World Test Team

[khalek]

lol

Hayden's a better batsman then everyone in your lineup bar Tendulkar & Ponting.

i disagree... tendi is better than hayden.....

 

[angryangy]

what are you disagreeing with?

 

[khalek]

oops sorry my mistake i didnt see bar tendulkar and ponting...

 

[sifter132]

Okay I've considered what you said and made the changes.


1) Hayden
2) Tendulkar
3) Kumar Sangakarra
4) Mike Hussey
5) Kevin Pieterson
6) VVS Laxman
7) Jacques Kallis/Andrew Flintoff
8) Brett Lee
9) Zaheer Khan
10) Muralitharan
11) Dale Steyn

Hmmm, without sounding too 'Aussie' - there are too many Indians in my humble opinion. Zaheer Khan and VVS Laxman have no place in a World XI - how about Ricky Ponting or Mohammad Yousuf or Chanderpaul or Jayawardene or Younis Khan or Graeme Smith, Michael Clarke, Dravid - I would pick all those guys I've listed ahead of Laxman. And Zaheer Khan is not so bad a choice given the lack of quality bowlers around at the moment but I prefer Stuart Clark, Ntini, Vaas, Sidebottom even Andre Nel probably.

Anyway enough criticism. My XI would be thus:

1. Graeme Smith
2. Matthew Hayden (he doesn't like to face the first ball)
3. Ricky Ponting (c)
4. Jacques Kallis (my batting all-rounder to bowl 5 or 10 overs a day)
5. Mohammad Yousuf
6. Michael Hussey
7. MS Dhoni (wk) (Sangakkara hard done by but I like Dhoni's keeping a lot more and I can't put Sangers ahead of any of my batsmen)
8. Daniel Vettori (I don't like most of the fast bowlers in world cricket so I'm playing 2 spinners with Kallis as 3rd seamer. Plus Vettori is an excellent lower order batsman)
9. Brett Lee
10. Stuart Clark
11. Muttiah Muralitharan
12. Makhaya Ntini (if the pitch is green plays instead of Vettori)

Sangakkara, Flintoff and Steyn would make up the rest of my squad.

 

[shravi]

1) Graeme Smith *
2) Matthew Hayden
3) Ricky Ponting
4) Sachin Tendulkar
5) Mohammed Yousuf
6) Michael Hussey
7) Kumar Sangakkara +
8) Brett Lee (1)
9) Muttiah Muralitharan
10) Makhaya Ntini
11) Dale Steyn (2)

 

[Arkhon]

My XI is based roughly half on current form and half on my favourite cricketers. Its maybe half a bowler light, but i couldnt think of anyone to go in at 6 who could bowl. Maybe if Oram scores another ton ill put him in

1) Matthew Hayden
2) Alastair Cook
3) Ricky Ponting
4) Kumar Sangakkara
5) Michael Hussey
6) Ian Bell
7) Brendon McCullum
8) Anil Kumble
9) Brett Lee
10) Ryan Sidebottom
11) Dale Steyn

 

[Cricketman]

good squad but there have been far better players than Dravid over the last year or so. Chanderpual, Yousuf and Jayawardene have been far better than him.

His bad form was only in Australia. He's scoring consistently so far in the IPL, even though his team sucks.

I know Test and T20 are chalk and cheese, but at least we know he can still bat.

And you've just got to have Dravid in a World Test XI. You've just got to. He's pure class, and I still think he's the best number three in the world.

If you think of how people have done in the last few months, Ricky Ponting shouldn't make the cut either - Struggled ALOT in Australia. That being said, I doubt his 150 in the ongoing match helps my cause .

 

[Dare]

His bad form was only in Australia. He's scoring consistently so far in the IPL, even though his team sucks.

I know Test and T20 are chalk and cheese, but at least we know he can still bat.

And you've just got to have Dravid in a World Test XI. You've just got to. He's pure class, and I still think he's the best number three in the world.

If you think of how people have done in the last few months, Ricky Ponting shouldn't make the cut either - Struggled ALOT in Australia. That being said, I doubt his 150 in the ongoing match helps my cause .

yea but Dravid has even struggled to score in India, he had a century against SAF but it was probably the slowest most boring century I ever saw. And like you said his performance in Australia was absolutely horrendous.
When you look at the way Ponting scores it has been far more fluent than Dravid even when they both struggle.
I don't have either because I feel that Chanders, Jayawardena and Kallis have been way better than both in the past year. Jayawardene is a better captain than both and he made some big scores against some good sides, his 200+ against England was pure class.

 

[Cricketman]

I have to disagree with Kallis, in terms of form it has diminished in '08. Some may argue that he is an all rounder - that's bull. He hasn't been potent with the ball for a while now, barely gets any swing nor pace to trouble the batsman. He once had velcro for hands but thats going down as well. I'm sure he'll bounce back, though...

I fail to see, though, how Dravid has struggled in recent years. This is the only season really that comes to mind when you think of Dravid and bad form. He's always been "Mr. Dependable".

Dravid is a grinder and Ponting is a stroke maker, can't really compare them in that aspect.

Dravid got that century i think at a strike rate in the 40's or 50's, which isn't too bad.

 

[Dare]

The century strike rate was 38.
Kallis at the moment has a better average than Dravid and does it at a better strike rate than Dravid.
In his last 10 test matches he got 14 wickets and he doesn't even get the ball as much as he used to, and 14 wickets is not bad at all for a batting all-rounder. I feel that with his ability to bowl some really useful overs it would allow a team to play 2 spinners if need be.
Don't get me wrong Dravid is a very good batsman but his form has dipped big time from the Dravid that we used to know.

 

[masti1234]

Sachin Tendulkar
P Jaques
VVS Laxman
Ricky Ponting / Mohammad Yousuf
Jacques Kallis
Hashim Amla
MS Dhoni
Nathan Bracken
Ishant Sharma
Daniel Vettori / Anil Kumble
Dale Steyn

Kumar Sangakkara was definately in but then I have too many number 3's!

 

[Cricketman]

Jaques?!

Bracken?!

 

[mattfb]

Hmmm, without sounding too 'Aussie' - there are too many Indians in my humble opinion. Zaheer Khan and VVS Laxman have no place in a World XI - how about Ricky Ponting or Mohammad Yousuf or Chanderpaul or Jayawardene or Younis Khan or Graeme Smith, Michael Clarke, Dravid - I would pick all those guys I've listed ahead of Laxman. And Zaheer Khan is not so bad a choice given the lack of quality bowlers around at the moment but I prefer Stuart Clark, Ntini, Vaas, Sidebottom even Andre Nel probably.

Oh, I guess me saying kick out Tendulkar for Haddin, Laxman for Clarke and Khan for Clark is sounding to Aussie? Or in Particular to New South Wales

I agree with the laxman criticism except for Dravid. Laxman is a better player then Dravid imo. I would have Ponting, Yousuf or Clarke in there.

I would probably have Clark instead of Khan.

In the end I guess I am just to biased to Australians.

 

[SciD]

Royal Challengers of Banglore have good test team.

 

[Cricketman]

Laxman owns. Dravid owns.

But in the end, its just got to be Dravid > Laxman. I think Dravid has finally found some form after a brief four month period, everyone goes through a bad patch now and again.

Dravid will bounce back. We'll see.