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C_C · 20-12-2004, 03:43 AM

Ambrose ?
that was in a latter stage.
Most WI fans agree that WI zenith was in the early 80s, when their four prong consisted of Roberts-Marshall-Garner and Holding and their lineup was as follows:

Gordon Greenidge
Desmond Haynes
Viv Richards
Allvin Kallicharan
Clive Lloyd
Larry Gomes
Jeff Dujon
Malcolm Marshall
Michael Holding
Joel Garner
Andy Roberts.

Since WI of the 70s and 80s dominated world cricket for nearly 20 years (mid 70s to mid 90s), they've had several players come and go. So it would do well to define a particular WI team lineup and compare.

The straight-averages comparison is irrelevant.
It should be kept in mind that batsmen back then averaged far lower than batsmen today and thats in no small part due to the fact that good bowlers are very rare today.

You cant also discount the intimidation Viv brought to the field and if there's one person who's intimidated the aussies, its Viv.

But for me, one thing stands clear- WI bowling is superior to AUS.
Warne and McGrath apart, no aussie bowler would get a peep in the WI lineup and infact,Gillespie,Kaspa and Lee would struggle to get into the Barbados bowling lineup < lets see- Garner, Marshall,Clarke and Davis>.

And this OZ batting- or no batting for the matter of fact- would stand up to the 'pace like fire' that WI unleashed on the world.
If one shoaib Akhtar can reduce OZ to 80-4, 4 bowlers of comparable speed <holding,roberts in high 90s, marshall and garner a step behind> and far better callibre would much em alive.
Their bowling doesnt give you a reprive.
And its the bowling that wins matches, not batting. And that is where the WI hold a decisive edge, along with fielding < they were one of the best catching unit of alltime but superior outfielders>.
i dont think WI would annihilate OZ...more like a 3-1 or 2-0 victory in a 5 test rubber.
For whatever the WI scores, OZ will score less in most scenarios.

Note: I think the zenith of this OZ reign was in 2000/2001 and i am going by that team.

The likes of Hayden and Lehmann are distinctively shaky against express pace and wont do much against the WI of the 70s/80s.
Thats two down for next-to-nothing.

20-12-2004, 03:43 AM	#3 (permalink)
C_C International Captain Join Date: Nov 2004 Location: World Posts: 6,990	Ambrose ? that was in a latter stage. Most WI fans agree that WI zenith was in the early 80s, when their four prong consisted of Roberts-Marshall-Garner and Holding and their lineup was as follows: Gordon Greenidge Desmond Haynes Viv Richards Allvin Kallicharan Clive Lloyd Larry Gomes Jeff Dujon Malcolm Marshall Michael Holding Joel Garner Andy Roberts. Since WI of the 70s and 80s dominated world cricket for nearly 20 years (mid 70s to mid 90s), they've had several players come and go. So it would do well to define a particular WI team lineup and compare. The straight-averages comparison is irrelevant. It should be kept in mind that batsmen back then averaged far lower than batsmen today and thats in no small part due to the fact that good bowlers are very rare today. You cant also discount the intimidation Viv brought to the field and if there's one person who's intimidated the aussies, its Viv. But for me, one thing stands clear- WI bowling is superior to AUS. Warne and McGrath apart, no aussie bowler would get a peep in the WI lineup and infact,Gillespie,Kaspa and Lee would struggle to get into the Barbados bowling lineup < lets see- Garner, Marshall,Clarke and Davis>. And this OZ batting- or no batting for the matter of fact- would stand up to the 'pace like fire' that WI unleashed on the world. If one shoaib Akhtar can reduce OZ to 80-4, 4 bowlers of comparable speed <holding,roberts in high 90s, marshall and garner a step behind> and far better callibre would much em alive. Their bowling doesnt give you a reprive. And its the bowling that wins matches, not batting. And that is where the WI hold a decisive edge, along with fielding < they were one of the best catching unit of alltime but superior outfielders>. i dont think WI would annihilate OZ...more like a 3-1 or 2-0 victory in a 5 test rubber. For whatever the WI scores, OZ will score less in most scenarios. Note: I think the zenith of this OZ reign was in 2000/2001 and i am going by that team. The likes of Hayden and Lehmann are distinctively shaky against express pace and wont do much against the WI of the 70s/80s. Thats two down for next-to-nothing.