Two Best Test Teams of 50 Years (1965 to 2015)

[subshakerz]

Sunil Gavaskar
Geoffrey Boycott
Viv Richards
Greg Chappell
Allan Border
Garry Sobers
Alan Knott
Imran Khan
Richard Hadlee
Malcolm Marshall
Dennis Lillee

Kumar Sangakkara
Ricky Ponting
Brian Lara
Sachin Tendulkar
Steve Waugh
Jacques Kallis
Adam Gilchrist
Shane Warne
Dale Steyn
Glenn McGrath
Muttiah Muralitharan

Why not put Graeme Pollock ahead of Boycott?

An attack with two spinners vs 4 pacer will be imbalanced based on where they play.

 

[ZK$]

Why not put Graeme Pollock ahead of Boycott?

An attack with two spinners vs 4 pacer will be imbalanced based on where they play.

Yeah you could probably put in both Barry Richards and Graeme Pollock for Boycott and Border and maybe put in Ambrose or Wasim for one of the spinners.

 

[subshakerz]

Why? Not good enough at leaving the swinging ball - liked to feel bat on ball (which is why Bond owned him in ODIs). Marshall and Hadlee would destroy him if opening. Keep Ponting at 3 where he was gun.

I am not so sure its that different from batting at no.3.

 

[Burgey]

First team should have Miandad in place of Graeme Pollock and switch him around with Viv.

No

 

[trundler]

No

20 tests against the worst Australian and English pace attacks ever. He faced Australia between Lindwall and Lillee and never faced Trueman in a test. Big whoop. Miandad averaged 71 after 22 tests and faced better bowlers. Pollock is a textbook beneficiary of the high SR = talent meme.

 

[Burgey]

20 tests against the worst Australian and English pace attacks ever. He faced Australia between Lindwall and Lillee and never faced Trueman in a test. Big whoop. Miandad averaged 71 after 22 tests and faced better bowlers. Pollock is a textbook beneficiary of the high SR = talent meme.

Miandad averaged 45 away from home cf 60 in his own backyard with those umpires in his pocket. Very good player but not worthy of a spot in the XI being discussed here and tbh he’s not an AT player at all.

Don’t care if Pollock is picked or not, but Miandad shouldn’t be anywhere near that side.

 

[trundler]

Miandad averaged 45 away from home cf 60 in his own backyard with those umpires in his pocket. Very good player but not worthy of a spot in the XI being discussed here and tbh he’s not an AT player at all.

Don’t care if Pollock is picked or not, but Miandad shouldn’t be anywhere near that side.

Unlike Border he actually won matches though. Therefore a greater player.

 

[subshakerz]

20 tests against the worst Australian and English pace attacks ever. He faced Australia between Lindwall and Lillee and never faced Trueman in a test. Big whoop. Miandad averaged 71 after 22 tests and faced better bowlers. Pollock is a textbook beneficiary of the high SR = talent meme.

The only pace bowler of note Miandad did very well against was Hadlee. I don't think that makes him better than Pollock, who aside from his record, was just rated far ahead.

 

[trundler]

The only pace bowler of note Miandad did very well against was Hadlee. I don't think that makes him better than Pollock, who aside from his record, was just rated far ahead.

He's rated ahead because of the nostalgia around isolation era cricketers and high SR automatically equalling talent. Owning Hadlee at home should count for a lot especially compared to Pollock.

 

[Gob]

Why? Not good enough at leaving the swinging ball - liked to feel bat on ball (which is why Bond owned him in ODIs). Marshall and Hadlee would destroy him if opening. Keep Ponting at 3 where he was gun.

You could literally be there second ball

 

[subshakerz]

He's rated ahead because of the nostalgia around isolation era cricketers and high SR automatically equalling talent. Owning Hadlee at home should count for a lot especially compared to Pollock.

I am pretty sure Pollock was being compared to Sobers around his time.

Miandad didn't do well in Australia which is a disqualifier. Also struggled vs WI compared to the other ATGs of his time.

 

[Slifer]

Lost to NZ though.

Still that team was better (imo) than later iteration with Gomes and Richardson.

 

[Calm_profit]

Still that team was better (imo) than later iteration with Gomes and Richardson.

Also Richards was missing.

 

[_00_deathscar]

I am not so sure its that different from batting at no.3.

It is when your openers were Langer and Hayden though.

 

[Gob]

Maybe compared to Dravid and Williamson but there were number of times when one of Hayden/Langer fell early (including first over) and Ponting went on to make hundreds. You can't succeed at number 3 for an extended period without being able to face the new ball

 

[subshakerz]

Maybe compared to Dravid and Williamson but there were number of times when one of Hayden/Langer fell early (including first over) and Ponting went on to make hundreds. You can't succeed at number 3 for an extended period without being able to face the new ball

Yeah, Ponting as opener would basically be the same as Ponting at no.3. To be fair, he did struggle in swinging conditions at times even at no.3 but often he was able to counterattack and score. Against Hadlee, etc. he would basically fail half the time or knock them around.

 

[_00_deathscar]

Maybe compared to Dravid and Williamson but there were number of times when one of Hayden/Langer fell early (including first over) and Ponting went on to make hundreds. You can't succeed at number 3 for an extended period without being able to face the new ball

Well compared to pretty much any team really. They were the best opening pair since Greenidge/Haynes.

Now with Root at 3, especially in the post Cook era, it’s a legitimate claim. But Ponting was probably the best protected of all 3s in ages.

 

[Gob]

Well compared to pretty much any team really. They were the best opening pair since Greenidge/Haynes.

Now with Root at 3, especially in the post Cook era, it’s a legitimate claim. But Ponting was probably the best protected of all 3s in ages.

Same can be said about Richards. My point being, even with Langer and Hayden, there were number of times in which Ponting was in the middle very early and made Hundreds. Hayden had a lean run from early 2004 to late 2005 by that time Langer started to go missing very often. I can actually think number of times when Langer fell in the first over. I just don't think you can score what 10k runs at #3 if you can't face the new ball which was a reply to Fuller Pilch who was being ridiculous as usual

 

[Gob]

65 to 90

Gavaskar
Greenidge
Richards
Chappell
Pollock
Sobers
Knott
Imran
Hadlee
Marshall
Underwood

90 to 2015

Hayden
Sehwag
Ponting
Tendulkar
Lara
Kallis
Gilchrist
Wasim
Warne
Steyn
McGrath

No ****ing idea who'd win. Probably the latter because of Warne

 

[Coronis]

Hmm. My personal sides would likely be

Gavaskar
Boycott
Richards
Chappell
Miandad
Sobers
Knott+
Imran
Hadlee
Marshall
Underwood

Smith
Hayden
Ponting
Tendulkar
Lara
Kallis
Gilchrist+
Wasim
Warne
Steyn
McGrath

Quite close, but I think I’ll just take the latter.