Test Cricket Eras Draft - Poll Thread

[Danger in Texas]

Vote for the team that you think is the best here. Anyone is allowed to vote.

 

[Danger in Texas]

Team Wacky Tiger

1. Alistair Cook (C)
2. Geoffrey Boycott
3. Stan McCabe
4. Sachin Tendulkar
5. Clyde Walcott
6. Michael Hussey
7. Aubrey Faulkner
8. Ian Healy
9. Alan Davidson
10. Harold Larwood
11. Dennis Lillee

12. Charlie Turner

Well i believe you have to have all round depth to be a truly great side. As you can see i have one of the top couple batsman and bowlers off all time in Tendulkar and Lillee.

Ian Healy is the best pure gloveman to have played the game and loved a fight. Aubrey Faulkner slips into the team over Charlie Turner as my spinner for team balance as he ended up becoming quite the alrounder after starting his career solely as a bowler.

Stan McCabe was rated by Don Bradman as one of Australias best and most enterprising batsman. Cook and Boycott would make for a solid beginning and make it tough for any team to make inroads early. Michael Hussey is a flat out star who would play the Robin role to Tendulkar perfectly.

I have named a captain although we dont have to and its more speculative that he can keep his early leading form up in Cook. Averaging 90 with the bat as skipper and a series win in India for the first time since 1984.

Then you have Lillee, Larwood and Davidson as the quicks. A fairly imposing trio IMO.

 

[Danger in Texas]

Team MG MG

1. Arthur Morris
2. Douglas Jardine
3. Ian Chappell
4. Greg Chappell
5. Vernon Ransford
6. Ted Dexter
7. Bert Oldfield+
8. Anil Kumble
9. Dale Steyn
10. Craig McDermott
11. Shoaib Akhtar
12. Syd Gregory

Because we have a solid batting line up, but our bowling attack is our strength. We have a mix of speed, line and length, turn and just a knack at taking wickets. Our keeper is handy with the bat as well as being a brilliant keeper also.

 

[Danger in Texas]

Team thorne89

DANNY DYER'S CHOCOLATE HOMUNCULUS

1. Len Hutton (England) - 6971 runs @ 56.7
2. Barry Richards (South Africa) - 508 runs @ 72.6, 1 wicket @ 26.0
3. Victor Trumper (Australia) - 3163 runs @ 39.0, 8 wickets @ 39.0
4. Wally Hammond (England) (c) - 7249 runs @ 58.5, 83 wickets @ 37.8
5. Clem Hill (Australia) - 3412 runs @ 39.2
6. Rohan Kanhai (West Indies) (+) - 6227 runs @ 47.5, 50 catches
7. Richard Hadlee (New Zealand) - 3124 runs @ 27.2, 431 wickets @ 22.3
8. Daniel Vettori (New Zealand) - 4516 runs @ 30.1, 360 wickets @ 34.4
9. Michael Holding (West Indies) - 910 runs @ 13.8, 249 wickets @ 23.7
10. John Snow (England) - 772 runs @ 13.5, 202 wickets @ 26.7
11. Glenn McGrath (Australia) - 641 runs @ 7.4, 563 wickets @ 21.6

12. Alec Bedser (England) - 714 runs @ 12.8, 236 wickets @ 24.9

-----

Why my team wins...

The quality in my team is undeniable. The top order is one that any team would fear; Hutton is one of the greatest openers of all time, Richards was considered one of the finest his country has ever produced, and Trumper is revered as one of the greatest ever. Wally Hammond has a remarkable record and provides both leadership and a handy option with the ball. Clem Hill is underrated, but in the Hall of Fame for a reason, considered by many to be the equal to Trumper for his time. Kanhai as keeper was an inspired selection as it allowed me to bat my keeper above 7 and provide more bowling options down the order.

Hadlee and Vettori provide grit and skill to the middle order, and two very good bowling options to support my main trio of bowlers. McGrath, Snow, Holding and Hadlee has already been voted one of (if not the) best in the competition. With the combative Vettori and wily Hammond as back up, this is one attack that will be able to blast teams out for very low scores.

Overall, the top end quality in the team at both ends ensures that my side will be very hard to beat. It is hard to find a major weakness in the XI, with any lesser names such as Vettori able to both do their job efficiently while being covered by the bigger names.

 

[Danger in Texas]

Team big_e

1. Graeme Smith (capt)
2. Matthew Hayden
3. George Headley
4. Graeme Pollock
5. Everton Weekes
6. Shivnarine Chanderpaul
7. Jack Gregory
8. Rod Marsh (wk)
9. Hugh Trumble
10. Fred Trueman
11. Courtney Walsh

12. Herbie Taylor


It’s a well-rounded team but the focal point is the bating.

Both openers, Smith and Hayden, have 8,500+ runs each, average 49.25 and 50.73 respectively, and have a combined 56 test centuries. Then comes the middle order: Pollock (60.97), Headley (60.83) and Weekes (58.61) have the second, third and seventh highest batting averages in history, while even the number six, Chanderpaul, has scored more than 10,000 runs, with an average of 51.67, and 27 test centuries to boot.

And if you get past them you face Jack Gregory, a man who averaged 36.96 and who held the record for the fast test century for 60 years (only Viv Richards and Adam Gilchrist have done it in fewer balls). He still holds the record for the most number of catches in a series, too – a record set back in 1920/21. But Gregory is there for his
fast bowling, described by the great Neville Cardus as being with “horrific velocity” – but for a late start due to war and an early retirement from injuries, he would have taken many more than 85 wickets.

The main men of the attack, though, are Courtney Walsh and Freddie Trueman, both holders of the record for most test wickets. Trueman was the first to take 300 wickets (307, at 21.57) – it took almost 13 years for anyone to match him – while Walsh was the first bowler to break through 500 wickets (519 at 21.64).

Hugh Trumble is your spinner – 141 wickets (another world record, at the time) at an average of 21.78, including two test hat-tricks, and a handy number nine batsman, with four fifties and an average of 19.79.

And of course the wicketkeeper is Rod Marsh, yet another world-record holder, and still fourth on the all-time list of dismissals. More than 3,600 runs at 26.51 makes him a handy number eight.

The captain is Graeme Smith, current leader of the best team in test ricket, and second on the all-time list of number of wins as captain.

 

[Danger in Texas]

Team Eagleoz83

1 Mark Taylor
2 Eddie Paynter
3 Allan Border
4 Mahela Jayawardene
5 Warwick Armstrong
6 Andy Flower (K)
7 MW Tate
8 Richie Benaud (C)
9 Shane Warne
10 Ray Lindwall
11 Graham McKenzie

12 Charles Kelleway

Pretty happy with my team, Is it the best? Looking at some of the other teams I would say No! Not going to lie about this. If I had my time over again I would have researched a bit more. Saying that I still think my team would be able to compete well against any of these other teams. Give me a turning wicket and it's game over.

 

[Danger in Texas]

Team james brayshaw

1 virender sehwag 50.05
2 bob cowper 46.84 / 31.63
3 sir don bradman 99.94 / 36
4 patsy Hendren 47.63 / 31
5 Steve waugh 51.06 / 37.44
6 Mohammad Yousuf 52.29
7 Adam gilchrist 47.60
8 Wilfred Rhodes 30.19 / 26.96
9 sir wes hall 15.73 / 26.38
10 Joel garner 12.44 / 20.97
11 Fred spofforth 9.43 / 18.41

12 bill brown 46.82

Mines the best because I have bradman. That is all.

 

[Danger in Texas]

Team The Reaper

1. Bill Woodfull*
2. Warren Bardlsey
3. Ricky Ponting
4. Javed Maindad
5. Bruce Mitchell
6. Imran Khan
7. Shaun Pollock
8. Don Tallon+
9. Derek Underwood
10. Frank Tyson
11. Sydney Barnes

12. Bert Ironmonger

Decent openers but a very strong 3-5. Shaun Pollock may compare poorly to some modern number 7s in Gilchrist and Dhoni but he ranks very well in comparison to players like Marsh and Healy. Imran Khan was always top 6 calibre.
Don Tallon is a proper keeper and will be able to keep to Deadly Derek.

A bowling attack consisting of Sydney Barnes, Derek Underwood, Imran Khan, Frank Tyson and Shaun Pollock compares favourably with any other attack. This attack has 5905 combined first class wickets at an average of 20.75

 

[Danger in Texas]

Team Marklar_33

1) Denis Compton 50.06
2) Sunil Gavaskar 51.12
3) Kumar Sangakkara 55.80 (Res WK)
4) Jacques Kallis 56.94 / 32.45 (RFM)
5) Ken Barrington 58.67
6) Doug Walters 48.26 / 29.08 (RM)
7) Les Ames 40.56 / (WK)
8) Heath Streak 22.35 / 28.14 (RFM)
9) Jim Laker 14.08 / 21.24 (ROS)
10) Curtly Ambrose 12.40 / 20.99 (RF)
11) George Lohmann 8.87 / 10.75 (RMF)

12) Bert Vogler 17.00 / 22.73 (RFM/RLS)

The side is led by 2 terrific openers, Denis Compton, whose career was split by war, is one of very few men to score 100 FC 100's. Sunil Gavaskar is rightly regarded as one of the greatest openers of all-time, and the more ferocious the bowling got, the better he became, as proven by his record versus the Windies of the era

Sangakkara occupies the number 3 spot. The stylish Sri Lanka will compile many runs for me here. The rock-solid Jacques Kallis comes in next to bat all day. At 5, we have Ken Barrington. You don't ever hear much about Ken, but averaging over 58 across 82 Tests, this man deserves to be spoken about in the argument of number 2 to Bradman!

Once your bowlers have toiled away for 4 wickets, Kevin Douglas Walters will stride to the crease to destroy a weary attack. Les Ames enters at 7, with 8 Test centuries under his belt, it's little wonder he was rated best wicket-keeper batsman of all-time by Wisden in 1991

A little bit of wag in the tail, Heath Streak also boasts a Test 100, and the big hearted Zimbabwean will without doubt lower his bowling average of 28 with the support he'll gain from this bowling line-up. Jim Laker provides the spin. The first man to clean up an entire line-up, and 19 wickets in a match! Wow!

Curtly Ambrose takes the new ball. A lethal combination of pace, height, control and vitriol, opening batsmen will not be sleeping well before facing this great man. George Lohmann finishes off this line-up. A career bowling average of 10.75! 10.75! Amazing

12th man Bert Vogler is a handy character, as he can come in to provide more seam bowling, or to bowl leg-spin in tandem with Laker. Of course, it would be criminal of me to not mention my 5th bowler, a man who will end up with over 300 Test wickets, Jacques Kallis!

Sunil Gavaskar will captain. My team is best, that is all.

 

[Danger in Texas]

Team Slax

1. Jack Hobbs
2. Bill Lawry
3. Lindsay Hassett
4. Jack Ryder
5. Younis Khan
6. Peter May
7. Brendan McCullum
8. Muttiah Muraliralihtaran
9. Bill Johnston
10. Waqar Younis
11. Bob Willis

12. William Whitty

Sides need to be built around not only stars but players who will carry their load and strive under pressure of the big occassions. Whilst many look at statistics in a pure sense they don't always tell the true story, as a prime example Lindsay Hassett
Test average a modest 46.56, but when you consider that he lost possibly the best 8 years of his career to WWII a bigger picture must be considered.
First Class average 58.24 - only five men with more than 10,000 first-class runs boast a better average.

You also need bowlers who could take big wickets, not clean up tails and succeed against smaller countries to boast their average. Waqar Younis is one of the great this, with his reverse swing at its best was unplayable and even at a stanard level was incredibly difficult. Rated by those how faced in as the best bowler of his era. Murali is another, who could bowl on any pitch, was not always helped to get time against the best nations due to the fact Sri Lankan cricket doesn't have much money or drawing power (hence no Boxing Day or Sydneytest from 1995 until this year).

You also need strong leadership, Peter May's record as captain speaks for itself only one series loss in his career as captain. Also had a batting average 7 runs higher as captain than non-captain. When you consider that this was a dark era of english cricket post WWII when the side lacked depth and quality beyond May, Trueman & Laker. A great leader will get the best out of his side, a poor leader will let his side turn into a rabble, just look at Pakistan and India over the last 40 years and compare the eras of the strong capatins to those without one.

 

[Danger in Texas]

Team BoshtrichBurger

Woodpeckering Willow Wonderers XI
1. Bob Simpson (Australia)
2. Sid Barnes (Australia)
3. Viv Richards (C) (West Indies)
4. Clive Lloyd (West Indies)
5. Neil Harvey (Australia)
6. W.G. Grace (England)
7. Kapil Dev (India)
8. Mark Boucher (+) (South Africa)
9. Chaminda Vaas (Sri Lanka)
10. Clarrie Grimmett (Australia)
11. Jeff Thomson (Australia)

12. Jimmy Sinclair (South Africa)

The team is a marvel, just look at it! You have aggression, you have balance, you have grace and elegance, you have power and control. Smarts, check. Champion players from respective eras, check. Greats of the game, check! There is no doubt in my mind this team is the perfect balance, both on and off the field. Leadership is something that just oozes from the side, with six former captains, and eight total leadership quality players.

An exceptional batting line-up, which epitomises consistency, power and everything that you would associate with great batting. The cream of the crop would have to be the two West Indians, and Sid Barnes.

Bowling is one hell of a mixed bag, and a good mixed bag as well. The graceful and striking Kapil Dev, who'd clean bowl you if you weren't careful... The raging and wild Jeff Thomson, who'd knock you head off with his bouncers... The lefty and consistent Vaas, who's variation and knack for wickets will keep you on your toes... Finally, the great Clarrie Grimmett, will spin you out of the crease and send you back to the pavilion.

Fielding is also at the top of the echelon, with the best wicketkeeper statistically in the world. Also, with athletically gifted players in King Viv, Thompson, Dev and Grace, there's no doubt the opposition will have a hard time scoring.

So, that's my team in a nutshell or two... COME AT US!

 

[Danger in Texas]

Team Danger in Texas

1: Herbert Sutcliffe (60.73)
2: Gordon Greenidge (44.72)
3: Charlie Macartney (41.78/27.55)
4: Rahul Dravid (52.31/39.00)
5: Garfield Sobers (57.78/34.03)
6: Keith Miller (36.97/22.97)
7: Alan Knott + (32.75)
8: Ian Botham (33.54/28.40)
9: Peter Pollock (21.67/24.18)
10: Bill O'Reilly (12.81/22.59)
11: Allan Donald (10.68/22.25)

12: Tibby Cotter (13.05/28.64)

First of all, in some cases, averages don't do us justice. I have based my team on all aspects of a perfect cricket team - tradition, entertainment, and even across the board.
My openers - Sutcliffe and Greenidge - compliment each other very well. Greenidge can be entertaining the crowd with his big hitting while Sutcliffe can be quietly, yet quickly making runs without the bowlers noticing it. Such a shame Sutcliffe's career was cut short by wars.
Then we come to Macartney and Dravid. Exactly the same situation. Macartney was arguably the most electric batsman of his time. In fact, some argue he was as good, if not better than Trumper. Dravid can make some quiet runs and defend whenever needed, keeping in front of his stumps no matter what.
If you're lucky enough to get past those four - boy, you're going to have a hard time with the next two. Sobers and Miller. Arguably the two greatest all-rounders of all time. Sobers can make some very quick runs on his way to a 'measly' century, while rotating the strike with Miller, who's batting average can trick many cricket fans. He averaged 48 with the bat in FC cricket.
This team has bats all the way down to 9, with Knott, Botham and Pollock all especially handy with the bat.

Now to the bowlers. I have based my bowling lineup on a wide range of very solid bowlers, while keeping a mixture of both defensive and attacking bowlers. Opening the bowling will be 'White Lightning' Donald who could rattle an opening partnership. My other opening bowler will be none other than Sir 'Beefy', with his aggressive bowling technique not allowing the batsmen to rotate the strike, lowering the facing batsman's confidence. When the confidence is lowered, we bring on Miller and Pollock. With the blistering pace that the pair bring, they can rip the middle order apart.
The clever O'Reilly, the anyman Sobers and wily Macartney can use their deceptiveness to tear away at the midddle order. Bring back Donald and Miller/Pollock for the last few overs to finish them off and you have a rattled XI.

The fielding is solid also. Knott is arguably the best pure keeper of all time, while there are specialist fielders galore elsewhere in the side.
There you have it. The Swing Seam Superstars XI. The best XI.

 

[Danger in Texas]

Reserved for team Pykie

 

[Danger in Texas]

Coaches of teams, please don't vote.

 

[Danger in Texas]

Eagleoz83

 

[EagleOz]

What

 

[Carbine Chaos]

What

Even then, do you really think your team is the best?

 

[Danger in Texas]

What

Nothing, nothing

 

[EagleOz]

Even then, do you really think your team is the best?

Why do you think I gave myself a vote. Like I wrote I don't think mine is the best. So just giving myself 1 vote

 

[Danger in Texas]

big_e

 

[OrdinaryJoel]

So... We can't vote for our own teams?

 

[Danger in Texas]

So... We can't vote for our own teams?

Well, 3 people have so far, so I guess we can, then.

 

[Carbine Chaos]

Well, 3 people have so far, so I guess we can, then.

You disappoint me, young Jedis.

 

[big_e]

Yeah sorry, I voted and then started reading the thread.

 

[Marklar_33]

Team Marklar_33

The side is led by 2 terrific openers, Denis Compton, whose career was split by war, is one of very few men to score 100 FC 100's. Sunil Gavaskar is rightly regarded as one of the greatest openers of all-time, and the more ferocious the bowling got, the better he became, as proven by his record versus the Windies of the era

Sangakkara occupies the number 3 spot. The stylish Sri Lanka will compile many runs for me here. The rock-solid Jacques Kallis comes in next to bat all day. At 5, we have Ken Barrington. You don't ever hear much about Ken, but averaging over 58 across 82 Tests, this man deserves to be spoken about in the argument of number 2 to Bradman!

Once your bowlers have toiled away for 4 wickets, Kevin Douglas Walters will stride to the crease to destroy a weary attack. Les Ames enters at 7, with 8 Test centuries under his belt, it's little wonder he was rated best wicket-keeper batsman of all-time by Wisden in 1991

A little bit of wag in the tail, Heath Streak also boasts a Test 100, and the big hearted Zimbabwean will without doubt lower his bowling average of 28 with the support he'll gain from this bowling line-up. Jim Laker provides the spin. The first man to clean up an entire line-up, and 19 wickets in a match! Wow!

Curtly Ambrose takes the new ball. A lethal combination of pace, height, control and vitriol, opening batsmen will not be sleeping well before facing this great man. George Lohmann finishes off this line-up. A career bowling average of 10.75! 10.75! Amazing

12th man Bert Vogler is a handy character, as he can come in to provide more seam bowling, or to bowl leg-spin in tandem with Laker. Of course, it would be criminal of me to not mention my 5th bowler, a man who will end up with over 300 Test wickets, Jacques Kallis!

Sunil Gavaskar will captain. My team is best, that is all