All-Time Test XIs

[Dare]

They could have gone for someone like Compton.

 

[Symptom_Control]

my best team of players I have seen since I've been watching (mid 70s)

Barry Richards
Gordon Greenidge
Viv Richards
Sachin Tendulkar
Brian Lara
Javed Miandad
Adam Gilchrist
Wasim Akram
Shane Warne
Malcolm Marshall
Dennis Lillee

 

[AkshayS]

^whoaa you have seen the likes of Lille and Marshall.

 

[sifter132]

Ease up chief we aren't all 15 around here:laugh I saw the last tour of Marshall to Australia and I'm only 27. Granted I was only 6 at the time, but I still remember him on TV. Just don't ask me to analyse his bowling for that tour too much

 

[Shoaib87]

Alltime 1st XI:

Jack Hobbs
Len Hutton
Don Bradman
Viv Richards
Brian Lara
Andy Flower+
Imran Khan*
Richard Hadlee
Wasim Akram
Malcolm Marshall
Muttiah Muralitharan

Alltime 2nd XI:

Herbert Sutcliffe
Sunil Gavaskar
Greg Chappell
Sachin Tendulkar
Garry Sobers*
Keith Miller
Adam Gilchrist+
Shane Warne
Curtley Ambrose
Allan Donald
Glenn McGrath

 

[ZoraxDoom]

Interesting choice with Flower as keeper and eliminating Sachin and Sobers for the first XI.

 

[Shoaib87]

Interesting choice with Flower as keeper and eliminating Sachin and Sobers for the first XI.

Andy Flower:Has as a good a record as a batsman any other wicket keeper.Wasn't that great with gloves but neither are Gilchrist & Sangakkara.Gets extra points for being part of a minnow side.

Sachin:There's hardly any difference between him & Lara but I picked Lara just because I love his batting style & rate him as the greatest left hander ever.

Garry Sobers:I rate Viv Richards as 2nd to Bradman only,so Sobers couldn't find a place in my first XI.If you're asking about Sobers-The allrounder,then I'm one of those who think
A great bowling allrounder>A great batting allrounder

Because everyone has to bat but not everyone bowls.And Sobers would hardly get a chance to bowl in an alltime XI because with 4 or 5 alltime great bowlers in your side,no captain would like someone who was absolutely crap for 1/3 of his career(took 31 wickets in his first 30 tests @ 50),mediocre for another 1/3rd & average at best.I not only rate Imran & Miller as better allrunders than him but they're always my first choice for Alltime First & Second XIs respectively.

 

[Dare]

Andy Flower:Has as a good a record as a batsman any other wicket keeper.Wasn't that great with gloves but neither are Gilchrist & Sangakkara.Gets extra points for being part of a minnow side.

Sachin:There's hardly any difference between him & Lara but I picked Lara just because I love his batting style & rate him as the greatest left hander ever.

Garry Sobers:I rate Viv Richards as 2nd to Bradman only,so Sobers couldn't find a place in my first XI.If you're asking about Sobers-The allrounder,then I'm one of those who think
A great bowling allrounder>A great batting allrounder

Because everyone has to bat but not everyone bowls.And Sobers would hardly get a chance to bowl in an alltime XI because with 4 or 5 alltime great bowlers in your side,no captain would like someone who was absolutely crap for 1/3 of his career(took 31 wickets in his first 30 tests @ 50),mediocre for another 1/3rd & average at best.I not only rate Imran & Miller as better allrunders than him but they're always my first choice for Alltime First & Second XIs respectively.

Just a couple of things I would like to comment on.
Sangakkara is a much better wicketkeeper then Flower. He is good enough to keep in any team any time. Its not like he has some major flaw in his keeping, for a good part of his career he had to keep for Murali in tests and still does in ODIs.

As for Sobers. Doesn't he get in on his batting alone? He is considered by many the 2nd best batsman behind Bradman. I realize that you consider Viv to be 2nd after Bradman but Sobers has a great batting average and offer some better then average pace and spin bowling. He was also a brilliant fielder.

 

[StinkyBoHoon]

the windies team is ridiculously good. You are still missing out players that are certifiable legends from the their second all-time XI. Amazing how much talent those islands produced and inexplicable how it's so completely dried up recently

 

[Dare]

the windies team is ridiculously good. You are still missing out players that are certifiable legends from the their second all-time XI. Amazing how much talent those islands produced and inexplicable how it's so completely dried up recently

Yea so many legends and so few spots.

And its not amazing its sad :crying

 

[StinkyBoHoon]

As for Sobers. Doesn't he get in on his batting alone? He is considered by many the 2nd best batsman behind Bradman. I realize that you consider Viv to be 2nd after Bradman but Sobers has a great batting average and offer some better then average pace and spin bowling. He was also a brilliant fielder.

I agree, sobers is definitely one of the best batsmen ever, regardless of his bowling contribution. He and Imran suffer the same fate, people almost seem unwilling to give them their due credit for excelling in one field because they regard it as almost impossible to be that good and then be good in another department. 6 sixes back then was just not heard of, he was the original flashy left hander and still the best.

I often think in best ever bowler polls imran often places too low as well.

 

[Dare]

I often think in best ever bowler polls imran often places too low as well.

Yea I agree with that. People categorize him as an all-rounder and forget that he was just a brilliant fast bowler.

 

[Shoaib87]

Just a couple of things I would like to comment on.
Sangakkara is a much better wicketkeeper then Flower. He is good enough to keep in any team any time. Its not like he has some major flaw in his keeping, for a good part of his career he had to keep for Murali in tests and still does in ODIs.

As for Sobers. Doesn't he get in on his batting alone? He is considered by many the 2nd best batsman behind Bradman. I realize that you consider Viv to be 2nd after Bradman but Sobers has a great batting average and offer some better then average pace and spin bowling. He was also a brilliant fielder.

I've seen them both play & don't think there is much difference between their keeping.Averaging 50+ with the bat & keeping wickets while playing for a minnow means a lot.

Not denying Sobers greatness as a player.He was as good,if not a better batsman than Lara,a combination of James Franklin & Ashley Giles(but would hardly get a chance to bowl in an alltime XI hence I didn't consider his bowling at all while making selctions for my alltime xi) as a bowler,Mark Waugh in terms of slip fielder & very good in other fielding positions as well.I think I've already told why I don't have him in my side.I just lilke Lara more & he was the only player he could replace.IMO,they're both equal in terms of batting but Sobers was a better fielder but I like Lara more so he has to be there.

 

[kirksland]

For my first post first let me say that I have greatly enjoyed reading all of the posts in this discussion, so after reading all of the opions expressed and teams selected I must say that I was most impressed by the one chosen by Zoraxdoom the most, the most original and yet logical of all. Dont agree with all the pics, but loved the though process.

 

[kirksland]

Now for my all time 11, with so many great players dont think its right to limit this exercise to just one team, plus they should have someone to play againts, so with that my top 4 all time teams with explainations for the first team.
4th Team (With alternates)
Gordon Greenidge/Virender Sehwag, Greame Smith, Everton Weekes, Graeme Pollock, Ken Barrington/Denis Compton, Denis Lindsay/John Waite, Ian Botham/Tony Greig, Allan Donald, Waqar Younis, Jim Laker, Joel Garner/Colin Croft.
3rd Team
Matthew Hayden, Herbert Sutcliffe, George Headley, Greg Chappell, Rahul Dravid, Les Ames, Keith Miller, Wasim Akram, Fred Trueman, Michael Holding, Bill O'Reilly.
2nd Team
Len Hutton, Barry Richards, Ricky Ponting, Vivian Richards, Walter Hammond, Jacques Kallis, Allan Knott, Richard Hadlee, Curtly Ambrose, Dennis Lillee, Mutiah Muralithran.
1st Team
Jack Hobbs (Greatest Ever Opener), Sunil Gavasker (34 test hundreds, larger body of work over B.Richards), Donald Bradman (99.94 avg.), Brian Lara (best left hander and player of spin brings better balance than Headley), Sachin Tendulkar (So great for so long, best after Bradman), Garfield Sobers (3rd best batsman and bowled 3 different ways), Adam Gilchrist (kept to Warne all those years, and garnered most dismissals, is underrated as keeper), Imran Khan (best bowling all-rounder, avg'd 50 and 20 2nd half of career), Malcolm Marshall (best fast bowler ever 20.94/46.7), Shane Warne (Didn't play on pitches made for him and had to share wickets, greates spinner, also great slip ffielder), Glen Mcgrath (most accurate and consistent of all, like Tendulkar, so great for so long, great compliment to the other bowlers, offers no respite).