West Indies vs South Africa - The greatest battle than was never played

[aussie]

West Indies vs South Africa - The greatest battle that was never played

Many of the very knowledgeable cricket fans are well aware of the the amount of great cricketers than South Africa had during their isolation from world cricket. But every time i look at it & shake my head with disappoint i can't help but wonder during that period while they were out, the windies were dominant & really had no competition for 20 years.

If South Africa weren't banned, damn we could have saw some great cricket & a great rivalry could have have been formed. For example these two sides:

WEST INDIES 1982

Greenidge
Haynes
Richards
Kallicharan
Rowe
Lloyd
Dujon
Marshall
Roberts
Holding
Garner

SOUTH AFRICA REBELS 1982

Cook
Richards
Kirsten
Pollock
Rice
Procter
Kourie
Jennings
Le Roux
Jefferies
Van der Bijl

Could cheat a bit a put Allan Lamb into that South Africa XI, but regardless its still an awfully strong side that, the perfect side if any at the time to challenge the windies as the best in the world given their all-round strenght & depth. Not saying they would beat the windies but geez i really feel cricket was robbed of a great contest at that time..

 

[sideshowtim]

Strong South African batting line up, but that bowling line up isn't that great at all....Viv would have a field day.

 

[andyc]

Wouldn't the West Indies be the 'rebels,' rather than the Saffies?

 

[Richard]

Well, if Apartheid had been dismantled earlier (which is what the same is - not that SA were isolated ITFP), neither would be.

And just think - there could perfectly conceivably have been Cape Coloured cricketers at the very least who'd been in the picture had they been allowed to be, too.

And the SA bowling in said side wouldn't be weak, at all. Colin (aussie) has cheated just a bit with his WI team, though - Kalli and Rowe had played his last Test over a year before stipulated date.

It'd be more like:
Greenidge
Haynes
Richardson
IVAR
Lloyd
Logie
Dujon
Marshall
Holding
Roberts
Garner
or if you preferred to go back a couple of years...
Greenidge
Haynes
Rowe
IVAR
Kalli
Lloyd
Dujon
Roberts
Holding
Garner
Croft

It's not true that WI had no competition for 20 years, though, not at all - they stood astride The World like a colossus for just 10 - between the spring of 1976 and the spring of 1986. For 3 years before then they were still very much mid-table, and between 1986 and 1997 (when the crown really started slipping as they lost 3-0 in Pakistan) they were much more vulnerable.

 

[Poker Boy]

You can't call that SA seam bowling attack weak Procter, Rice and le Roux are all known quantities and van der Bijl was outstanding in his one Middlesex season just two years previously. If they had met in 1982 I'd still make WI the favourites though as Barry Richards and Pollock were probably past thier peak. Looking at that SA team and comparing it to England and Australia at the time I reckon they would have been No 2 in the world but wether they would have run WI as close as Imran's Pakistan did later in that devade is debatable.

 

[Slifer]

i think we can get an idea of how the two teams would do against each other if we look back at the two "rebel tours" undertaken by WI teams in the said period

 

[Richard]

Those WI Rebel teams might have been good, but they surely weren't, quite, as good as the first-teamers.

 

[aussie]

Colin (aussie) has cheated just a bit with his WI team, though - Kalli and Rowe had played his last Test over a year before stipulated date.

It'd be more like:
Greenidge
Haynes
Richardson
IVAR
Lloyd
Logie
Dujon
Marshall
Holding
Roberts
Garner
or if you preferred to go back a couple of years...
Greenidge
Haynes
Rowe
IVAR
Kalli
Lloyd
Dujon
Roberts
Holding
Garner
Croft.

Ha well picked up Richard, can't bluff on this site i see..

[It's not true that WI had no competition for 20 years, though, not at all - they stood astride The World like a colossus for just 10 - between the spring of 1976 and the spring of 1986. For 3 years before then they were still very much mid-table, and between 1986 and 1997 (when the crown really started slipping as they lost 3-0 in Pakistan) they were much more vulnerable.

The wheels probably starting slipping after that defeat in Pakistan, but clearly after the 2-1 series defeat in 95 to Australia they finally lost the mantle of the best side in world.

 

[Richard]

That's when the dramatic dethronement happened, yeah, but IMO Australia had been the better side for a good 2 or 3 years before that and should have beaten WI in 1992\93. Equally, as we all know, but for that one dropped catch by Browne on debut, WI could easily still have won that fateful series in 1995, and the handover would have been decidedly less dramatic in Australia in 1996\97.

West Indies could easily (and should, several times, escaping through getting lucky) have lost any number of series between 1986 and 1997, though - somehow, though, they lost just twice, both to Australia.

 

[archie mac]

Yes it was a shame that SA were thrown out (I am only going fom a cricket point of view)just when they were clearly the best cricket team in the world.

The Windies rose to the top in the late 70s, so I imagine SA may have been just dipping about then

I would have much rather have watched SA V Aust about 1975, would have been something to behold

 

[Richard]

Or SA vs Aus in 1971\72.

 

[archie mac]

Or SA vs Aus in 1971\72.

I think they would have spanked us

 

[Richard]

They should have done, yeah, but Aus still had plenty of fair cricketers around that time.

And Ian Chappell captaining against a team captained by Ali Bacher would have been... well, ITSTL.

 

[archie mac]

They should have done, yeah, but Aus still had plenty of fair cricketers around that time.

And Ian Chappell captaining against a team captained by Ali Bacher would have been... well, ITSTL.

It would have been, I think the Aussies were still a couple of years off their best, but the SA boys would have been right at their peak, with a great opener, a great AR and still the best Left Handed batsman in the World

What does itstl stand for?

 

[Richard]

Interesting to say the least. You said "it would have been" and you didn't know what you were saying would have been?

 

[archie mac]

Interesting to say the least. You said "it would have been" and you didn't know what you were saying would have been?

Well I am an Aussie, we are use to working out Pommy accents

 

[Richard]

It was an Aussie (Murphy) who invented the abbrev. ITSTL TBH.

 

[archie mac]

It was an Aussie (Murphy) who invented the abbrev. ITSTL TBH.

Well we are lazy talkers, SIANS

 

[Richard]

See in Aussies no sense?

 

[Pup Clarke]

Don't know why you needed the wink smiley tbh.