eth-dog
Tier 1 WW Player
I'm bored, so I'm compiling an "all time XI" for every test nation.
Australia
1. Justin Langer (45.27)
2. Matthew Hayden (50.73)
3. Don Bradman (99.94)
4. Ricky Ponting (51.84)
5. Steve Waugh (51.06/37.44)
6. Allan Border (50.56/39.1, c)
7. Adam Gilchrist (47.6/4.33d, +)
8. Keith Miller (36.97/22.97)
9. Shane Warne (17.32/25.41)
10. Dennis Lillee (13.71/23.92)
11. Glenn McGrath (7.36/21.64)
12th man Greg Chappell
Langer and Hayden have the 2nd most runs of any opening combination in test cricket, and the 3rd most century stands so opening with them was obvious. Bradman picks himself. The middle order was tough to split between Ponting, Waugh, Border and Chappell so I went with the two genuine bowling options and the best Australian bat I've ever seen. Gilly also picks himself. I almost went Davidson ahead of Miller to provide variety but Miller was a better bat which edged him ahead (which is a legitimate tie breaker for players like them), and Lillee/McGrath pick themselves along with Warne.
Bangladesh
1. Tamim Iqbal (40.34)
2. Mominul Haque (51.66)
3. Habibul Bashar (30.87)
4. Mahmudullah (31.17)
5. Shakib Al Hasan (39.05/32, c)
6. Nasir Hossain (37.34)
7. Mushfiqur Rahim (31.97/1.86d, +)
8. Mohammed Rafique (18.57/40.76)
9. Mashrafe Mortaza (12.85/41.52)
10. Taijul Islam (11.85/32.13)
11. Shahadat Hossain (10.01/51.83)
12th man Enamul Haque jr
This side really picks itself with 7 blokes averaging over 30 with the bat. Hossain might be controversial, but he's the second best seamer they've produced.
England
1. Herbert Sutcliffe (60.73)
2. Jack Hobbs (56.94)
3. Eddie Paynter (59.23)
4. Wally Hammond (58.45/37.8)
5. Ken Barrington (58.45)
6. Dennis Compton (50.06/56.4)
7. Les Ames (40.56/2.06d, +)
8. Jim Laker (14.08/21.24)
9. Fred Trueman (13.81/21.57)
10. Frank Tyson (10.95/18.56)
11. Sydney Barnes (8.06/16.43)
12th man Harold Larwood
Sutcliffe and Hobbs have the highest average opening partnership in the history of test cricket and the second most century opening stands. The next three pick themselves with their averages, and then I chose Compton with his ability to bowl part time along with his batting average. Ames averages a lot more thank Knott as a keeper/bat. Laker, Trueman, Tyson, Barnes are four great bowlers, Larwood extremely unlucky to miss out.
India
1. Sunil Gavaskar (51.12)
2. Virender Sehwag (49.43)
3. Rahul Dravid (52.63)
4. Sachin Tendulkar (53.78)
5. Vinod Kambli (54.2)
6. Virat Kohli (50.1)
7. MS Dohni (38.09/3.27d, c, +)
8. Kapil Dev (31.05/29.64)
9. Anil Kumble (17.77/29.65)
10. Zaheer Khan (11.95/32.94)
11. Bishan Bedi (8.98/28.71)
12th man Harbhajan Singh
6 of the top 7 pick themselves, and I went with Virat because of his superb average and he will be a guarantee by the end of his career IMO. Kapil Dev and Zaheer are the two seamers that have done anything for India hence their inclusion and then Kumble and Bedi are their two greatest spinners.
New Zealand
1. Mark Richardson (44.77)
2. Glenn Turner (44.64)
3. Kane Williamson (49.44/38.24)
4. Ross Taylor (46.7)
5. Martin Crowe (45.36)
6. Stephen Fleming (40.06, c)
7. BJ Watling (38.69/3.3, +)
8. Daniel Vettori (30/34.36)
9. Sir Richard Hadlee (27.16/27.29)
10. Dion Nash (23.51/28.48)
11. Bruce Taylor (20.4/26.6)
12th man Shane Bond
This side may not have anyone that averages over 50 but it has an advantage in the fact that their #11 averages 20 with the bat and has multiple test tons. Their bowling attack isn't as strong as England or South Africa but it's still right up there.
Pakistan
1. Saeed Anwar (45.52)
2. Azhar Ali (47.07)
3. Javed Miandad (52.57)
4. Yousuf Khan (53.06)
5. Mohammed Yousuf (52.29)
6. Inzamam-ul-Haque (50.16)
7. Sarfraz Ahmed (42.34/3.12d, +)
8. Imran Khan (37.69/22.81, c)
9. Wasim Akram (22.64/23.62)
10. Saqlain Mushtaq (14.48/29.83)
11. Waqar Younis (10.2/23.56)
12th man Shoaib Akhtar
This side largely picks itself with only two openers averaging over 45 in the countries history plus four middle order players who average 50. Sarfraz is the best batsman/keeper they've produced IMO so he gets the nod.
South Africa
1. Barry Richards (72.57)
2. Graeme Smith (48.7, c)
3. Hashim Amla (49.45)
4. Graeme Pollock (60.97)
5. Jacques Kallis (55.37/32.65)
6. AB de Villiers (50.46/2.09d, +)
7. Aubrey Faulkner (40.79/26.58)
8. Shaun Pollock (32.31/23.11)
9. Hugh Tayfield (16.9/25.91)
10. Dale Steyn (14/22.3)
11. Allan Donald (10.68/22.25)
12th man Dudley Nourse
Nourse was unlucky not to break into that incredible top 6, and unfortunately Aubrey's bowling puts him well ahead of him. Amla is the only player there to have played his career out at #3, Kallis and Pollock were mostly batting at 4 or 5 for South Africa. This is probably the second best side out of the lot.
Sri Lanka
1. Sanath Jayasuriya (40.07/34.34)
2. Marvin Atapattu (39.02)
3. Kumar Sangakkara (57.4)
4. Mahela Jayawardena (49.84, c)
5. Aravinda de Silva (42.97)
6. Angelo Matthews (46.74/54.38)
7. Dinesh Chandimal (42.3/2.24)
8. Chaminda Vaas (24.32/29.58)
9. Rangan Herath (14.81/28.92)
10. Lasith Malinga (11.45/33.15)
11. Muttiah Muralitharan (11.67/22.72)
12th man Tillakaratne Dilshan
The only one I'm not sure about here is Dilshan vs Atapattu. The bowlers pick themselves, 4 of the 5 bowlers who have taken over 100 wickets for Sri Lanka.
West Indies
1. Gordon Greenidge (44.72, c)
2. Desmond Haynes (42.29)
3. George Headley (60.83)
4. Everton Weekes (58.81)
5. Garry Sobers (57.78/34.03)
6. Brian Lara (53.17)
7. Clyde Walcott (56.68/1.27d, +)
8. Malcolm Marshall (18.85/20.94)
9. Joel Garner (12.44/20.97)
10. Curtley Ambrose (12.4/20.99)
11. Colin Croft (10.93/23.3)
12th man Michael Holding
This is a seriously impressive XI, Greenidge and Haynes have the most century opening partnerships in the history of the game, then that middle order have 5 players averaging over 53. Their four pronged pace attacks were legendary. This would be in my top 4 along with Australia, England and South Africa.
Zimbabwe
1. Brendan Taylor (34.72)
2. Grant Flower (29.54)
3. Andy Flower (51.54, c)
4. Dave Houghton (42.84)
5. Murray Goodwin (42.84)
6. Craig Ervine (33.5)
7. Tatenda Taibu (30.31/2.21d, +)
8. Paul Strang (27.06/36.02)
9. Heath Streak (22.35/28.14)
10. Ray Price (8.7/36.06)
11. Henry Olonga (5.41/38.52)
12th man Guy Whittall
Easy side to pick considering that there are only 6 players who average over 30 with the bat and Flower is an opener.
Australia
1. Justin Langer (45.27)
2. Matthew Hayden (50.73)
3. Don Bradman (99.94)
4. Ricky Ponting (51.84)
5. Steve Waugh (51.06/37.44)
6. Allan Border (50.56/39.1, c)
7. Adam Gilchrist (47.6/4.33d, +)
8. Keith Miller (36.97/22.97)
9. Shane Warne (17.32/25.41)
10. Dennis Lillee (13.71/23.92)
11. Glenn McGrath (7.36/21.64)
12th man Greg Chappell
Langer and Hayden have the 2nd most runs of any opening combination in test cricket, and the 3rd most century stands so opening with them was obvious. Bradman picks himself. The middle order was tough to split between Ponting, Waugh, Border and Chappell so I went with the two genuine bowling options and the best Australian bat I've ever seen. Gilly also picks himself. I almost went Davidson ahead of Miller to provide variety but Miller was a better bat which edged him ahead (which is a legitimate tie breaker for players like them), and Lillee/McGrath pick themselves along with Warne.
Bangladesh
1. Tamim Iqbal (40.34)
2. Mominul Haque (51.66)
3. Habibul Bashar (30.87)
4. Mahmudullah (31.17)
5. Shakib Al Hasan (39.05/32, c)
6. Nasir Hossain (37.34)
7. Mushfiqur Rahim (31.97/1.86d, +)
8. Mohammed Rafique (18.57/40.76)
9. Mashrafe Mortaza (12.85/41.52)
10. Taijul Islam (11.85/32.13)
11. Shahadat Hossain (10.01/51.83)
12th man Enamul Haque jr
This side really picks itself with 7 blokes averaging over 30 with the bat. Hossain might be controversial, but he's the second best seamer they've produced.
England
1. Herbert Sutcliffe (60.73)
2. Jack Hobbs (56.94)
3. Eddie Paynter (59.23)
4. Wally Hammond (58.45/37.8)
5. Ken Barrington (58.45)
6. Dennis Compton (50.06/56.4)
7. Les Ames (40.56/2.06d, +)
8. Jim Laker (14.08/21.24)
9. Fred Trueman (13.81/21.57)
10. Frank Tyson (10.95/18.56)
11. Sydney Barnes (8.06/16.43)
12th man Harold Larwood
Sutcliffe and Hobbs have the highest average opening partnership in the history of test cricket and the second most century opening stands. The next three pick themselves with their averages, and then I chose Compton with his ability to bowl part time along with his batting average. Ames averages a lot more thank Knott as a keeper/bat. Laker, Trueman, Tyson, Barnes are four great bowlers, Larwood extremely unlucky to miss out.
India
1. Sunil Gavaskar (51.12)
2. Virender Sehwag (49.43)
3. Rahul Dravid (52.63)
4. Sachin Tendulkar (53.78)
5. Vinod Kambli (54.2)
6. Virat Kohli (50.1)
7. MS Dohni (38.09/3.27d, c, +)
8. Kapil Dev (31.05/29.64)
9. Anil Kumble (17.77/29.65)
10. Zaheer Khan (11.95/32.94)
11. Bishan Bedi (8.98/28.71)
12th man Harbhajan Singh
6 of the top 7 pick themselves, and I went with Virat because of his superb average and he will be a guarantee by the end of his career IMO. Kapil Dev and Zaheer are the two seamers that have done anything for India hence their inclusion and then Kumble and Bedi are their two greatest spinners.
New Zealand
1. Mark Richardson (44.77)
2. Glenn Turner (44.64)
3. Kane Williamson (49.44/38.24)
4. Ross Taylor (46.7)
5. Martin Crowe (45.36)
6. Stephen Fleming (40.06, c)
7. BJ Watling (38.69/3.3, +)
8. Daniel Vettori (30/34.36)
9. Sir Richard Hadlee (27.16/27.29)
10. Dion Nash (23.51/28.48)
11. Bruce Taylor (20.4/26.6)
12th man Shane Bond
This side may not have anyone that averages over 50 but it has an advantage in the fact that their #11 averages 20 with the bat and has multiple test tons. Their bowling attack isn't as strong as England or South Africa but it's still right up there.
Pakistan
1. Saeed Anwar (45.52)
2. Azhar Ali (47.07)
3. Javed Miandad (52.57)
4. Yousuf Khan (53.06)
5. Mohammed Yousuf (52.29)
6. Inzamam-ul-Haque (50.16)
7. Sarfraz Ahmed (42.34/3.12d, +)
8. Imran Khan (37.69/22.81, c)
9. Wasim Akram (22.64/23.62)
10. Saqlain Mushtaq (14.48/29.83)
11. Waqar Younis (10.2/23.56)
12th man Shoaib Akhtar
This side largely picks itself with only two openers averaging over 45 in the countries history plus four middle order players who average 50. Sarfraz is the best batsman/keeper they've produced IMO so he gets the nod.
South Africa
1. Barry Richards (72.57)
2. Graeme Smith (48.7, c)
3. Hashim Amla (49.45)
4. Graeme Pollock (60.97)
5. Jacques Kallis (55.37/32.65)
6. AB de Villiers (50.46/2.09d, +)
7. Aubrey Faulkner (40.79/26.58)
8. Shaun Pollock (32.31/23.11)
9. Hugh Tayfield (16.9/25.91)
10. Dale Steyn (14/22.3)
11. Allan Donald (10.68/22.25)
12th man Dudley Nourse
Nourse was unlucky not to break into that incredible top 6, and unfortunately Aubrey's bowling puts him well ahead of him. Amla is the only player there to have played his career out at #3, Kallis and Pollock were mostly batting at 4 or 5 for South Africa. This is probably the second best side out of the lot.
Sri Lanka
1. Sanath Jayasuriya (40.07/34.34)
2. Marvin Atapattu (39.02)
3. Kumar Sangakkara (57.4)
4. Mahela Jayawardena (49.84, c)
5. Aravinda de Silva (42.97)
6. Angelo Matthews (46.74/54.38)
7. Dinesh Chandimal (42.3/2.24)
8. Chaminda Vaas (24.32/29.58)
9. Rangan Herath (14.81/28.92)
10. Lasith Malinga (11.45/33.15)
11. Muttiah Muralitharan (11.67/22.72)
12th man Tillakaratne Dilshan
The only one I'm not sure about here is Dilshan vs Atapattu. The bowlers pick themselves, 4 of the 5 bowlers who have taken over 100 wickets for Sri Lanka.
West Indies
1. Gordon Greenidge (44.72, c)
2. Desmond Haynes (42.29)
3. George Headley (60.83)
4. Everton Weekes (58.81)
5. Garry Sobers (57.78/34.03)
6. Brian Lara (53.17)
7. Clyde Walcott (56.68/1.27d, +)
8. Malcolm Marshall (18.85/20.94)
9. Joel Garner (12.44/20.97)
10. Curtley Ambrose (12.4/20.99)
11. Colin Croft (10.93/23.3)
12th man Michael Holding
This is a seriously impressive XI, Greenidge and Haynes have the most century opening partnerships in the history of the game, then that middle order have 5 players averaging over 53. Their four pronged pace attacks were legendary. This would be in my top 4 along with Australia, England and South Africa.
Zimbabwe
1. Brendan Taylor (34.72)
2. Grant Flower (29.54)
3. Andy Flower (51.54, c)
4. Dave Houghton (42.84)
5. Murray Goodwin (42.84)
6. Craig Ervine (33.5)
7. Tatenda Taibu (30.31/2.21d, +)
8. Paul Strang (27.06/36.02)
9. Heath Streak (22.35/28.14)
10. Ray Price (8.7/36.06)
11. Henry Olonga (5.41/38.52)
12th man Guy Whittall
Easy side to pick considering that there are only 6 players who average over 30 with the bat and Flower is an opener.
