Quintessential XIs

[melanChronic]

The aim is to identify the best test XIs that ever took the field. Each one should represent the pinnacle of an important era for a country. They do not have to have been the best team of the era (although it helps) but they were the best intersection of eleven individuals that were led by a particular captain at a particular time. Ideally there will be no duds and minimal passengers in the line-up.

There are only two rules:

1. The XI must have actually taken the field together in at least one test match. Post a link to the scorecard as proof.
2. A captain can only have one quintessential XI in this thread. If you think you can identify a better XI for a particular captain, then post the corresponding scorecard and argue your case. You can use base statistics, personal preference or historical context to demonstrate that yours is better.

I'll get the ball rolling:

Ian Chappell's Australians 1975 (Scorecard)
1. Redpath
2. McCosker
3. I. Chappell c
4. G. Chappell
5. R. Edwards
6. Walters
7. Marsh +
8. Walker
9. Lillee
10. Mallett
11. Thompson

Reasoning: it features Mallett and McCosker over earlier incarnations with O'Keefe and Stackpole. Also has Walker who was the best third quick option alongside Lillee and Thomson. Ross Edwards the weakest link in the middle order but he still averaged over 40 so pretty good going.

Graeme Smith's South Africans 2011 (Scorecard)
1. Rudolph
2. G. Smith c
3. Amla
4. Kallis
5. De Villiers
6. Prince
7. Boucher +
8. Philander
9. Steyn
10. Morkel
11. Tahir

Reasoning: Philander and Steyn together (for the first time!) is preferable to earlier attacks where Steyn had Ntini as his main partner. That duo only intersect with Ashwell Prince for a very brief time. Prince is the best of the number 6 options that Smith captained, and I prefer having Boucher as the specialist keeper rather than when AB had the gloves (although he was very capable). Rudolph and Tahir are the weakest links; Rudolph much of a muchness compared to other opening partners of the era (Petersen, McKenzie) and Tahir was probably the most dangerous wicket taking option of the spin stocks around that time.

Hashan Tillikaratne's Sri Lankans 2004 (Scorecard)
1. Attapatu
2. Jayasuria
3. Sangakkara +
4. Jayawardene
5. Dilshan
6. Tillikaratne c
7. Samaraweera
8. Vaas
9. Zoysa
10. Herath
11. Muralitharan

Reasoning: Gets Murali and Herath on the park at the same time alongside Vaas. Can't go wrong with the all-star batting lineup. There's pretty much always going to be a passenger pacer in the mix, but Zoysa was handy with an average of 33. Seeing as there was a revolving door of captaincy for SL in the 00s, there will be other different options here, but having Herath and Murali together is golden. The only other candidate without a number of total liabilities was Attapatu's line-up which included 5 specialist bowlers; I prefer the extra batting depth but having Malinga in was tempting.

 

[PhatBoy]

I know it has to be from a team that actually played together but Paul Harris, as uninspiring as he was, played a role for SA. Tahir never did.

 

[melanChronic]

I know it has to be from a team that actually played together but Paul Harris, as uninspiring as he was, played a role for SA. Tahir never did.

True. Would you say that Ntini, Pollock and Harris (here) trumps Morkel, Tahir and Philander? It also gives you Gibbs over Rudolph, so a fair case to be made.

I just can't go past having Vern though. He's an all-timer in my eyes.

 

[Pippen94]

The aim is to identify the best test XIs that ever took the field. Each one should represent the pinnacle of an important era for a country. They do not have to have been the best team of the era (although it helps) but they were the best intersection of eleven individuals that were led by a particular captain at a particular time. Ideally there will be no duds and minimal passengers in the line-up.

There are only two rules:

1. The XI must have actually taken the field together in at least one test match. Post a link to the scorecard as proof.
2. A captain can only have one quintessential XI in this thread. If you think you can identify a better XI for a particular captain, then post the corresponding scorecard and argue your case. You can use base statistics, personal preference or historical context to demonstrate that yours is better.

I'll get the ball rolling:

Ian Chappell's Australians 1975 (Scorecard)
1. Redpath
2. McCosker
3. I. Chappell c
4. G. Chappell
5. R. Edwards
6. Walters
7. Marsh +
8. Walker
9. Lillee
10. Mallett
11. Thompson

Reasoning: it features Mallett and McCosker over earlier incarnations with O'Keefe and Stackpole. Also has Walker who was the best third quick option alongside Lillee and Thomson. Ross Edwards the weakest link in the middle order but he still averaged over 40 so pretty good going.

Graeme Smith's South Africans 2011 (Scorecard)
1. Rudolph
2. G. Smith c
3. Amla
4. Kallis
5. De Villiers
6. Prince
7. Boucher +
8. Philander
9. Steyn
10. Morkel
11. Tahir

Reasoning: Philander and Steyn together (for the first time!) is preferable to earlier attacks where Steyn had Ntini as his main partner. That duo only intersect with Ashwell Prince for a very brief time. Prince is the best of the number 6 options that Smith captained, and I prefer having Boucher as the specialist keeper rather than when AB had the gloves (although he was very capable). Rudolph and Tahir are the weakest links; Rudolph much of a muchness compared to other opening partners of the era (Petersen, McKenzie) and Tahir was probably the most dangerous wicket taking option of the spin stocks around that time.

Hashan Tillikaratne's Sri Lankans 2004 (Scorecard)
1. Attapatu
2. Jayasuria
3. Sangakkara +
4. Jayawardene
5. Dilshan
6. Tillikaratne c
7. Samaraweera
8. Vaas
9. Zoysa
10. Herath
11. Muralitharan

Reasoning: Gets Murali and Herath on the park at the same time alongside Vaas. Can't go wrong with the all-star batting lineup. There's pretty much always going to be a passenger pacer in the mix, but Zoysa was handy with an average of 33. Seeing as there was a revolving door of captaincy for SL in the 00s, there will be other different options here, but having Herath and Murali together is golden. The only other candidate without a number of total liabilities was Attapatu's line-up which included 5 specialist bowlers; I prefer the extra batting depth but having Malinga in was tempting.

Sri Lanka could've chosen Murali & Herath together but didn't as both probably play same role. That side may be more effective with Malinga

 

[Richard Pryor]

Ricky Ponting's Australians 2005

1. Langer
2. Hayden
3. Ponting (c)
4. Martyn
5. Clarke
6. Katich
7. Gilchrist (wk)
8. Warne
9. Lee
10. Gillespie
11. McGrath

ENG vs AUS Cricket Scorecard, , 1st Test at London, July 21 - 24, 2005

Get cricket scorecard of 1st Test, ENG vs AUS, Australia tour of England and Scotland 2005 at Lord's, London dated July 21 - 24, 2005.

www.espncricinfo.com

Only odd one out is perhaps Katich who while great is not as "legendary" as the rest, but the rest are all important parts of the post-Waugh era of dominance. Lee is not the best in Tests but probably the most marketable cricketer of the generation.

 

[melanChronic]

Ricky Ponting's Australians 2005

1. Langer
2. Hayden
3. Ponting (c)
4. Martyn
5. Clarke
6. Katich
7. Gilchrist (wk)
8. Warne
9. Lee
10. Gillespie
11. McGrath

ENG vs AUS Cricket Scorecard, , 1st Test at London, July 21 - 24, 2005

Get cricket scorecard of 1st Test, ENG vs AUS, Australia tour of England and Scotland 2005 at Lord's, London dated July 21 - 24, 2005.

www.espncricinfo.com

Only odd one out is perhaps Katich who while great is not as "legendary" as the rest, but the rest are all important parts of the post-Waugh era of dominance. Lee is not the best in Tests but probably the most marketable cricketer of the generation.

Nice! I would see the peak of Ponting's reign as later during their run of 16 wins in a row. Something like this XI (Scorecard):

Ricky Ponting's Australians 2006

1. Langer
2. Hayden
3. Ponting (c)
4. Martyn
5. Hussey
6. Clarke
7. Gilchrist (wk)
8. Warne
9. Lee
10. Clark
11. McGrath

Hussey over Katich in the middle order is a pretty big gain. Clark perhaps weaker than Gillespie, but Clark's short stint was very impressive (average of 23) and I'd argue Gillespie mainly belongs to Waugh's era.

 

[Richard Pryor]

Nice! I would see the peak of Ponting's reign as later during their run of 16 wins in a row. Something like this XI (Scorecard):

1. Langer
2. Hayden
3. Ponting (c)
4. Martyn
5. Hussey
6. Clarke
7. Gilchrist (wk)
8. Warne
9. Lee
10. Clark
11. McGrath

Hussey over Katich in the middle order is a pretty big gain. Clark perhaps weaker than Gillespie, but Clark's short stint was very impressive (average of 23) and I'd argue Gillespie mainly belongs to Waugh's era.

Fair would agree with that. Gillespie was probably a spent force by the time he was playing under Ponting (I think it was after 2005 Ashes he got dropped as well). Definitely think Clark is pretty underrated, from memory he was dropped partly as he bowled too slow for the selectors liking. My biggest memory of him is one game he kept sniffing and wiping his face so my Grandpa was adamant he was a cokehead.

 

[Trojan90]

Like this activity, would love to see an older user put together a 70's WI team (Phatboy?)

I'm going to run with the last NZL XI

Williamson NZL 2021
Latham
Blundell
Williamson c
Taylor
Nicholls
Watling +
Santner
Jamieson
Southee
Wagner
Boult

First NZ team to reach world no.1. Solid Top 6, good pace attack. Obvious weak link is Santner as spinner. McCullum had a good XI with similar core but more weak links imo. Nicholls/McCullum overlap only occurred in side that got thumped by AUS in 2016 and didn't include Ross Taylor... Blundell/Taylor/Jamieson > Guptill/Anderson/Henry.

 

[Trojan90]

England have a long history so maybe better teams? Is this the best ever England XI? (GABBA test XI - Siddle hattrick test)

Strauss ENG XI 2010
Strauss c
Cook
Trott
Pietersen
Collingwood
Bell
Prior +
Broad
Swann
Anderson
Finn

Weak link Finn. Chose a team with him over Onions/Sidebottom. Tried to get Harmison in but couldn't get him in with Trott and Pietersen. Pretty much came down to (GABBA 2010)Pietersen/Finn vs (The Oval 2009)Flintoff/Harmison

 

[Kapow!!!]

Fair would agree with that. Gillespie was probably a spent force by the time he was playing under Ponting (I think it was after 2005 Ashes he got dropped as well). Definitely think Clark is pretty underrated, from memory he was dropped partly as he bowled too slow for the selectors liking. My biggest memory of him is one game he kept sniffing and wiping his face so my Grandpa was adamant he was a cokehead.

Funniest thing is my most vivid memory of Jason Gillespie is in 2009 at the lunch break on day 1 against the West Indies. A house literally 50 metres from the Gabba on a side street was having a sausage sizzle and I thought "far cheaper than buying stadium food". A sentiment echoed by Dizzy as I discovered when I turned around having received my 2 snags on bread and coke (having forgone the XXXX on sale) and discovered a tall, curly mulletted Jason Gillespie in a suit and tie (on the back of media commitments with ABC Grandstand) standing literally behind me in queue at this blokes dingy sausage sizzle within throwing distance of my gate.

He has held my respect forever since then (well, since the double ton but this was more impressive to me)

 

[PhatBoy]

Like this activity, would love to see an older user put together a 70's WI team (Phatboy?)

I'm going to run with the last NZL XI

Williamson NZL 2021
Latham
Blundell
Williamson c
Taylor
Nicholls
Watling +
Santner
Jamieson
Southee
Wagner
Boult

First NZ team to reach world no.1. Solid Top 6, good pace attack. Obvious weak link is Santner as spinner. McCullum had a good XI with similar core but more weak links imo. Nicholls/McCullum overlap only occurred in side that got thumped by AUS in 2016 and didn't include Ross Taylor... Blundell/Taylor/Jamieson > Guptill/Anderson/Henry.

Not sure whether this side ever played together but something like

Greenidge
Haynes
Richards
Lloyd
Gomes
Logie
Dujon
Marshall
Roberts
Holding
Garner

Edit: just checked and this combination did play together
Earlier incarnations had Dujon batting in place of Logie with Deryck Murray as the keeper and Croft or Sylvester Clarke instead of Marshall.
Imagine that - you replace one of the meanest, nastiest fast bowlers of all time with someone equally mean and nasty (Clarke was a demon and his first class record is simply extraordinary). Then when they disappear you just replace them with the greatest fast bowler of all time.

 

[melanChronic]

England have a long history so maybe better teams? Is this the best ever England XI? (GABBA test XI - Siddle hattrick test)

Strauss ENG XI 2010
Strauss c
Cook
Trott
Pietersen
Collingwood
Bell
Prior +
Broad
Swann
Anderson
Finn

Weak link Finn. Chose a team with him over Onions/Sidebottom. Tried to get Harmison in but couldn't get him in with Trott and Pietersen. Pretty much came down to (GABBA 2010)Pietersen/Finn vs (The Oval 2009)Flintoff/Harmison

Definitely an epochal team, and I reckon Finn was the more effective of the third seamers from around that time. Maybe Bresnan if he featured in that Ashes series at all?

I'd say Harmison and Flintoff fall more under Vaughan's 2005 umbrella anyway.

 

[Pippen94]

England have a long history so maybe better teams? Is this the best ever England XI? (GABBA test XI - Siddle hattrick test)

Strauss ENG XI 2010
Strauss c
Cook
Trott
Pietersen
Collingwood
Bell
Prior +
Broad
Swann
Anderson
Finn

Weak link Finn. Chose a team with him over Onions/Sidebottom. Tried to get Harmison in but couldn't get him in with Trott and Pietersen. Pretty much came down to (GABBA 2010)Pietersen/Finn vs (The Oval 2009)Flintoff/Harmison

South Africa says your welcome

 

[Pippen94]

Pakistan odi team from Jan 1991

Ramiz Raja
Inzamam-ul-Haq
Javed Miandad
Saleem Malik
Imran Khan
Wasim Akram
Ijaz Ahmed
Moin Khan†
Mushtaq Ahmed
Waqar Younis
Aaqib Javed

Trio of Khan, Waqar & Wasim plus Mushtaq.
Along in Inzamam. Just missing Saeed Anwar

 

[PhatBoy]

Pakistan odi team from Jan 1991

Ramiz Raja
Inzamam-ul-Haq
Javed Miandad
Saleem Malik
Imran Khan
Wasim Akram
Ijaz Ahmed
Moin Khan†
Mushtaq Ahmed
Waqar Younis
Aaqib Javed

Trio of Khan, Waqar & Wasim plus Mushtaq.
Along in Inzamam. Just missing Saeed Anwar

That is ridiculous odi side

 

[Gough]

Not sure whether this side ever played together but something like

Greenidge
Haynes
Richards
Lloyd
Gomes
Logie
Dujon
Marshall
Roberts
Holding
Garner

Edit: just checked and this combination did play together
Earlier incarnations had Dujon batting in place of Logie with Deryck Murray as the keeper and Croft or Sylvester Clarke instead of Marshall.
Imagine that - you replace one of the meanest, nastiest fast bowlers of all time with someone equally mean and nasty (Clarke was a demon and his first class record is simply extraordinary). Then when they disappear you just replace them with the greatest fast bowler of all time.

Atherton tells the story that Clarke turned up at a net one day pissed, barefoot, the wrong side of forty and was still lethal.

 

[PhatBoy]

Atherton tells the story that Clarke turned up at a net one day pissed, barefoot, the wrong side of forty and was still lethal.

There were a tonne of gun players who simply didn’t get a chance for the windies that I would have loved to have seen - Franklin Stephenson is the obvious one but guys like Wayne Daniel etc and Ezra Mosley and a few others.

Clarke is the one I really, really wold have given anything to watch over an extended career

 

[Gough]

There were a tonne of gun players who simply didn’t get a chance for the windies that I would have loved to have seen - Franklin Stephenson is the obvious one but guys like Wayne Daniel etc and Ezra Mosley and a few others.

Clarke is the one I really, really wold have given anything to watch over an extended career

It's sad to think John Dyson is the only one still alive from the dismissal where he took that great catch in Sydney.

 

[STFU Donnie]

Clarke is the one I really, really wold have given anything to watch over an extended career

Clarke had a really nasty streak, and not just the brick incident. He used to genuinely go head hunting the bunnies. You'll find very few teammates who have a good word to say about him.

 

[Trojan90]

Definitely an epochal team, and I reckon Finn was the more effective of the third seamers from around that time. Maybe Bresnan if he featured in that Ashes series at all?

I'd say Harmison and Flintoff fall more under Vaughan's 2005 umbrella anyway.

That's what thought, Bresnan/Tremlett came into the team during that series at the expense of Broad/Finn.

 

[PhatBoy]

Clarke had a really nasty streak, and not just the brick incident. He used to genuinely go head hunting the bunnies. You'll find very few teammates who have a good word to say about him.

I wasn’t aware of teammates’ opinions on him but was well across just how mean the guy was as soon as he had a ball in hand

 

[Trojan90]

Some strong sides around the world during that 2008-2012 era. End of great AUS side, Peak SAF and ENG.

Kumble IND 2008. This XI was put together during AUS tour of India 2008. 1ST test.
Gambhir
Sehwag
Dravid
Tendulkar
Laxman
Ganguly
Dhoni +
Harbijhan
Zaheer
Kumble c
Ishant

This was Kumble's last series before handing over to Dhoni. Dhoni XI went on to reach #1 in 2009 ahead of SAF, a rising ENG and falling AUS. Dhoni 2009 had no Kumble or Ganguly so looks weaker on paper than the above XI. Players here obviously not all at peak but looks good on paper, not as successful as 'Team Kohli' especially overseas and lacks the pace attack of Kohli India. But look at the sides this group came up against.

 

[STFU Donnie]

I wasn’t aware of teammates’ opinions on him but was well across just how mean the guy was as soon as he had a ball in hand

I'm probably overstating it a bit, but I read a lot of cricket biographies from players active in county cricket in the 80s and he wasn't very popular. Great bowler though.

 

[Leeda]

Ricky Ponting's Australians 2005

1. Langer
2. Hayden
3. Ponting (c)
4. Martyn
5. Clarke
6. Katich
7. Gilchrist (wk)
8. Warne
9. Lee
10. Gillespie
11. McGrath

ENG vs AUS Cricket Scorecard, , 1st Test at London, July 21 - 24, 2005

Get cricket scorecard of 1st Test, ENG vs AUS, Australia tour of England and Scotland 2005 at Lord's, London dated July 21 - 24, 2005.

www.espncricinfo.com

Only odd one out is perhaps Katich who while great is not as "legendary" as the rest, but the rest are all important parts of the post-Waugh era of dominance. Lee is not the best in Tests but probably the most marketable cricketer of the generation.

too many short pants dudes.. Katich, Langer, Martyn, Mgrath..

the rest you can gather to the next anniversary barbecue..

 

[STFU Donnie]

Bob Simpson's Australian Team 1977

Paul Hibbert
Gary Cosier
David Ogilvie
Craig Sergeant
Bob Simpson
Peter Toohey
Tony Mann
Steve Rixon
Wayne Clark
Jeff Thomson
Alan Hurst

This is the team that took the field for the first test vs. India at the Gabba, Dec 2 1977.

http://howstat.com/cricket/Statistics/Matches/MatchScorecard.asp?MatchCode=0809

It illustrates the dire straits in which the establishment found itself during the WSC schism. It was fortunate that the opponents were India, then not considered a strong side and the series itself turned out to be close, and even exciting at times.

This team is notable for the fact that not one of the eleven, not even Thommo (who himself defected before the start of the next season and was never more than semi-regular afterwards) ever became a regular in the full Australian team post rapprochement. In fact, only Clark (1 test), Toohey (2) and Rixon (3) played any tests at all.

Paul Hibbert, playing his only test, was most notable for having once scored a first-class century without a single boundary.