[Howsie]

You were joking with that part right?

I hope he was joking about naming Rod Marsh ahead of Adam Gilchrist tbh.

 

[King Pietersen]

:laugh Didn't even notice that. That's a laughable selection if ever I've seen one. Be like the England selectors picking Matt Prior in ODi's........

 

[War]

Even if conditions suit seam bowling, you really wouldn't need five seamers would you?

It depends how seamer friendly the conditions are TBH?. Look at the recent England vs South Africa test @ Jo'Burg. SA picked 5-seamers in what was extremely seamer friendly conditions.

Plus what decade is this team picked for, New Zealand in the last five years really wouldn't be called a seamers paradise. If where picking these teams now to play in this decade Vettori would offer a lot more then a 5th seamer.

It is being picked for modern times, with the hypotetical notion that the pitches in New Zealand would be like historical/traditional NZ pitches.

War added 8 Minutes and 53 Seconds later...

Best team for a Home test match.....I would have to disagree not a huge change but a definite change in the lineup. The first 4 is good but I would definitely put Mohammad Yousuf in for Asif Iqbal, I think Yousuf is easily better than Iqbal and Mushtaq and with Pakistan's strong bowling attack you wouldn't really need another all arounder. So I would put Yousuf at 5 and put Mushtaq at 6. Really however, you are on spot with basically the whole entire lineup for a test match in my eyes.

Well firstly i think its debatable whether MoYo is a better batsman than Iqbal. Mohammad Yousuf unfortunately although he is quality player has been one of the premier "Flat-track Bullies" of the 2000s era. He has never really dominated a quality pace attack in this 2000s era. Even Zaheer Abbas & Saleem Malik would be ahead of MoYo in the pecking order TBF.

While Iqbal made runs - tough runs in a quality bowling era. Iqbal also is picked as a batsman - rather than a "all-rounder". Him being able to bowl is just a bonus. So his all-round package makes him a more valuable asset in the PAK ATXI than Yousuf IMO.

BTW, How in the world is Ricky Ponting not in the Australia XI. He should have a reserved spot I don't understand how he is not on the side makes no sense.

The reason i left Ponting out is because IMO, if he is playing he has to bat @ # 3 or 4. But since Bradman & Chappell have those positions locked down, he can't play for me since the likes of Border & even S Waugh suite the # 5 position better than Ponting.

It comes down to personal preference though.

War added 1 Minutes and 9 Seconds later...

:laugh Didn't even notice that. That's a laughable selection if ever I've seen one. Be like the England selectors picking Matt Prior in ODi's........

Why is this laughable ATM?

 

[ZoraxDoom]

Nice lineups War.


India at home, looks pretty good. Hard to leave out Kumble and Laxman, but understandable. They both would be shoe-ins for away sides.

I would replace Zak with one of Amar Singh | Cricket Players and Officials | Cricinfo.com or Mohammad Nissar | Cricket Players and Officials | Cricinfo.com though.

 

[War]

Nice lineups War.


India at home, looks pretty good. Hard to leave out Kumble and Laxman, but understandable. They both would be shoe-ins for away sides.

I would replace Zak with one of Amar Singh | Cricket Players and Officials | Cricinfo.com or Mohammad Nissar | Cricket Players and Officials | Cricinfo.com though.

I used to have Amar Singh or Nissar as the second seamer in the first XI.

But then in early 2009, i saw this video "Greatest moments of Indian cricket 1932-1986" here & i wasn't impressed about what i saw of them both.

Amar Singh looked like a poor man's Alec Bedser & Nissar looked quick as his cricinfo profiles states, but not that impressive. I would definately have both Srinath & Zaheer over them both to be fair.

 

[sami ullah khan]

Muhammad Sami. He started off brilliantly. He could and still can bowl 150KPH. Even the great Imran Khan thinks he is one heck of a talent. His stats however tell a completely different story. He has played 34 or so test for 84 wickets at an average of over 50.

 

[Dare]

You get the wrong thread maybe?

 

[sami ullah khan]

You get the wrong thread maybe?

Lol. Not may be definitely. Can some mod put it in the right thread PLAYERS WHO COULD NOT REACH THEIR POTENTIAL.