Your all time aussie test squad (of 18)

All time... VERY tough:

XI

Bill Ponsford
Matthew Hayden
Don Bradman (c)
Greg Chappell
Ricky Ponting
Keith Miller
Adam Gilchrist (wk)
Shane Warne
Dennis Lillee (2)
Clarrie Grimmett
Glenn McGrath (1)

Backup

Victor Trumper

Steve Smith
Alan Border

Ian Healy

Fred Spoffoth
Ray Lindwall
Pat Cummins



You could push Miller down to 7/8 and have a ridiculously long batting lineup, but I'd rather have 5 bowlers and Australia doesn't really have any other all-rounder near Miller's quality (as much as I appreciate how under-appreciated Shane Watson is).

The second spinner to Warne was a toss-up between O'Reilly and Grimmett. I went for Grimmett in the end, since the stories say he was a more consistent bowler compared with O'Reilly's out and out attacking nature (which I feel Warne can provide).
 

Seedsfan

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What a dumb post. Seriously. I said you'd take him to SA over Hayden. Warner averages 63 in SA. Hayden averages 34. Near enough double.

Learn a bit about cricket. He doesn't just pile on "soft runs at home". He's clearly better and more comfortable on bouncy tracks.
Talk about dumb post lol, if you think David Warner is anything but a flat track bully you have no clue about the game of cricket

The fact he averages 33 in away test matches and 63 at home highlights that fact

The premise discussion was a squad you would take all around the world to play in all different conditions now if you pick Warner you haven’t got a clue about cricket.

There is no denying he made runs on one away tour but the second time he was in South Africa he struggled averaging mid 30s
 
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interested to hear people's thoughts on Hazlewood - how far is he off ?

i think he has been mentioned once so far.

mind you very hard to break into the XI if you've seen Lillee & McGrath.
 

Walt Kowalski

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interested to hear people's thoughts on Hazlewood - how far is he off ?

i think he has been mentioned once so far.

mind you very hard to break into the XI if you've seen Lillee & McGrath.

I cant really remember Lillee, but if you were picking over the last 40 years, and you can have Lillee, McGrath and Cummins, I'd say that'd be your trio. Next in line Gillespie and McDermott. Haze is very good at what he does though.
 

BronCrow

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3 openers : M.Taylor, M.Slater, D.Warner
5 middle order bats : R.Ponting, A. Border, S.Smith, S.Waugh, M.Hussey
2 wicket keepers : I.Healy, A.Gilchrist
2 spinners : S.Warne, S.MacGill
5 quicks : G.McGrath, P.Cummins, J. Gillespie, C.McDermott, R. Harris
1 player of your own choice/wildcard : M.Johnson

Not too controversial, took Hussey over M.Clarke because he could open if required, and he's another leftie. I was never a Hayden fan but he could be in there obv.

Johnson the wildcard because if I can have him in his prime he's the scariest i've seen.
Hayden and Langer are the obvious omissions as as openers for mine.

Would also have Boon ahead of both Slater and Warner as well.

Deano or M Waugh as my wildcard.
 
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All time... VERY tough:

XI

Bill Ponsford
Matthew Hayden
Don Bradman (c)
Greg Chappell
Ricky Ponting
Keith Miller
Adam Gilchrist (wk)
Shane Warne
Dennis Lillee (2)
Clarrie Grimmett
Glenn McGrath (1)

Backup

Victor Trumper

toss-up between O'Reilly and Grimmett. I went for Grimmett in the end, since the stories say he was a more consistent bowler compared with O'Reilly's out and out attacking nature (which I feel Warne can provide).
I think it is meant to be all time of what each of us have seen.
No way anyone alive has seen Victor Trumper play...
 
I think it is meant to be all time of what each of us have seen.
No way anyone alive has seen Victor Trumper play...

1627591018816.png
 

CliffMcTainshaw

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Openers
1. Simpson
2. Lawry
3. Hayden

Mids
1. Ponting
2. G. Chappell
3. Smith
4. Border
5. Boon

Wicketkeeper
1. Gilchrist
2. Healy

Spin
1. Warne
2. Benaud

Quicks
1. Lillee
2. Thomson
3. McGrath
4. G. McKenzie
5. M. Johnson

Wildcard
Down to Doug Walters for his card games, Gary Gilmour for his exciting play, whether batting or bowling, Max Walker for his stories and Kerry O’Keefe for his laugh. Take your pick
 
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Openers
1. Simpson
2. Lawry
3. Hayden

Mids
1. Ponting
2. G. Chappell
3. Smith
4. Border
5. Boon

Wicketkeeper
1. Gilchrist
2. Healy

Spin
1. Warne
2. Benaud

Quicks
1. Lillee
2. Thomson
3. McGrath
4. G. McKenzie
5. M. Johnson

Wildcard
Down to Doug Walters for his card games, Gary Gilmour for his exciting play, whether batting or bowling, Max Walker for his stories and Kerry O’Keefe for his laugh. Take your pick

first of all - love the wildcard nominations - hey let's take them all :)

you've seen some serious cricket if you've seen simpson, lawry, mckenzie & benaud play as their records all stack up.
 

CliffMcTainshaw

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Since 1957 when we got our TV. Live from Boxing day 1962. :)
EDIT: I went back to check the scores and found out it was actually Dec 29th and I got to see Trueman and Statham bowl apparently.
 
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CliffMcTainshaw

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tv was around in 57?
You seen heaps.
Jealous
TV started the year before for the Olympics, but it took quite a while for my family to save up for one. People used to save up for things back then. We got a fridge in 1956. Before then it was the ice man once a week in summer and once a fortnight in winter for the ice chest. We were about 3rd or 4th in the street to get a phone in 1966. Times have changed!
 

BronCrow

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TV started the year before for the Olympics, but it took quite a while for my family to save up for one. People used to save up for things back then. We got a fridge in 1956. Before then it was the ice man once a week in summer and once a fortnight in winter for the ice chest. We were about 3rd or 4th in the street to get a phone in 1966. Times have changed!
Was the night cart going around as well then?

Genuine question, not meant as an insult.
 

CliffMcTainshaw

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Was the night cart going around as well then?

Genuine question, not meant as an insult.
I can give you a couple of funny stories about the night cart and nightman. Luckily our house had an indoor toilet, but plenty of people in the street had outdoor cans that were emptied each week, some pretty smelly dunnies in summer back then. I overheard my mother telling my father about the women up the road who was sitting on the toilet when suddenly she heard footsteps going to the back of the dunny then the door to the pan opening. She froze holding her breath while the pan was slid out and a new one slid in and the door closing. Her relief at that point was shattered by the nightman saying, "see ya missus" as he left. My father spat his tea across the table to the great surprise of my mother.
My brother witnessed the bottom of a pan on top of the nightman's head collapsing and dousing him in its contents. He learnt a lot of new swear words that day as well.
The last one was going home from school only to be chased by the school bully who was a couple of years older and a lot bigger than me. He couldn't catch me, but he grabbed my little brother. I turned around to see him punching my little brother and started to run back to help him but before I got there the nightman had jumped from his cart grabbed the bully by his collar and belt and thrown him over a 5ft paling fence and yelling at him, that he knew where he lived and he never wanted to see him when he went to his place. He asked how we both were and told us that he hated bullies from when he was a kid and made us promise that if the bully ever annoyed us again, to tell him.
 
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BronCrow

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I can give you a couple of funny stories about the night cart and nightman. Luckily our house had an indoor toilet, but plenty of people in the street had outdoor cans that were emptied each week, some pretty smelly dunnies in summer back then. I overheard my mother telling my father about the women up the road who was sitting on the toilet when suddenly she heard footsteps going to the back of the dunny then the door to the pan opening. She froze holding her breath while the pan was slid out and a new one slid in and the door closing. Her relief at that point was shattered by the nightman saying, "see ya missus" as he left. My father spat his tea across the table to the great surprise of my mother.
My brother witnessed the bottom of a pan on top of the nightman's head collapsing and dousing him in its contents. He learnt a lot of new swear words that day as well.
The last one was going home from school only to be chased by the school bully who was a couple of years older and a lot bigger than me. He couldn't catch me, but he grabbed my little brother. I turned around to see him punching my little brother and started to run back to help him but before I got there the nightman had jumped from his cart grabbed the bully by his collar and belt and thrown him over a 5ft paling fence and yelling at him, that he knew where he lived and he never wanted to see him when he went to his place. He asked how we both were told us that he hated bullies from when he was a kid and made us promise that if the bully ever annoyed us again, to tell him.
Very funny. The best thing about that last story is that that bully would have been told off by his parents after telling his parents what happend and they would have thanked the nightman for acting in such a way, reminding their boy that it is a lesson as to how to behave. Nowadays, you dare do anything like that you get the pious "don't you do that to my child" act. Rant over.

Lets get back to the cricket discussion now.
 
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I can give you a couple of funny stories about the night cart and nightman. Luckily our house had an indoor toilet, but plenty of people in the street had outdoor cans that were emptied each week, some pretty smelly dunnies in summer back then. I overheard my mother telling my father about the women up the road who was sitting on the toilet when suddenly she heard footsteps going to the back of the dunny then the door to the pan opening. She froze holding her breath while the pan was slid out and a new one slid in and the door closing. Her relief at that point was shattered by the nightman saying, "see ya missus" as he left. My father spat his tea across the table to the great surprise of my mother.
My brother witnessed the bottom of a pan on top of the nightman's head collapsing and dousing him in its contents. He learnt a lot of new swear words that day as well.
The last one was going home from school only to be chased by the school bully who was a couple of years older and a lot bigger than me. He couldn't catch me, but he grabbed my little brother. I turned around to see him punching my little brother and started to run back to help him but before I got there the nightman had jumped from his cart grabbed the bully by his collar and belt and thrown him over a 5ft paling fence and yelling at him, that he knew where he lived and he never wanted to see him when he went to his place. He asked how we both were and told us that he hated bullies from when he was a kid and made us promise that if the bully ever annoyed us again, to tell him.
wow. learn something new every day. Never even heard of a nightman, let alone what it meant. That is crazy s**t from another time and almost world.
Only ever known about the nightwatch man in cricket.
 

qman

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Traditional vic teams
My team is from 1984 onwards and I will have at least one or two players which may not seem warranted but they were favs of mine.
Hayden
Langer
Ponting
G.Chappell
Border
S.Waugh
Gilchrist
Warne
M.Hughes
Lillee
McGrath
Reserves:
Hussey (reserve opener or middle order bat)
Smith ( honestly I don't really like the guy but ignoring him would be stupid)
Greg Matthews (2nd spinner), total weirdo but he was my fav when I was a kid and a legit gun player with bat, ball and in the field. I don't think Border utilised him well at test level.
David Boon (Reserve keeper, I'm cheating here but he did keep for Australia...lol! He was a legend, so any excuse to get him in).
Pat Cummins
Terry Alderman
Darren Lehmann (Wildcard, I am a strong believer that he was a 'special' batsman who would have scored big if selected earlier and he's the best player of spin bowling I saw, so very valuable on the sub continent).
 
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My team is from 1984 onwards and I will have at least one or two players which may not seem warranted but they were favs of mine.
Hayden
Langer
Ponting
G.Chappell
Border
S.Waugh
Gilchrist
Warne
M.Hughes
Lillee
McGrath
Reserves:
Hussey (reserve opener or middle order bat)
Smith ( honestly I don't really like the guy but ignoring him would be stupid)
Greg Matthews (2nd spinner), total weirdo but he was my fav when I was a kid and a legit gun player with bat, ball and in the field. I don't think Border utilised him well at test level.
David Boon (Reserve keeper, I'm cheating here but he did keep for Australia...lol! He was a legend, so any excuse to get him in).
Pat Cummins
Terry Alderman
Darren Lehmann (Wildcard, I am a strong believer that he was a 'special' batsman who would have scored big if selected earlier and he's the best player of spin bowling I saw, so very valuable on the sub continent).
Interesting, you got Greg Chappell and Lillee but if you picking from 1984 onwards, how did you see them play?
 

CliffMcTainshaw

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Very funny. The best thing about that last story is that that bully would have been told off by his parents after telling his parents what happend and they would have thanked the nightman for acting in such a way, reminding their boy that it is a lesson as to how to behave. Nowadays, you dare do anything like that you get the pious "don't you do that to my child" act. Rant over.

Lets get back to the cricket discussion now.
Knowing Michael he would never have told his parents. About 20 years later I was best man at my mate's wedding and found out that Michael was his cousin!
I was bigger than he was by then.
 
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the new years test of '84 and thats it - the farewell match :)
ha ha. Fair enough then. Fairly sure Greg Chappell scored 172 in that. Was either 172 or 174. What a way to go out.
DK got a few wickets also so they did not go on too long.
I think Lillee played Shield cricket for a couple more summers
 
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ha ha. Fair enough then. Fairly sure Greg Chappell scored 172 in that. Was either 172 or 174. What a way to go out.
DK got a few wickets also so they did not go on too long.
I think Lillee played Shield cricket for a couple more summers
I think Lillee finished up for WA that season. He came back for one season at Tasmania (85-6?) and got Hilditch with his first ball I believe, possibly in Devonport.
 
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