Obviously the cricketing powerhouse that is the Democratic Republic of the Congo.
Moeen Ali at three also provided some offies to take the pressure off Borthwick; Steven Davies doubled as both gloveman and keeper; Eoin Morgan came in as a batsman and skipper, and their problems were solved.
Incredibly, in this era of home domination, South Africa haven't lost a series away from home for a decade, since their loss to Sri Lanka in 2006. Indeed, they've only lost against Australia since then, in 2009 and 2014, both times at the hands of Mitchell Johnson's searing pace. In all honesty, the South Africans have to be up there with the best Test teams of all time, and it is only right that they get the chance to prove it in the Test Championship. Graeme Smith is expected to retire after his country win (or don't win) the Mace, with Faf du Plessis the next in line. For this series, though, he will be looking to go out with a bang.
Biff will want to go out with a bang.
Squad: Smith , Amla, Petersen, Elgar, de Villiers, de Kock, du Plessis, van Zyl, Duminy, Philander, Steyn, Morkel, de Lange, Abbott, Dry
13th
|
Zimbabwe
|28 pts
It's hard to believe, but this is a rich generation of Zimbabwean talent. The likes of Kyle Jarvis, Gary Ballance, Nathan Waller, Craig Ervine and Colin de Grandhomme are all flourishing elsewhere, but those who have remained in Zimbabwe remain underpaid and underappreciated. Not that there's many who remain in Zimbabwe these days. In their last Test, against Guyana, their side included such names as Mugochi and Mufudza, Zhuwao and Jongwe, and it was just generally a far cry from the glory days of being ranked above England. They still scrape the odd win or two off the back of Brendan Taylor, but it's usually a long hard slog.
The Zimbabwean team is in a sorry state.
So, that's five out of six. The final team will be the strongest of those from the Americas.
There also isn't a Congo-Niger-Sierra Leone tri-series planned at the moment. Sorry guys.
The Marylebone Cricket Club is pleased to announce a new initiative to bring cricket into the Twentieth Century. For the first time, the champions of Australia will travel to England to play for the title of World Champions. It is hoped that, over time, this fixture can command a regular place in the English cricketing summer.
World Championship of Cricket 1900
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Champions of England Surrey County Cricket Club
Manager: T.B.C.
Available players: LINK
Champions of Australia Victoria
Manager: T.B.C.
Available players: LINK
Guyana did not have a good record in the West Indian domestic first-class competition, but they have risen to the top of the pile in the region as a Test side owing to the reliability of their veteran run-makers Shivnarine Chanderpaul and Ramnaresh Sarwan. The pair have saved their country from numerous Test defeats, as well as setting up victories for the spin threat of Permaul and Bishoo to complete against other lowly Test nations. With Chanderpaul and Sarwan set to retire at the end of the tournament, though, they will likely plummet down the rankings.
The bottom of the table is very congested. The unluckiest of the bunch is undoubtedly Jamaica, who have missed out on the Championship despite having beaten all the other sides in their region. The reason for this is simple: however good the likes of Chris Gayle and Jerome Taylor are, they need to be available more often.
More consistent than Jamaica have been Barbados, whose incredible pace battery has meant that on occasion they can compete with the best in the world. Best, Brathwaite, Cummings, Edwards, Holder, McClean, Roach, Searles - all of them probably Test quality bowlers, and ably supported by the spin of Nurse and Benn. Sometimes, though, their batting can be very fragile, and this has led to some pretty embarrassing losses too. Barbados don't play in many draws.
Finally, we have Trinidad and Tobago. By miles, they are the best limited overs side in the Caribbean. Sometimes, though, you get the feeling that for players like Dwayne Bravo, Kieron Pollard and the like, Test cricket just isn't the priority. When they play at home, they often select a quartet of spinners out of Austin, Badree, Jaggernauth, Kantasingh, Khan and Narine, but this strategy leaves their limited pace reserves half-cooked away from home.
Introduction
In 1900, to mark a new century in cricket and the world, the Marylebone Cricket Club decided to create a new fixture in the English summer, and the World Championship of Cricket was born, to be contested between the champions of England and the champions of Australia.
Over 116 years, domestic teams from ten nations would be represented, with around the same number of guest teams also playing on an invitational basis.
---
The Early Years
After three years of the Championship being decided by a single first-class match, the Marylebone Cricket Club decided that the 1903 Championship would be decided over three matches. From 1903 until 1930, either two, three or four teams would contest the Championship in a series of three first-class matches, although the tournaments from 1915 to 1919 were cancelled due to the War.
---
The Knockout Era
Apart from one tournament immediately after World War Two in 1947, all Championships from 1935 to 1968 were contested in a straight knockout format. When more an inconvenienent number of teams played, the English and Australian champions received a direct bye through the first round, as occasionally did the champions of South Africa.
---
The Hexangular Era
From 1969 to 1989, the World Championship of Cricket was contested by two groups of three teams in a four-week window. For the first time, the Championship began to be played outside England, and the consistent format made it much easier for fans from around the world to understand.
---
The Era of Expansion
The inclusion for the first time of a Sri Lankan team in 1990 saw the Championship grow once more to an eight-team knockout. It didn't stop there, though, growing to three groups of three teams with the elevation of Zimbabwe to Test cricket. The Millenium Tournament, featuring domestic teams from the ten nations we recognise as today's Test teams alongside Kenya and Scotland, was the largest of all with twelve teams.
---
The End of Expansion
As the tournament continued to grow, and the imminent prospect of an 11-team event reduced the schedulers to quivering wrecks, the ICC took decisive action in reducing the 2012 tournament once more to an 8-team knockout event. In 2015, this was reduced further, as the new Executive Committee agreed to a return to the golden age of six teams, including one each from the Big Three (Aus, Eng, Ind) and the champions of the top three remaining Test nations.
---
Guest Teams
For many years, guest teams would be invited to compete in the tournament. The first instance of this was when the Gentlemen of Philadelphia competed in the 1908 edition during their tour of England. Over time, Argentina, Dublin University, Fiji, Canada, Scotland, Ireland, Bermuda, Zimbabwe, Netherlands and Kenya were all invited to participate in the tournament. In the early 21st Century, Scotland, Ireland and Afghanistan all earned places in the tournament by winning the Intercontinental Cup.
Surrey
Victoria
Yorkshire
New South Wales
Yorkshire
Victoria
Yorkshire
New South Wales
Middlesex
New South Wales
Transvaal
Lancashire
New South Wales
Transvaal
Yorkshire
New South Wales
Transvaal
Kent
New South Wales
Noottinghamshire
New South Wales
Transvaal
Gentlemen of Philadelphia (Guest)
Yorkshire
Victoria
Kent
New South Wales
Western Province
Kent
South Australia
Auckland
Warwickshire
New South Wales
Natal
Yorkshire
New South Wales
Argentina (Guest)
Kenya
South Australia
Natal
World War One
Yorkshire
Canterbury
Middlesex
New South Wales
Middlesex
New South Wales
Western Province
Yorkshire
Victoria
Western Province
Yorkshire
New South Wales
Yorkshire
Victoria
Transvaal
Yorkshire
Victoria
Dublin University (Guest)
Lancashire
New South Wales
Transvaal
Lancashire
South Australia
Transvaal
Lancashire
Victoria
Argentina (Guest)
Nottinghamshire
New South Wales
Trinidad
Lancashire
Victoria
Transvaal
Wellington *
British Guyna *
Yorkshire
Victoria
Canterbury
Yorkshire
New South Wales
Western Province
Wellington *
Trinidad *
Lancashire
New South Wales
Otago
Lancashire
Victoria
Natal
Auckland *
Trinidad *
Yorkshire
Victoria
Bombay
Transvaal
Canterbury
British Guiana
Derbyshire
South Australia
Bombay *
Wellington *
British Guiana *
Yorkshire
Victoria
Nawanagar
Natal
Auckland
Trinidad
Yorkshire
New South Wales
Hyderabad
Natal
Auckland
British Guiana
World War Two
Yorkshire
Holkar
Canterbury
Middlesex
Victoria
Baroda
Natal
Auckland
Glamorgan
Western Australia
Holkar
Natal
Otago
Fiji (Guest)
Yorkshire
New South Wales
Bombay
Canterbury
Surrey
New South Wales
Baroda
Wellington
Warwickshire
Victoria
Holkar
Transvaal
Otago
Canada (Guest)
Surrey
New South Wales
Bombay
Wester Province
Canterbury
Surrey
South Australia
Holkar
Otago
Fiji (Guest)
Surrey
New South Wales
Bombay
Natal
Central Districts
Bahawalpur
Surrey
New South Wales
Madras
Western Province
Wellington
Karachi
Surrey
New South Wales
Bombay
Canterbury
Surrey
New South Wales
Bombay
Natal
Wellington
British Guiana
Karachi
Surrey
New South Wales
Baroda
Otago
Bahawalpur
Scotland (Guest)
Yorkshire
New South Wales
Bombay
Transvaal
Auckland
Karachi
Yorkshire
New South Wales
Bombay
Natal
Canterbury
Karachi
Hampshire
New South Wales
Bombay
Natal
Wellington
British Guiana
Yorkshire
New South Wales
Bombay
Wellington
Karachi Blues
Ireland (Guest)
Yorkshire
Victoria
Bombay
Natal
Northern Districts
Karachi A
Worcestershire
South Australia
Bombay
Natal
Auckland
British Guiana
Karachi Blues
Worcestershire
New South Wales
Bombay
Canterbury
Karachi Blues
Bermuda (Guest)
Yorkshire
New South Wales
Bombay
Natal
Wellington
Barbados
Yorkshire
Victoria
Bombay
Natal
Central Districts
Barbados
Karachi
Ireland (Guest)
Yorkshire
Western Australia
Bombay
Natal
Central Districts
Ceylon (Guest)
Glamorgan
South Australia
Bobay
Auckland
Jamaica
Lahore
Kent
Victoria
Bombay
Otago
Trinidad
Pakistan International Airlines
Surrey
South Australia
Bombay
Central Districts
Trinidad & Tobago
Karachi Blues
Warwickshire
Western Australia
Bombay
Otago
Barbados
Canada (Guest)
Hampshire
Western Australia
Bombay
Wellington
Guyana
Pakistan Railways
Worcestershire
Victoria
Karnataka
Wellington
Barbados
Pakistan Railways
Leicestershire
Western Australia
Bombay
Otago
Guyana
Punjab A
Middlesex
Western Australia
Bombay
Canterbury
Barbados
National Bank
Middlesex
Western Australia
Bombay
Otago
Barbados
United Bank
Kent
Western Australia
Karnataka
Auckland
Barbados
Habib Bank
Essex
Victoria
Delhi
Otago
Barbados
National Bank
Middlesex
Victoria
Delhi
Northern Districts
Barbados
Pakistan International Airlines
Nottinghamshire
Western Australia
Bombay
Auckland
Combined Islands
United Bank
Middlesex
South Australia
Delhi
Wellington
Barbados
National Bank
Essex
New South Wales
Karnataka
Wellington
Guyana
United Bank
Essex
Western Australia
Bombay
Canterbury
Barbados
National Bank
Middlesex
New South Wales
Bombay
Wellington
Trinidad & Tobago
United Bank
Essex
New South Wales
Delhi
Otago
Barbados
Karachi
Nottinghamshire
Western Australia
Hyderabad
Central Districts
Guyana
National Bank
Worcestershire
Western Australia
Tamil Nadu
Otago
Jamaica
Pakistan International Airlines
Worcestershire
Western Australia
Delhi
Auckland
Jamaica
ADB Pakistan
Nondescripts
Zimbabwe (Guest)
Middlesex
New South Wales
Bengal
Wellington
Leeward Islands
Pakistan International Airlines
Sinhalese
Netherlands (Guest)
Essex
Victoria
Haryana
Western Province
Auckland
Barbados
Karachi Whites
Sinhalese
Essex
Western Australia
Delhi
Eastern Province
Central Districts
Jamaica
Karachi Whites
Colts
Middlesex
New South Wales
Punjab
Orange Free State
Northern Districts
Guyana
Karachi
Sinhalese
Warwickshire
New South Wales
Bombay
Orange Free State
Canterbury
Leeward Islands
Lahore
Nondescripts
Warwickshire
Queensland
Bombay
Natal
Auckland
Barbados
Karachi Blues
Bloomfield
Mashonaland
Leicestershire
South Australia
Karnataka
Western Province
Auckland
Leeward Islands
Karachi Blues
Colombo
Matebeleland
Leicestershire
Western Australia
Karnataka
Orange Free State
Canterbury
Guyana
Karachi
Sinhalese
Mashonaland
Surrey
Western Australia
Karnataka
Western Province
Central Districts
Barbados
Peshawar
Bloomfield
Matebeleland
Mohammedan
Kenya (Guest)
Scotland (Guest)
Durham
Tasmania
Mumbai
Cape Cobras
Central Districts
Barbados
Karachi Blues
Sinhalese
Yorkshire
New South Wales
Karnataka
Titans
Canterbury
Rawalpindi
Highest Team Total
Lowest Team Total
Most Extras (Innings)
--- Highest Individual Innings
Best Innings Figures
Best Match Figures
--- Partnership Records
1st
2nd
3rd
4th
5th
6th
7th
8th
9th
10th
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