Cricinfo Best Test 11 from last 25 years

[Bolo]

Warne and Murali stay put. The best LBG and OB bowlers in the annals of the game.
The fasties need ferocity and variety. Thus, I'd go with Akram and Ambrose (as hard as it is to leave McGrath out)

Akram is fine on your criteria. Ambrose not so much. Very little variety, and only very intermittent ferocity, with more of it coming outside of these 25 years if you want to look at the period in question rather than entire career. Pick Donald if you want to go down this line of thinking. Or just stick with McGrath, cos he's a better bowler.

 

[trundler]

Steyn or Donald. Could go with either. Little between them.

 

[akilana]

Steyn is the first bowler I’ll pick. He is an out an out strike bowler with great SR and average in the most batting friendly era.

 

[Borges]

Yes. First there is Steyn, and then there is everyone else.

 

[Bolo]

Steyn or Donald. Could go with either. Little between them.

While there isn't that much distance between them, Steyn is very clearly ahead IMO. It you are prioritising variety and aggression though as per Engles post, Donald has a whole lot more of both

 

[trundler]

My first picks would be:
Gilchrist
Kallis
McGrath
Tendulkar, Lara, Ponting
and then the rest

Not getting into a McGrath vs Steyn debate. I'll take both.

 

[kingkallis]

"Readers' XI

We polled ESPNcricinfo users in May, and their men's Test XI of the last 25 years is identical to the jury's:
1. Matthew Hayden
2. Virender Sehwag
3. Ricky Ponting
4. Sachin Tendulkar
5. Brian Lara
6. Jacques Kallis
7. Adam Gilchrist (wk)
8. Wasim Akram
9. Shane Warne
10. Muttiah Muralitharan
11. Glenn McGrath"

One hell of a team, in my opinion would beat any other 25 year era team. I would throw Cook in for one of the openers (cricinfo said it was a tie between him and Hayden but Hayden won the tiebreaker) - England being the hardest place to open plus his records in Asia etc, or Graeme Smith. Steyn for Murali if its outside asia perhaps. Dravid is a shout instead of Ponting I would say. The men's Test XI of the last 25 years | ESPNcricinfo 25 year Anniversary | ESPNcricinfo

IMHO,

Smith >>> Cook
Sehwag >> Cook
Hayden >> Cook

Ponting > Dravid

 

[Red]

One hell of a team, in my opinion would beat any other 25 year era team.

Reckon this team from 1 series would beat them, tbh

Len Hutton
Arthur Morris
Don Bradman
Denis Compton
Keith Miller
Neil Harvey
Godfrey Evans +
Ray Lindwall
Jim Laker
Alec Bedser
Bill Johnston

Results | The Ashes, 1948 | ESPNcricinfo

 

[trundler]

Reckon this team from 1 series would beat them, tbh

Len Hutton
Arthur Morris
Don Bradman
Denis Compton
Keith Miller
Neil Harvey
Godfrey Evans +
Ray Lindwall
Jim Laker
Alec Bedser
Bill Johnston

Results | The Ashes, 1948 | ESPNcricinfo

I don't think all of them hit their peak within a 25 year span of each other tho. I suppose that's nitpicking.
The other batsmen somewhat neutralise the Bradman effect. If you take away the Don the other teams middle-order is better but even with him there isn't daylight between the 2 orders. Openers from this team notably better whilst the bowling from the previous quarter century is better, IMO. Plus, one team has Gilchrist at 7 and the other doesn't. One team also has the greatest spinner and trundler of all time whilst the other only has great ones. Miller at 5 is a big ask. It's difficult to gauge him because he'd probably be most competitive if you told him he's facing the best bastards from the future or something. Ponting-Tendulkar-Lara-Kallis is as strong as you can get without Bradman. Bradman-Compton-Miller-Harvey is pretty solid still.

 

[Engle]

"Readers' XI

We polled ESPNcricinfo users in May, and their men's Test XI of the last 25 years is identical to the jury's:
1. Matthew Hayden
2. Virender Sehwag
3. Ricky Ponting
4. Sachin Tendulkar
5. Brian Lara
6. Jacques Kallis
7. Adam Gilchrist (wk)
8. Wasim Akram
9. Shane Warne
10. Muttiah Muralitharan
11. Glenn McGrath"

One hell of a team, in my opinion would beat any other 25 year era team.

The 70's/80's team could beat them :

S. Gavaskar
B. Richards ( or G.Greenidge)
V. Richards
G. Pollock ( or A. Border)
G. Chappell (vc)
G. Sobers
Imran Khan (c)
A. Knott
M. Marshall
D. Lillee
L. Gibbs (or Abdul Qadir)

 

[trundler]

Yeah but that's not picking from a specific 25 year period though. If you arrange your era some other way, you could come up with an even better team. Side note, you didn't even include Hadlee!
A 68-93 team becomes tougher because there isn't Sobers or Gibbs to pick. Actually did this in my thread.

 

[trundler]

A team from 84' to 09' would be pretty formidable.

 

[TheJediBrah]

So ignoring everything pre 2008-ish?

Not really last 25 years

 

[Daemon]

I think I mentioned it in the other thread, but what sets this team apart from nearly all the others is Gilchrist and a small matter of 1500+ wickets between the two best spinners ever. The openers being weaker than lots of the other eras is the biggest weakness, but not enough to overlook Warne/Murali.

 

[trundler]

So ignoring everything pre 2008-ish?

Not really last 25 years

I know. The purpose of this exercise is to stick with 93-25 or 25 year periods preceding that but people are randomly picking sides to beat this one and I'm sure this side could be improved by including a period where Gavaskar and Greenidge can improve the batting.

 

[TheJediBrah]

I think I mentioned it in the other thread, but what sets this team apart from nearly all the others is Gilchrist and a small matter of 1500+ wickets between the two best spinners ever. The openers being weaker than lots of the other eras is the biggest weakness, but not enough to overlook Warne/Murali.

I don't mind the openers. When you've got such a strong side the value of quicker scoring players increases to give you longer to bowl sides out (suits having 2 spinners too). Sehwag especially, but Hayden too could be brutal.

They're not that much worse statistically than other eras anyway. Only issue could be handling greentops I guess but Hayden would have done plenty of that in the Shield where he was dominant. They're both good on the subcontinent as well as elsewhere and while both have been considered at times "flat track bullies", that would suit the team anyway with the whole "scoring quicker to have more time to bowl out opposition" thing.

Graeme Smith, Langer or Warner are the other options, or moving Kallis or Ponting to open and putting another middle order bat in (eg. Steve Smith). None of those changes would weaken the team.

Thinking about it more, moving Kallis to open instead of either Sehwag or Hayden and bringing in Steve Smith would probably make the team stronger.

 

[Bolo]

I know. The purpose of this exercise is to stick with 93-25 or 25 year periods preceding that but people are randomly picking sides to beat this one and I'm sure this side could be improved by including a period where Gavaskar and Greenidge can improve the batting.

Having Hadlee, Marshall and Imran to pick from would improve the batting a whole lot more than the openers tbf

 

[trundler]

Having Hadlee, Marshall and Imran to pick from would improve the batting a whole lot more than the openers tbf

The bowling would become identical to my all time attack with Imran, Marshall, Warne and McGrath. Kallis fills in for Sobers. Richards at 3 with Gavaskar and Greenidge before him. Perfect.

 

[trundler]

Though I'd have Ponting from 2002-2008 over late 80s Richards.

 

[Bolo]

The bowling would become identical to my all time attack with Imran, Marshall, Warne and McGrath. Kallis fills in for Sobers. Richards at 3 with Gavaskar and Greenidge before him. Perfect.

McGrath above Hadlee is not something I could ever agree with. So little to choose between them from in style or quality as bowlers, daylight as bats. Any other 2 ATGs I see as preference, with an argument either way. This one I see as pure madness.