Who is the worse number 1 side to rise to the top of the rankings during last year?

[Quaggas]

A>B does not mean A will win against B all the time. Think of it rather as flipping a weighted coin. @morgieb

 

[Burgey]

Only two teams hav won a test away and at home this summer.

Yes, that's right, New Zealand and Sri Lanka are joint number one. Suck on that one.

Australia beat SA in SA....

 

[Jono]

Wasn't summer yet?

 

[Burgey]

Wasn't summer yet?

Zip it, ****.

 

[silentstriker]

India did spend a while at the top without a series loss. England succumbed to an OK team on a flat pitch in their very first (?) series at #1.

Maintain Australia are playing better than England and would beat them IMO.

Tbf India are no higher than fifth though, with the current lineup no longer Test class.

 

[Furball]

India did spend a while at the top without a series loss. England succumbed to an OK team on a flat pitch.

Well I guess that implies so did we in England.

Maintain Australia are playing better than England and would beat them IMO.

No they aren't. Australia's batting is weak - India's bowlers just weren't good enough to find that out for themselves.

 

[Agent Nationaux]

Really pisses me off that everyone has hijacked Pakistan's win and are still underrating them.

 

[silentstriker]

No they aren't. Australia's batting is weak - India's bowlers just weren't good enough to find that out for themselves.

Well India clearly not in the top four. Maybe as low as sixth or seventh. No arguments from me.

I would take this aussie lineup over the English one. Bowling I'd still give to England but not by much.

 

[Spark]

I would take the English bowling lineup over anyone right now.

 

[silentstriker]

And I don't believe for a second that the Aussie lineup would have scored this little vs Pakistan. Don't buy it at all.

 

[Agent Nationaux]

Yeah they would have scored this little.

 

[Spark]

And I don't believe for a second that the Aussie lineup would have scored this little vs Pakistan. Don't buy it at all.

It's pretty ****ing tough to score this little tbf.

I do think this middle order would have done fine. Don't like our chances in 2014.

 

[Jarquis]

This Aus lineup were 21/9 not long ago...

 

[Spark]

Indeed. Our batting is still very brittle up top, and I don't think England will be so kind as to let us off the hook so easily after getting us 3/not-many on such a regular basis. That doesn't mean we can't put up OK scores ofc as our middle order is absolutely gun when in form, but I don't think you'll be seeing 3/37 ---> 4dec/650-odd ---> 1/217.

 

[silentstriker]

It's pretty ****ing tough to score this little tbf.

I do think this middle order would have done fine. Don't like our chances in 2014.

Well I've no idea who's going to be best in 2014 -- right now, I'd back Australia vs. anyone. Australia aren't great clearly, but the other teams are worse.

 

[Spark]

The reason I say I don't like our chances vs Pakistan in the UAE in 2014 (as I said in the other thread) is that Ponting and Hussey will almost certainly be gone. From what I've seen of the new batsmen coming in and of FC cricket, that leaves a grand total of one batsman in our lineup, whatever it is who I have any confidence against Ajmal/Rehman at all.

And I know a few of us have joked about this lineup being carried by Clarke for a while, but that's a recipe for disaster.

 

[Cevno]

India lost to England and Australia going in as underdogs with the bookies.

England were the favourites vs. Pakistan. They were the more "hyped" number 1 team. There were doubts over India even when they were number 1, people were arguing constantly.

With England, everyone accepted they were number 1. No one thought a whitewash against Pakistan was even a possibility.

Indeed. It was almost a foregone conclusion that they would be no.1 for a while now and win most series home and away.

There were supposed to have good players of spin too(Morgan and Bell among their best IIRC) who along with their bowling attack were going to win anywhere.

Not many were even giving Pakistan a chance before the series.

 

[Ausage]

India clearly. England have been beaten in a single series and still have positives to come out of their loss (the bowling). India have been beaten in two straight series, have little to no positives coming out of the last series in particular, and have had internal strife following the loss.

 

[Cevno]

Is this thread about which team has been worse during the last year, or which team was the worst no.1 team? Because India stayed at NO.1 for 3 years and didn't rise to top during the last year like England had done.

 

[Contra]

We do have positives actually, wish they had come in a different manner (instead they came due to a 0-4), but the removal of Laxman and Dravid will be a pretty big positive. Ishant HOPEFULLY gets dropped. Yadav's been good for us, honestly feel that if we had more runs on the board our bowlers would have done better.

Looking forward to watching the likes of Rahane and Pujara in the near future in whites.