Three Aussie legends who would have dominated T20 cricket

9th February, 2017

T20 cricket now controls the Australian summer, with the Big Bash League spanning nearly six weeks. So which former wearers of the baggy green would have dominated the newest format in their prime?

Stuart MacGill
MacGill is best remembered as a quality Test spinner, who managed to outbowl the great Shane Warne in many of the matches they played together. Yet the leg-spinner was even better with the white ball.

MacGill’s record in domestic 50-over cricket for NSW was astonishing. Not only are his 124 wickets the second most in the history of Australian domestic one-day cricket, but his average of 22.36 is the best among the top 50 wicket takers. He’s also the only player in that top 50 to average two wickets per game.

These are freakish numbers.

To underscore just how good MacGill was with the white ball, consider that his overall List A average of 22.52 was even better than Warne’s mark of 24.61.

MacGill’s strength as short-form spinner was his all-out-attack approach. He sought wickets as a priority and was remarkably successful at making key breakthroughs in the middle overs, when the batting team was looking to set a platform.

As he imparted ferocious revolutions on his deliveries – arguably even more than Warne – MacGill was incredibly difficult to attack unless the batsman got right to the pitch of the ball.

Even as a 40-year-old who hadn’t played a white-ball game in five years, MacGill was effective in the 2011-12 Big Bash League, taking seven wickets at 24.

In his prime, he would have hoarded T20 wickets through stumpings and skied catches as batsmen were forced to go after him but were brought undone by his fizzing deliveries.

Tom Moody
The Australian selectors would be salivating over Moody were he still in his peak.

First and foremost, they’d love the option of picking him at six in the Test team, as he was a genuine all-rounder who averaged 46 with the bat and 31 with the ball in first-class cricket.

But the giant West Australian also would have been tailor-made for the T20 format, with his astonishing hitting, and clever and accurate medium pace. Not to mention that Moody possessed one of the strongest arms ever seen on a cricket field, capable of routinely reducing twos into ones out on the boundary.

In the 1990s, Moody was arguably the most powerful striker in world cricket, launching 100-metre-plus sixes at a time when such length was extremely rare. Just look at what he did with a toothpick bat back in 1990.

Moody also strikes me as the kind of bowler who would have adapted well to the shortest format. In 50-over cricket he was relentlessly precise, swung the ball consistently, earned startling bounce, and mixed up his pace beautifully.

Dean Jones
Jones was the best ODI batsman on the planet from 1987 through to 1993.

During this period he was the highest runscorer worldwide by a huge margin and his ODI average of 50 was also easily the best in an era when anything above 40 was considered elite.

He was the most complete batsman ODI cricket had ever seen. Jones had tremendous power and, for that time, a remarkable range of strokes. He complemented that by working the gaps with deft touches and turning twos into ones in a manner which changed the face of batsmanship in the format.

Jones was also phenomenal at pacing an innings – like Michael Bevan after him, he never got flustered if he faced a string of dot balls or if the required run rate started climbing. The Victorian had supreme confidence in his ability to bend the game to his will.

Jones would have been a Virat Kohli-style master chaser in T20s had he been born 20 years later.

The Crowd Says:

2017-02-14T00:50:12+00:00

BrainsTrust

Guest

MacGill the only time he played against Indian batsman when in form was in the World 11 match. MAcGills finest moment , you had a team that had a very strong batting line up and packed with players of spin and all rounders and MacGill went through them. The only time he got selected against India it was because Warne was out, I thought he bowled horrendously but still picked up some wicket hauls. The final time he got selected against Sri Lanka, it was the same principle Warne is out, pick him regardless.

2017-02-13T11:46:32+00:00

Darren

Guest

He had a very good slower ball and was very accurate so I'm sure he could bowl the slower bouncers and wide of off Yorkers if they were the flavour.

2017-02-11T08:58:25+00:00

John Erichsen

Roar Guru

No Graeme Pollock is an oversight... If firepower is a focus.

2017-02-10T01:32:22+00:00

dan ced

Guest

Lance Klusener? He was godlike in "that" world cup. If Stokes was less of a tool, and a better bowler.. he would be pretty close to a modern day Klusener.

2017-02-09T07:49:02+00:00

Floyd Calhoun

Guest

I don't claim to be a cricket expert, but I know a little. I've never heard of Gilbert Jessop.

2017-02-09T05:29:22+00:00

qwetzen

Guest

"The key with MacGill was to select him when he was in good form and not select him when he wasn’t." Well, *one* of the keys anyway. Another key was not to pick him if the opposition was India or SL. He averaged >50 against both of those two.

2017-02-09T05:14:24+00:00

qwetzen

Guest

27 out of 219 to be precise. Popey, stay after school with Bart.

2017-02-09T01:48:04+00:00

qwetzen

Guest

I doubt it. SOD & Haddin must share DNA. They both look terrific if the bowler puts it in the lofted drive slot, anywhere else though, not so terrific. Watching SOD trying to drive Joel Garner off the front foot at the Gabba in the mid Eighties was one of the funniest things I've ever seen on a cricket pitch.

2017-02-09T00:36:16+00:00

Guest

I actually think you can hide poor fielders in the infield for 20 over games given that singles are as valuable as dot balls. If you try to hide him in the outfield then it becomes more of an issue. It's probably Usman Khawaja's best chance of playing regular white ball cricket because in the 50 over game you need players who can save every run as opposed to guys who can save multiple runs which are the difference makers in the 20 over game.

2017-02-09T00:21:18+00:00

Basil

Guest

but he would've scored at 15

2017-02-09T00:16:38+00:00

matth

Guest

Yes he would have been the Sean Tait of the team. Possibly worth it. Brett Lee was a T20 gun so Thommo might have been as well.

2017-02-09T00:15:47+00:00

matth

Guest

Like a duck to water I'd imagine