Which country produces more raw talent?

[Craig]

I'm going for India, but if the question was who develops it better then Australia >>>>>>>>>>>> everybody else. I don't know how many countries have a system better then the AIS System, if there is.. Sure the East Germans in the 80's, but a lot of their athletes were doped to the gills, and I don't know if Russia or China is a tad shady.

You obviously have Pakistan, but for some reason they can never pull their heads in for the greater good of their team, I'm not sure about Sri Lanka, but they have achieved a lot when you think how tiny the island is but with so many people, and Bangladesh, but it takes time to raise above their current levels. From what I've gathered there is some naturally talented cricketers there.

I've always thought about the West Indies, but the lack of money, cohesion (at a board level) and infrusture with always hinder them in getting the best of their players. TBF I don't always follow WI cricket, but when I see some of their players in the team, it looks a name was drawn out of hat for no apparent reason and thrusted in the role, despite not being good enough or currently not good enough. I don't know enough about England, out of interest, how many people like cricket compared to those who like football, especially as kids who rather want to play for one of the biggest clubs in the EPL and earn more then the GPD of a improvished African nation in one season. And how many who do make it are either substandard or are just injury crocks? The Academy was really something that should of been brought in years before it did, it might have stopped us from being robbed of Darren Gough or Craig White's (don't laugh, I rated him quite a bit as a bowler) career? Far too many journeymen cricketers who cruise by on the easy life as well.

South Africa do produce some really talented crickets, but then do have a lack of quality depth (If Amla does better then average 30 against Australia next summer, pick my avatar, and if it is Michael Jackson, your dead to me ), how many good openers or middle order batsmen or spin or fast bowlers who there who could replace any of the current lot and do well? Geniune question as well. Zimbabwe in my eyes are not a Test olaying nation, but I'll chuck 'em in the poll since officially they are.

New Zealand have been done before, and frankally a post this long has burned me out

 

[Captain Cricket]

Australia, obviously. But I'm voting for the second-best. In that case, Pakistan.

 

[Captain Cricket]

If Amla does better then average 30 against Australia next summer, pick my avatar

You're on big boy.

 

[sirdj]

Pakistan definately, India seems to suffer from the revolving door selection poilicy as far as its players are concerned. Who besides the current India squad would you term as raw talent??

 

[NUFAN]

I actually voted Bangladesh. They have so many exciting cricketers under 21, they normally just don't get better after that age.

 

[Xuhaib]

Pakistan. There u-19 WC record is mighty impressive unfortunatley the talented younsters are not polised in to world class talents in our system.

 

[andruid]

irrelevant 11th option vis-a-vis a non test team which doen'st have the funding to put up the infrastructure necessary to turn the raw uncut diamonds it has into pure gem.

 

[Jono]

Pakistan.

 

[PhoenixFire]

I reckon Australia finds their raw talent much earlier and is able to develop it better and earlier, which is why we get the idea that they have more raw talent, which is probably true in esscence.

 

[Jamee999]

India has more talent, Australia uses it better.

 

[subshakerz]

I think a good indicator of how much raw talent a country has is the ability to produce cricketers of all varieties. India doesn't seem to produce a lot of talent in the fast-bowling stakes, just like South Africa has a problem producing spinners. Overall, I would say Pakistan.

 

[CrazY GirL]

Pakistan

 

[Fusion]

Pakistan. There u-19 WC record is mighty impressive unfortunatley the talented younsters are not polised in to world class talents in our system.

AWTA.

 

[haroon510]

Pakistan.. alot of Aggrassive cricketers has come from pakistan over the years.. my second guess is india but the fact that less fast bowlers with quality comes from india gave my vote to pakistan..

 

[adharcric]

India produces the most, Pakistan discovers it better and Australia uses it considerably better than anyone else.

 

[BoyBrumby]

Tough one to quantify. If one defines "raw talent" as "cricketers who have the natural ability to play at the highest level, all things being equal" Pakistan is probably a fair shout; they produce players with the potential to excel in batting, spin-bowling & quick-bowling. India are getting there with the latter, but have struggled with their seamers for a good few years.

Controversially tho, in pro-rata terms, Zimbabwe up until a few years back must've been right up there. Their cricketing population was absolutely tiny (I think I remember reading there were 70,000 whites in the country at the turn of the decade and that's probably declined markedly since) and they could hold their own and occasionally even beat vastly more populous cricket nations.

 

[silentstriker]

Great point, even India couldn't win there away at the beginning of the decade. It is astounding that a cricketing population coming from a pool of 70,000 could hold back a team coming from a population of a billion.

 

[Richard]

Agree with Master Brumby that:

Tough one to quantify.

Cricketing talent is such a fickle thing.

 

[thierry henry]

In terms of pure numbers, India of course, and then Pakistan

On a per capita (or, per cricket player) basis, NZ or Australia. As a rule these are better sporting nations with larger, stronger, healthier citizens. You can call that racism or whatever if you like, but it's pretty obviously true.

But then again, what is raw talent? In the end, the thread question seems to refer to innate abilities such as strength, co-ordination, hand-eye etc. Surely then this is basically a "which nation produces more physically capable people" question which is inherently racist?

 

[Salamuddin]

Pakistan. There u-19 WC record is mighty impressive unfortunatley the talented younsters are not polised in to world class talents in our system.

Pakistan may have won two u-19 world cup's but there's no doubt that India have a better u-19 record overall than Pakistan.
Indian youth teams tend to dominate age group cricket.

Australia also have won two u-19 wc's but our head to head with India at u-19 level is in India's favour