Test dream team from each nation. 1970-2020

[Flem274*]

Even though I'd have Richardson for Latham, NZ clearly has the strongest side named here.

wrong sport

 

[Lillian Thomson]

Even though I'd have Richardson for Latham, NZ clearly has the strongest side named here.

Because it has 12 players in it?

 

[Fuller Pilch]

Because it has 12 players in it?

Affirmative

 

[grecian]

I love clive Lloyd as much as the next guy but chiv has 4400 more runs than him, an average 5 higher than his, 11 more 100's then Lloyd, all while playing for a much worse WI team.

In the time period he is only 3 ahead, but hey still enough I guess on statistics, but even if it was more still think Clive was the captain who galvanized them to greatness.

 

[Calm_profit]

I will take Llyod over chanders anytime because the former scored runs against Lillie Thompson and Indian spin quartet while the latter didn't showed up against great attack.

 

[_00_deathscar]

India
1. Sunil Gavaskar
2. Virender Sehwag
3. Rahul Dravid
4. Sachin Tendulkar
5. Virat Kohli
6. VVS Laxman
7. MS Dhoni WK Captain
8. Kapil Dev
9. Ravichandren Ashwin
10. Anil Kumble
11. Harbhajan Singh
12th man Zaheer Khan

overall Test Dream Team
1. Geoffrey Boycott
2. Sunil Gavaskar
3. Rahul Dravid
4. Sachin Tendulkar
5. Steven Smith
6. Vivian Richards
7. MS Dhoni WK Captain
8. Shane Warne
9. Malcom Marshall
10. Muttiah Muralitharan
11. Glenn McGrath
12th Man Imran Khan

It was going so well till we got to the bowlers...

1. Sunil Gavaskar
2. Virender Sehwag
3. Rahul Dravid
4. Sachin Tendulkar
5. Virat Kohli
6. VVS Laxman
7. MS Dhoni (W) (C)
8. Kapil Dev
9. Ravi Jadeja
10. Mohammed Shami
11. Jasprit Bumrah

If Bumrah is unacceptable becuase of not enough tests yet (say a 20 test minimum cut off), then I'd rather have post 2015 or whatever Ishant Sharma.
If that's still not acceptable, maybe Srinath.

Also for the all time XI - Dravid over Ponting at 3? Dhoni over Gilchrist...in tests? Awful call and give the captaincy to someone else - Dhoni wasn't a great test captain anyway...ODIs/LOs, yes. Tests, no.

 

[Gob]

Gooch
Boycott
Gower
Root
KP
Botham
Flintoff
Knott
Broad
Swann
Anderson

Bat real deep. A second xi for that would be

Trescothick
Cook
Thorpe
Bell
Smith
Stokes
Prior
Gough
Underwood (does he count though I'm not sure)
Willis
Hoggard

 

[Gob]

Gooch
Boycott
Gower
Root
KP
Botham
Flintoff
Knott
Broad
Swann
Anderson

Bat real deep. A second xi for that would be

Trescothick
Cook
Thorpe
Bell
Smith
Stokes
Prior
Gough
Underwood (does he count though I'm not sure)
Willis
Hoggard

To take them on in a six match Ashes series in UK

Langer
Hayden
Ponting
Chappell
Smith
Border
Gilchrist
Warne
Cummins
Lillee
McGrath

 

[Lillian Thomson]

Don't share your general nostalgic hue, but Greig is interesting could bowl off-spin well so allows you to play Underwood, didn't see Snow play, but isn't that 2 fast bowlers surely you could go Broad or Anderson fr one of them?

Not a chance.

 

[Flem274*]

turner
richardson
williamson
crowe
taylor
fleming (c)
watling (wk)
vettori
hadlee
wagner
bond

tempted to go an allrounder but that's a better attack than hadlee or bond had as individuals so the trio should be fine.

gooch
cook (c)
gower
root
kp
stokes
botham
flintoff
knott (wk)
willis
underwood

eh **** it, going the meme route. should probs drop an allrounder for snow.

anwar
ali
inzi
younis khan
miandad
misbah (c)
imran
moin khan (wk)
wasim
waqar
shoiab

spinners are boring, this is fun

sehwag (c)
gavaskar
dravid
sachin
kohli
laxman
dhoni (wk)
kapil
kumble
zaheer
bumrah

sehwag captaining is funny

more as i decide. not sure on aus openers.

 

[England First]

It was going so well till we got to the bowlers...

1. Sunil Gavaskar
2. Virender Sehwag
3. Rahul Dravid
4. Sachin Tendulkar
5. Virat Kohli
6. VVS Laxman
7. MS Dhoni (W) (C)
8. Kapil Dev
9. Ravi Jadeja
10. Mohammed Shami
11. Jasprit Bumrah

If Bumrah is unacceptable becuase of not enough tests yet (say a 20 test minimum cut off), then I'd rather have post 2015 or whatever Ishant Sharma.
If that's still not acceptable, maybe Srinath.

Also for the all time XI - Dravid over Ponting at 3? Dhoni over Gilchrist...in tests? Awful call and give the captaincy to someone else - Dhoni wasn't a great test captain anyway...ODIs/LOs, yes. Tests, no.

Well as much as I rate shami and jadeja for me Harbhajan and ashwin are better. I’d have kapil and ashwin opening the bowling and Kumble and Harbhajan with the old ball. Good attack that is. Would be constantly spinning and turning.

Dravid for me is one of the top 5 batsman in the last 50 years. 1970-2020. Ponting would be up there too. Best number 3s in that time?
1. Dravid
2. Ponting
3. Richards
4. Sangakkara
5. Williamson
6. Amla/Younis

I think dhoni had it all. Brilliant lower order bat. Tough as nails. Great glove man. Old fashioned captain who takes no bull****.

 

[England First]

Putting Joe Root at 3 seems odd to me, but hey, might as well have a go.

1. Cook
2. Boycott
3. Gower
4. Pietersen
5. Root
6. Flintoff
7. Botham
8. Knott
9. Swann
10. Broad
11. Anderson

Gone for Flintoff as the Fast Bowler to bowl in short spells, also strengthens the batting, as Swann, Broad, Anderson, Willis looks a bit crap. Thorpe and Gooch unlucky to miss out probably. Knotts average better than it looks considering it wasn't a great time to bat in England, uncovered pitches and the like, which is also why I've maybe wrongly left out Deadly, both would play in the subcontinent.

Tbf though, whichever combination you put in it might well get thrashed by other ATG's team in the end for whatever reason, England seem to eschew truly great for Very Good at bests, holes in all those records in a way. Trundler given us a chance though, by picking 12.

Glenn Turner ( in fact he only averaged 34 in 9 games in 1969, so is record is even bettter in time-frame) opens in a Kiwi all-time side for me, and most others, so definitely gets in their side as does C. Cairns. Maybe you've weakened them as England might win a game that way...

Well he’s played far more innings at number 3 then he has where you picked him at number 5. 53 innings at 3 and 30 at 5. Granted his average is better at 5 but that’s because batting at 3 in England is so tough. I want him at 3 because he’s england best batsman in the last 50 years. It’s the most important bat position in think.

 

[Red_Ink_Squid]

Just tackling the overall World XI, maybe something like:

1. Sehwag
2. B Richards
3. Lara
4. Tendulkar
5. Smith
6. Kallis
7. Gilchrist
8. Imran
9. Marshall
10. Murali
11. McGrath

Unnecessarily memed opening partnership, but it's fun to imagine. Didn't consider Sobers as the OP seemed to specifically rule him out.

2nd xi could be something like:

1. Gavaskar
2. Smith
3. Ponting
4. Sangakkara
5. Richards
6. De Villiers
7. Knott
8. Hadlee
9. Warne
10. Steyn
11. Ambrose

Edit: why not do a third xi?

1. Boycott
2. Hayden
3. Dravid
4. Chappell
5. Younis
6. Flower
7. Shakib
8. Pollock
9. Akram
10. Garner
11. Donald

 

[grecian]

Well he’s played far more innings at number 3 then he has where you picked him at number 5. 53 innings at 3 and 30 at 5. Granted his average is better at 5 but that’s because batting at 3 in England is so tough. I want him at 3 because he’s england best batsman in the last 50 years. It’s the most important bat position in think.

I don't buy that Nasser belief that 3 is the where your best bat play, where did Nasser play BTW, and the simple fact is Root isn't great there, would probably think of putting Trott there, but Cook, Boycs, Trott as a top 3 may just bore everyone to tears.

 

[honestbharani]

AFAIC, your best batsman should bat where he is best at. There is no fixed position or anything to that effect and anywhere between 3-5 is OK, IMO. A lot depends on your team balance, the type of batsman he is and the type of batsmen the rest of the line up are.

 

[zaremba]

Decent shout for Sobers there, actually gets in on most metrics, does it make the windies the winning team here?

So Windies here

Greenidge
Haynes
Lara
Richards
Sobers
Lloyd (c)
Dujon
Marshall
Garner
Holding
Ambrose

Sobers to spin if you need, but likelihood they won't.

Preposterously good team.

 

[grecian]

Preposterously good team.

Without mentioning how good they are, what a dream to watch Lara, Richards and Sobers in their prime, a cricket fans dream. oh and Greenidge, Lloyd Dujon not exactly hard on the eye.

 

[trundler]

One imagines Gavaskar would be a fairly uncontroversial selection for any post War world XI. The other openers who stand out in the past 50 years are Boycott, Smith, Greenidge and Hayden. Boycott seems the most technically capable of handling an AT attack but picking a duo of Gavaskar and Boycs risks the other 9 players, spectators and Ian Chappell ingesting cyanide. So I'll go with the His Crabbiness, a selection which sacrifices only the spectators.

 

[ataraxia]

One imagines Gavaskar would be a fairly uncontroversial selection for any post War world XI. The other openers who stand out in the past 50 years are Boycott, Smith, Greenidge and Hayden. Boycott seems the most technically capable of handling an AT attack but picking a duo of Gavaskar and Boycs risks the other 9 players, spectators and Ian Chappell ingesting cyanide. So I'll go with the His Crabbiness, a selection which sacrifices only the spectators.

What about Barry?

 

[grecian]

What about Barry?

Don't start @fredfertang off he has an obsession with the lesser Richards.