Three best from each test nation

[Polarskim]

There's no doub about the identities of the best player from many of the test playing nations - Bradman for Aus, Sobers for West Indies, Hadleee for NZ. But how would you rank the top three players in history for each of the test playing nations?

 

[James]

Hadlee, Crowe, Turner for me for NZ.

 

[Beleg]

Pakistan

Wasim, Imran, Inzamam

India

Tendulkar, Gavaskar, Dravid

Australia

Bradman, Ponting, Warne

Sri Lanka

Jayasuria, Muralitharan, Sangakkara

England

Hobbs, Trueman, Noble

New Zealand

Cairns (C), Hadlee, Crowe

Zimbabwe

Flower, Flower, Streak

WI

Ambrose, Sobers, Marshall

South Africa

Donald, ?, ?

 

[Jono]

Pakistan

Imran Khan, Wasim Akram, Javed Miandad

India

Sachin Tendulkar, Kapil Dev, Sunil Gavaskar

Australia

Don Bradman, Glenn McGrath, Shane Warne

Sri Lanka

Murali, Sangakkara, Aravinda de Silva

England

Jack Hobbs, Fred Trueman, Wally Hammond

New Zealand

Richard Hadlee, Crowe, Chris Cairns,

Zimbabwe

Andy Flower, Heath Streak, Taibu (because I can )

WI

Gary Sobers, Malcolm Marshall, Lara

South Africa

Jaques Kallis, Shaun Pollock, Allan Donald

 

[James]

Welcome to the forums btw Polarskim

 

[The Sean]

England

Hobbs, Trueman, Noble

Dear old Monty was an Aussie.

 

[Goughy]

Amazed at the lack of love for Hutton here. That guy went through a lot and accomplished even more. Anyway, a selected few

England- (limiting it to 20th/21st C cricket)
Hobbs, Hutton, Trueman

South Africa
B. Richards, G. Pollock, Proctor

Zim
Houghton, Streak, A. Flower

 

[Richard]

India

Tendulkar, Gavaskar, Dravid

India

Sachin Tendulkar, Kapil Dev, Sunil Gavaskar

Vijay Merchant surely?

 

[shortpitched713]

Imran, Wasim, Hanif for Pakistan imo.

 

[Beleg]

Sean,

Yup.

The person I had in mind was actually Frank Wooley...

 

[bond21]

Warne, Bradman, Lindwall

 

[JASON]

For Sri Lanka,

I would have to say,

Murali , Sangakkara and Mahela ...(IMO Mahela has just overtaken Aravinda De Silva..despite all his heroics...and another person who should surely be considered in this equation would be Ranatunga for his Masterly Captaincy and absolute Statesmanship at the helm...attributes that only Ricky Ponting, among contemporary Captains, has)

 

[JASON]

Warne, Bradman, Lindwall

surely McGrath more than Lindwall ? or even Lillee

 

[Shaggy Alfresco]

Barnes, Hobbs, Hammond

 

[Richard]

surely McGrath more than Lindwall ? or even Lillee

Not unquestionably, IMO. I think all 3 have a very good case for being Australia's best seam-bowler (and best bowler) of the 20th (and very early 21st) century.

Think you could pick any of them as Australia's top bowler and no-one could really have many complaints.

An Australia "top three" without Miller would be plain madness really. So with Australia, there's only 1 selection as needs to be done.

 

[Richard]

Barnes, Hobbs, Hammond

Hard to argue with this, incidentally. Like with Australia and Bradman\Miller, I think it's impossible to pick an England three without Barnes and Hobbs (presuming you were going from 1900 onwards, else it'd obviously be WG Grace every time before both).

I reckon Sutcliffe, Hutton and Hammond have to be the other contenders for the third place. Compton a rung below.

 

[Richard]

For WI, incidentally, Sobers is obviously beyond all question. I'd not hesitate to have Marshall in there either, and it'd almost certainly have to be George Headley too.

Perfect balance really; master batsman, master batsman and flexible bowler, and master bowler.

Sobers almost beyond question the finest all-rounder 1900-2008; Marshall IMO beyond question the finest seam-bowler 1900-2008; and Headley IMO the 2nd-best batsman 1900-2008.

Quite a combination, innit?

 

[The Sean]

Sean,

Yup.

The person I had in mind was actually Frank Wooley...

Fair enough mate - I thought maybe you had meant Rhodes.

What a wonderful cricket Woolley must have been, his strokeplay by all accounts was as graceful and breathtaking as any in the history of the game.

 

[Richard]

And he took 2,000 wickets, and 1,000 catches.

 

[silentstriker]

Tendulkar, Dev, Kumble