Pick your AT Aus WC XI

[vcs]

Clarke is just an all round better ODI cricketer than Steve Waugh, the only thing he lacks is that one iconic WC innings like Waugh's against SA in '99. Even then, he did score a match-winning unbeaten 50 in a WC final.

EDIT : Actually, it's closer than I'd imagined, Clarke's SR is underwhelming considering the era gap from Waugh. Still I'd just about take him.

 

[Burgey]

based on WC performances, which I think was the purpose:

Gilchrist
MWaugh
Ponting
Clarke
SWaugh
Bevan
Symonds
Lee
Warne
Starc
McGrath

Waugh/Hayden is basically personal preference. other Waugh is picked over Watson based on bowling - Watson averaged over 60 with the ball in WCs, SWaugh a tick over 30. Bevan is maybe a bit lucky, but he does have 4 quintessential Bevan performances in WCs (vs WI 96, vs SA 99, vs Eng 03 and vs NZ 03, the first two being in semi finals. shout out to Bichel for those last two). Clarke's record is better than I recalled, you could probably swap him and SWaugh around.

Boon in for M Waugh. MOTM in the 87 final. The innings which started it all for Australia in WCs.

Lee is also ineligible now, as he's done an infomercial endorsing Tony Abbott.

 

[mr_mister]

Clarke is just an all round better ODI cricketer than Steve Waugh, the only thing he lacks is that one iconic WC innings like Waugh's against SA in '99. Even then, he did score a match-winning unbeaten 50 in a WC final.

EDIT : Actually, it's closer than I'd imagined, Clarke's SR is underwhelming considering the era gap from Waugh. Still I'd just about take him.

Like I said, Steve brought it in world cups. Great strike rate, average plus lots of runs.

And keep in mind with his strikerrate that he once scored 20 off like 80 balls against the Windies in '99 so he could boost Windies NRR so australia could carry 2 more points into the super 6s.

So it was a rare occasion where batting like a snail is beneficial for the team

 

[stephen]

Boon in for M Waugh. MOTM in the 87 final. The innings which started it all for Australia in WCs.

Lee is also ineligible now, as he's done an infomercial endorsing Tony Abbott.

Still think M Waugh or Hayden deserve to be ahead of Boon as a World Cup opener. Problem is that Boon can't fit anywhere else in the side given the depths of talent at Australia's disposal.

And I think it's about time the legend from Laidley gets a run in an AT side.

Gilchrist
Hayden
Ponting
Clarke
S Waugh
Bevan
Symonds
Bichel
Warne
Starc
McGrath

QLD WC side:

Hayden
Watson
Law
Border
Symonds
Healy
Bichel
Johnson
Thomson
McDermott
Taylor

Not enough batsmen but a fearsome bowling attack.

 

[trundler]

Cricinfo is doing an all time works cup XI. My entry was:

Tendulkar
Gilchrist
Ponting (c)
Viv
Aravinda
AB
Dev
Akram
Warne
Garner
McGrath

 

[Burgey]

I think you're pretty good from seven down, though you could swap Imran in for Kapil in that slot I suppose.

Genuine question mark over number (1) imho though, and I'd swap Viv and Ponting around. Fantastic to see you getting on board with Border at six.

 

[Spikey]

again if it's based on WC performance only then I don't see an argument for Gilchrist over Kumar tbh. Kumar's got 4 more tons and 20 more runs on his average. so you replace Aravinda with Kumar and with the opening spot you could go with Dilshan/Waugh/Hayden/etc

 

[mr_mister]

Gilchrist and Warne are in there for one reason I assume: performances when it mattered most


Also I know he really only had the one great Cup peformance, but Klusener's 1999 performance was probably the best WC performance by anyone ever so I'd always have him somewhere in my XI, possibly over Dev or De Silva(who both were mainly known for their exploits at one cup as well right?)

I remember considering him some unbeatable final boss with the bat as a kid, so relieved we snuck out a tie against them. Probably a top 5 bowler that Cup as well


Kluseners overall WC record:

14 matches

372 runs @ 124 striking at 120

22 wickets @ 22


Close to first picked with those stats right?

 

[trundler]

I considered him but that would've made my XI exponentially more likely to choke..

Fair argument though. Leaving out Dev feels wrong too. Sangakarra over Gilchrist makes sense but the team loses a lot of firepower that way.

 

[Burgey]

If you want to avoid choking, you need a new opener at number one in your XI.

 

[mr_mister]

I considered him but that would've made my XI exponentially more likely to choke..

Fair argument though. Leaving out Dev feels wrong too. Sangakarra over Gilchrist makes sense but the team loses a lot of firepower that way.

Haha Klusener got 4 MOMs that cup and was probably one successful single away from 5. He himself didn't choke that badly though I guess he had too much Faith in Donald

Going back to my point about him being an unbeatable boss to me as a kid, we didn't even conquer him. We didn't dismiss him nor win the game. We simply survived to fight another day

 

[trundler]

Now that I think of it, Clarke and Starc should definitely be in the conversation too, like De Silva.

 

[manishsharma12]

Australia World cup squad : Aaron Finch (captain), Usman Khawaja, David Warner, Steve Smith, Shaun Marsh, Glenn Maxwell, Marcus Stoinis, Alex Carey, Pat Cummins, Mitchell Starc, Jhye Richardson, Nathan Coulter-Nile, Jason Behrendorff, Nathan Lyon, Adam Zampa

 

[Burgey]

Haha Klusener got 4 MOMs that cup and was probably one successful single away from 5. He himself didn't choke that badly though I guess he had too much Faith in Donald

Going back to my point about him being an unbeatable boss to me as a kid, we didn't even conquer him. We didn't dismiss him nor win the game. We simply survived to fight another day

Nah, Klusener definitely tightened up in that run out. Was never a single there. Donald was the one who kept his head. It gave us the greatest ODI of all time, but I couldn't help feeling awful for both of them. Klusener's WC was insane that year. Was a wrecking machine.

Mind you, he should have been caught on the fence an over sooner when Reiffel not only dropped a dolly, but spilled it over the rope for six. Typical Victorian.

 

[stephen]

Nah, Klusener definitely tightened up in that run out. Was never a single there. Donald was the one who kept his head. It gave us the greatest ODI of all time, but I couldn't help feeling awful for both of them. Klusener's WC was insane that year. Was a wrecking machine.

Mind you, he should have been caught on the fence an over sooner when Reiffel not only dropped a dolly, but spilled it over the rope for six. Typical Victorian.

The number of chances we squandered in that match was crazy.

It would be Australia with the chokers tag if the match didn't end the way it did. We choked in 96. We choked in 92. To have gone the whole 90s without a cup under the belt would have branded Australia with the stigma that South Africa now bear.