The side that never was???

[JBMAC]

I thought about those Cricketers who have represented their country but probably never achieved the accolades that they deserved either through loss of form,other players around at the time,WC introduction and bans.Thought I would Post an Aussie side that would fir that category.Feel free to add a team of your own from whatever country.And in the light of other threads about ATGs this is the other end of the scale

Australia
(in batting order)

1. Rick Darling
2. Sam Trimble
3. Ian Craig (C)
4. Dirk Welham
5. Peter Burge
6. Gary Cosier
7. Tom Veivers
8. Kevin Wright (K)
9. Neil Hawke
10. Graham Corling
11. Eric Freeman

[Dan]

Guys who should have been decent but weren't, or an XI of blokes who downright sucked? I might try my hand at the latter, but for England (naturally).

1. Darren Maddy
2. Jason Gallian
3. Ravi Bopara *
4. Kim Barnett
5. Mark Lathwell
6. David Capel
7. Warren Hegg +
8. Chris Schofield
9. Tony Pigott
10. Ian Salisbury
11. Tim Munton

[The Sean]

Did Sam Trimble win a Test cap? I'd always thought he was one of those blokes contending for the unwanted "Best Player Never To Play A Test" award.

[Dan]

Originally Posted by The Sean

Did Sam Trimble win a Test cap? I'd always thought he was one of those blokes contending for the unwanted "Best Player Never To Play A Test" award.

Captained an 'A' squad to New Zealand.

[Riggins]

Archie Jackson needs a spot in the aussie side.

[fredfertang]

Originally Posted by rvd619323

Guys who should have been decent but weren't, or an XI of blokes who downright sucked? I might try my hand at the latter, but for England (naturally).

1. Darren Maddy
2. Jason Gallian
3. Ravi Bopara *
4. Kim Barnett
5. Mark Lathwell
6. David Capel
7. Warren Hegg +
8. Chris Schofield
9. Tony Pigott
10. Ian Salisbury
11. Tim Munton

A little harsh on Mark Lathwell. I'd give his place to Chris Cowdrey and make him skipper rather than Ravi

[JBMAC]

Originally Posted by The Sean

Did Sam Trimble win a Test cap? I'd always thought he was one of those blokes contending for the unwanted "Best Player Never To Play A Test" award.

Originally Posted by rvd619323

Captained an 'A' squad to New Zealand.

Certainly did included in that side was one Greg Chappell if I recall

[JBMAC]

Some other names coming to mind for OZ, Joslin,Sheehan,Cowper(scored test300),Laird,and even our Chaiman of Selectors,Inverarity.

[Crazy Sam]

It seems you've gone for players from a certain era/s but I reckon a player like Michael Bevan would be an obvious choice from a test perspective. In these days of mediocre first class batsmen being considered for Australia, it is amazing to think that someone who averaged over 57 and played until they were 36 would play their last test at the age of 28.

Martin Love is someone who I'd have loved to have seen get a longer shot in the test side but it didn't help that his only century came against Bangladesh during an 'off-season' series up north.

[Migara]

Marvan Atapattu - was maginficient with his technique and patience.
Sidat Wettamuni - ditto
Asanka Gurusinghe - the batting rock of early Lankan sides. Test average close to 40 in a minnow side tells plenty about his ability
Thilan Samaraweera - averages 50, but termed as worst player to average that high which is grossly false. His batting in England and SAF do prove otherwise.
Roshan Mahanama - never mentioned for his fielding abilities. Easily among top five all time fielders, as he could field any where with equal brilliance
Hashan Tillekaratne - crisis man, and a superb player of spin. Can keep too.
Brendon Kuruppu - the original batsman keeper, averages 50 with the bat and was a good keeper too.
Ravi Ratnayake - The first lankan fast bowler who had that X factor with him. Useful bat too
Somachandra de Silva - spin bowling all rounder, rarely mentioned after the brilliance that Murali has priduced
Dulip Liyanage - before his freak injury (stepping on a ball), he sent top orders packing with pace and movement.
Champaka Ramanayake - the untold workhorse of SL cricket. Bowled extended spells, and aaccuracy accounted for lack of pace.

[Satyanash89]

A few Indians who come to mind from the past decade or two:

Sadagoppan Ramesh... he wasnt a horrible batsman... even though his footwork was awful and he would have struggled in swinging conditions if given more chances, but he handled warne pretty well when he faced him

Hemang Badani... deserved a few more chances imo... he played some beatiful innings in odis and looked a good player

Vinod Kambli... obvious choice

Irfan Pathan... again... had the potential to be damn good, never worked out

[Biryani Pillow]

Originally Posted by rvd619323

Guys who should have been decent but weren't, or an XI of blokes who downright sucked? I might try my hand at the latter, but for England (naturally).

1. Darren Maddy
2. Jason Gallian
3. Ravi Bopara *
4. Kim Barnett
5. Mark Lathwell
6. David Capel
7. Warren Hegg +
8. Chris Schofield
9. Tony Pigott
10. Ian Salisbury
11. Tim Munton

The worst England XI that I have seen would not include Bopara (the hatred from hime here is laughable) but would certainly include Ronnie Irani. Mark Illott, Martin McCague and Min Patel would get gigs as well.

For an All Time England XI of could/should have played much more:


Charlie Barnett - but for the 2nd World War?
Andrew Sandham - would have been a regular in the 190s if Herbert Sutcliffe hadn't been there.
George Gunn - played some Test, should have played many more
G.F.Grace - his brother felt GF was the better player, a stretch but certainly would have played more but for hos untimely early death.
Ernest Tydesley - Neville Cardus considered him a better batsman than Patsy Hendren who played a lot of Tests
The Hon F.S.Jackson - a first choice over many years for home Ashes Tests but, for business reasons, never played against SA or toured Australia
Jack Richards - (OK personal call) a far better keeper and batsman than Paul Downton who played many Tests
F.R.Foster - fine all rounder who came to the fore shortly before WW1 and his life fell apart soon after
Martin Bicknell - made his debut in the 1993 Ashes and got tarred alongside some much worse players. May not have been first choice but would have been a fine player arounfd the team for a good while.
Neville Knox - very highly rated fast bowler who had a very short career due to injury
Charlie Parker - almost certainly the best SLA bowler in England during the 1920s but not liked by those in power

[Daemon]

Murray Goodwin for Zimbabwe.

[The Sean]

Originally Posted by rvd619323

Captained an 'A' squad to New Zealand.

Originally Posted by JBMAC

Certainly did included in that side was one Greg Chappell if I recall

Yeah that's what I thought - I'd misread "represented their country" in Macca's original post to mean "played Test cricket" and thought he'd made a mistake.

[Spooony]

Do the 1969/70 South African side qualify? Or any later ones?