Best Teams from last 4 Decades

[sumantra]

Wisden recently released some teams of the last decade, just throwing up few more from the past decades...been watching cricket from early 80's, so all the players included in the teams are the once I have seen playing live.

Best Team of the 80's

Gordon Greenidge
Sunil Gavaskar
Vivian Richards
Javed Miandad
Allan Border
Ian Botham
Imran Khan (c)
Jeffrey Dujon (wk)
Malcolm Marshall
Abdul Qadir
Dennis Lillee

12th Man - Michael Holding


Best Team of the 90's

Saeed Anwar
Garry Kirsten
Brian Lara
Sachin Tendulkar
Martin Crowe (c)
Steve Waugh
Andy Flower (wk)
Wasim Akram
Shane Warne
Curtley Ambrose
Waqar Younis

12th Man - Allan Donald


Best Team of the 2000's

Mathew Hayden
Graeme Smith (c)
Ricky Ponting
Rahul Dravid
Jacques Kallis
Kevin Pieterson
Adam Gilchrist (wk)
Shaun Pollock
Dale Steyn
Muthiah Muralitharan
Glenn McGrath

12th Man - Shoaib Akhtar


Best Team of the 2010's

David Warner
Aliaster Cook
Steven Smith
Virat Kohli (c)
Kane Williamson
Kumara Sangakkara (wk)
Ben Stokes
Ravichandran Ashwin
Mitchell Starc
Kagiso Rabada
James Anderson

12th Man - Mitchell Johnson


* Some players could have been picked for 2 decades, say Tendulkar, picking him in the 90's opened up a space for Dravid/Ponting/Kallis etc in the 2000's...same can be said about McGrath and few others as well...Martin Crowe, I just had to have him, though I know he truly belongs to the 80's, but..., Picked a fast bowler for every side as the 12th man...and AB, really sorry for him, couldn't manage a place...

 

[Burgey]

Decent exercise this. My chief bug bear is that in no known universe does Javed Miandad bat at four ahead of TOTAB in that 80s line up. Border should also be skipper - the only decent thing Imran did as captain was in the 90s tbh.

 

[aussie tragic]

Hadlee has to make the 80s side. I'm a huge Lillee fan but if it's specifically over that decade than Marshall and Hadlee are first 2 picked

 

[Gob]

90's

Anwar
Gooch
Lara
Tendulkar
De Silva
Waugh SR *
Healy +
Warne
Waqar
Donald
Ambrose

 

[Gob]

80's

Greenidge
Gavaskar
Richards
Crowe
Border
Botham
Imran *
Dujon +
Hadlee
Marshall
Quadir

 

[Coronis]

Williamson bats above Smith and Kohli surely...

 

[Red]

80s

Greenidge
Gavaskar
Richards
Border
Miandad
Dujon
Botham
Imran
Hadlee
Marshall
Qadir

90s

Gooch
Slater
Boon
Tendulkar
Lara
Waugh
Flower
Warne
Wasim
Ambrose
Donald

00s

Smith
Sehwag
Dravid
Ponting
Yousuf
Kallis
Gilchrist
Pollock
Gillespie
Murali
McGrath

10s

Cook
Warner
Sangakkara
Williamson
Smith
Kohli
DeVilliers
Ashwin
Cummins
Steyn
Anderson

Only selected players in one decade.

 

[Red_Ink_Squid]

Can't really argue with those picks. My attempt:

80s
Greenidge
Gavaskar
Richards
Border
Miandad
Crowe
Imran
Dujon+
Hadlee
Marshall
Garner

90s
Gooch
Anwar
Lara
Tendulkar
Waugh
de Silva
Healy+
Wasim
Warne
Ambrose
Donald

00s
Hayden
Sehwag
Dravid
Ponting
Kallis
Inzamam
Gilchrist+
Pollock
Steyn
Murali
McGrath

10s
Cook
Warner
Williamson
Smith
Kohli
de Villiers+
Shakib
Philander
Ashwin
Wagner
Anderson

 

[Fuller Pilch]

What about from the whole era? I know I'm picking 4 no 4s in the middle order but I'd go

Gavaskar
G Smith (c)
Lara
Tendulkar
Kallis
S Smith
Gilchrist (wk)
R Hadlee
Marshall
Muralitharan
McGrath



NB: Smith has the gears and T20 expertise to bat 6, so put him there. Also the side has SO much batting I went for Hadlee's bowling ahead of Imran's.

 

[Pup Clarke]

My 90s XI
Kirsten
Stewart
Boon
Tendulkar
Lara
S Waugh (c)
Healy (wk)
Pollock
Wasim
Warne
Ambrose

12th man : Donald

 

[_00_deathscar]

My 90s XI
Kirsten
Stewart

Still a better love story than Twilight

 

[sumantra]

My 90s XI
Kirsten
Stewart
Boon
Tendulkar
Lara
S Waugh (c)
Healy (wk)
Pollock
Wasim
Warne
Ambrose

12th man : Donald

Stewart as a specialist opener...that's really great to see. Do u really believe he was better than Gooch or Anwar? Or even Boon for that matter?

 

[Pup Clarke]

Just the way he played quick bowling with such assurance, personally a big fan. If hypothetically this side was up against an ATG bowling attack I'd want Stewart opening as he can counter-punch and could really take the game to quality bowlers. Gooch and Anwar were terrific players of course