Rank the Aussie achievements

[Burgey]

Also had one of the best days of my life up til then when the team came home and they did the parade and the lunch for them in Sydney.

 

[stephen]

The 89 Ashes series was awesome because it was pretty unexpected by most. Sure the ban on the rebel players were over which gave us Clem back but it was a surprise when all of Waugh, Taylor, Boon, Jones and Healy just clicked at once and Lawson and Alderman bowled like it was 1981 again all of a sudden. Which they needed to given McDermott lost all form and wasn’t picked, and Reid was injured as always

Was such a vindication of everything AB and Simmo had done

Looking back on it, it's easy to see the players and say "oh they definitely should have been favourites", but at the time they were definitely huge underdogs. Immense series that set the tone for sixteen years.

 

[vcs]

I have not watched that series except odd YouTube clips. So can only comment on the series I saw. I do know it was a big deal based on how it was reported in India in the newspapers back then.

I think Richie Richardson had an ATG sour grapes moment at the end of that series where he said "they were nothing special, they only won the series because we did not play well", right? I've seen that YouTube clip somewhere.

 

[Lillian Thomson]

The three World Cups in a row is probably the greatest achievement. It’s a lot of knockout matches/Finals to stay fully focussed for. The West Indies were by far the best side for the first three World Cups but had an horrendous day with the bat in the 83 Final.

 

[TheJediBrah]

Yeah. BCCI had a weird hardon for Sharjah and other assorted tri-series in that decade. In hindsight, we were robbed of seeing a lot more of prime Tendulkar playing more Test cricket against Ambose, Walsh, Donald, Pollock, McGrath, Warne, Wasim, Waqar etc. We'd likely have got whupped by most of those teams that decade though, with Tendulkar playing a lone hand. We faced England in just three Test series throughout the '90s. I think we played WI only twice, one of them being a complete damp squib in around '97. We played a lot of ODI tri-series involving Pakistan but no Tests besides '99, I don't know if there were political issues. Weird.

Must have been huge financial value in them I guess. Always interesting to look at 90's India and Pak (and SL too) players careers and they've played an absurd amount of ODIs

 

[JBMAC]

All of these are great achievements. Just to throw something before my lifetime, Bradman's invincibles finishing the 1948 series without losing a match on the tour.

Agree with you 100%. I would have to rate them as the best aussie side.

 

[Burgey]

I think Richie Richardson had an ATG sour grapes moment at the end of that series where he said "they were nothing special, they only won the series because we did not play well", right? I've seen that YouTube clip somewhere.

He said it was the worst Australian side he had played against in his comments at the end of the last test. Very ungracious tbh

 

[TheJediBrah]

He said it was the worst Australian side he had played against in his comments at the end of the last test. Very ungracious tbh

I heard Gavaskar once commented on that interview, "typical West Indian attitude" he said

 

[pardus]

He said it was the worst Australian side he had played against in his comments at the end of the last test. Very ungracious tbh

To be honest I agreed with Richardson back then. I think Richardson was mainly talking about Aussie bowling attack. I watched every Test match, and was rabidly cheering for Australia.
I was disappointed that Craig McDermott missed the tour because of injuries. Back then, no one had a clue about how good McGrath was, and how great he would turn out to be later on.
Aussie attack did look like a young, inexperienced bowling attack (especially compared to the West Indian bowling attack).
Although Richardson's statements might have come out of bitterness after the defeat, he wasn't too far off the mark as far as image of that Aussie side at that time was considered.

 

[quincywagstaff]

Australia's 1987 World Cup win is highly underrated imo, especially as with better squads they failed to win in the similar conditions in 1996 & 2011. It was also significant as a major turning point for Australian cricket as the previous decade had been one dominated by WSC and its fallout, the rebel tour, constant lack of team unity and largely disappointing results.

 

[stephen]

Yeah I have very vague memories of that world cup. Steve Waugh and his slower balls come to mind. But mostly it's just feelings rather than vivid imagery. I remember everyone being super excited about it at the time. I remember Whitney bowling but that was probably a year or two later.

I was 4 at the time.

 

[Burgey]

To be honest I agreed with Richardson back then. I think Richardson was mainly talking about Aussie bowling attack. I watched every Test match, and was rabidly cheering for Australia.
I was disappointed that Craig McDermott missed the tour because of injuries. Back then, no one had a clue about how good McGrath was, and how great he would turn out to be later on.
Aussie attack did look like a young, inexperienced bowling attack (especially compared to the West Indian bowling attack).
Although Richardson's statements might have come out of bitterness after the defeat, he wasn't too far off the mark as far as image of that Aussie side at that time was considered.

Yeah I get your point, but I think a lot of Aussie supporters did a double take at his comments because the sides from around 84-85 were truly woeful for a few years.

 

[Slifer]

To be honest I agreed with Richardson back then. I think Richardson was mainly talking about Aussie bowling attack. I watched every Test match, and was rabidly cheering for Australia.
I was disappointed that Craig McDermott missed the tour because of injuries. Back then, no one had a clue about how good McGrath was, and how great he would turn out to be later on.
Aussie attack did look like a young, inexperienced bowling attack (especially compared to the West Indian bowling attack).
Although Richardson's statements might have come out of bitterness after the defeat, he wasn't too far off the mark as far as image of that Aussie side at that time was considered.

Afaic Richardson's comments were just sour grapes. I honestly think that the only thing that might've saved WI in that series was a fully fit Bishop. Oh and seriously fk Courtney Brown. My fellow West Indians understand where I'm coming from.....lol lol

 

[honestbharani]

Didn't he drop Sachin in the 1996 WC as well? One of the easiest catches any keeper could drop tbh.

 

[stephen]

Afaic Richardson's comments were just sour grapes. I honestly think that the only thing that might've saved WI in that series was a fully fit Bishop. Oh and seriously fk Courtney Brown. My fellow West Indians understand where I'm coming from.....lol lol

Bishop is probably the most underrated West Indian great. Was the difference between the West Indies being number 1 and not number 1.

 

[SillyCowCorner1]

Afaic Richardson's comments were just sour grapes. I honestly think that the only thing that might've saved WI in that series was a fully fit Bishop. Oh and seriously fk Courtney Brown. My fellow West Indians understand where I'm coming from.....lol lol

+1

 

[trundler]

Bishop is probably the most underrated West Indian great. Was the difference between the West Indies being number 1 and not number 1.

That's probably because he's like the 6th or 7th greatest West Indian pacer. Damien Martyn relates. Probably had a much higher ceiling though.

 

[stephen]

That's probably because he's like the 6th or 7th greatest West Indian pacer. Damien Martyn relates. Probably had a much higher ceiling though.

I rated him as being better than Walsh.

Marshall
Ambrose
Garner
Holding
Roberts
Bishop
Walsh
Croft
Hall

I'm probably forgetting someone.

 

[stephen]

Unless of course I draft Walsh. Then he's number 1 baby.

 

[Burgey]

Afaic Richardson's comments were just sour grapes. I honestly think that the only thing that might've saved WI in that series was a fully fit Bishop. Oh and seriously fk Courtney Brown. My fellow West Indians understand where I'm coming from.....lol lol

His absence was probably balanced out by Australia missing McDermott. Fleming missed those tests too, though I would not have expected him to have done very well at all - he was pretty ordinary unless it was hooping all over the place. Mind you, it was a bowlers' series, that one.

Basically it just got to the point where WI bowling could no longer hide how bad their batting was (and tbh had been for a number of years). Greenidge and Haynes papered over a lot of cracks in that side, Any team which carried Carl Hooper, Keith Arthurton and Gus Logie in it as established middle order players for any length of time really lacked a fair bit, batting wise. From the time Lloyd retired, WI lacked any real quality new batsmen until Lara came along. By 95, with Haynes and Greenidge both gone, it was really the Lara and Adams show, with **** all else for support. Richie Rich had comeback from a spell out for illness, and he was opening anyway, which I think was not his go, but shows how rubbish the other options were by the time that series came around.