Like every pandemic-weary, cricket pedant – starved of cricket with an avid audience beyond the deep point boundary – I have been reflecting on cricketing times past.
During one of these frolics, I found myself back in the scalding West Indian summer of 1984-85: the most destructively traumatic Test series of my formative years. It is the measure of the Windies’ supremacy in that distant summer that only four Australians who played in the first Test in Perth – Allan Border, Graeme Wood, Kepler Wessels and Geoff Lawson – were still in the ring, jabbing and sparring by the fifth Test in Sydney.
More harrowing, for me, was seeing the Australian captain brought to his knees, his face awash with tears. Kim Hughes was not quite 31 years of age when he played his last Test for Australia. To put that in brutal context, Michael Hussey was the same age when he made his Test debut!
The West Indian team that bruised, battered and bewildered the Aussies in that ’84-85 season was the most imposing XI Australia played against, as a unit, during my lifetime.
Just look at the cavalcade of calypso batsmen who greeted the Aussies at the crease.
(S&G/PA Images via Getty Images)
To this day, I still wince when I see them in my misty mind’s eye: Gordon Greenidge and Desmond Haynes playing defensive strokes with the same belligerence as when they hammered the ball to the cover fence; Richie Richardson snickering quietly to himself in between late cuts and pull shots; King Viv pulverising the Aussie bowlers with the well earned arrogance of a heavyweight champ; Clive Lloyd lurking at the wicket like Darth Vader and wielding his heavy bat like a light sabre; Larry Gomes and his no-nonsense “I can’t go for that, no can do” batting style; and Jeff Dujon providing an early-model prototype for the modern-day wicketkeeper-batsman.
And if the Windies’ batsmen scared me, then their bowlers were terrifying.
Malcolm Marshall sweeping in from mid-off to unleash the ball with barely fathomable shoulder ferocity; Joel Garner, off his long run, hurtling to the wicket and delivering a steepling ball from the heavens; Michael Holding, unbelievably held in reserve as a first-change bowler, whispering upon winged feet towards the crease like an Olympic sprinter; and a young Courtney Walsh bowling with as much destructive force as the Australian front-line attack.
These guys were both awesome and awe-inspiring. I hated them for what they did to my team. Yet I loved them with a passion.
Would any Australian XI, in my lifetime, have beaten them?
Searching through some old scorecards from the early 2000s, I think the most formidable Australian team to walk onto the field together was the Aussie XI that took on South Africa in the summer of 2001-02: Matthew Hayden, Justin Langer, Ricky Ponting, Steve Waugh, Mark Waugh, Damien Martyn, Adam Gilchrist, Shane Warne, Brett Lee, Jason Gillespie and Glenn McGrath.
(James Knowler/Getty Images)
What an extraordinary collection of talent!
There is little room for doubt, in my nostalgic mind at least, that this posse of cricketing pugilists would have competed well against the West Indian juggernaut of ’84-85.
Indeed, I believe they would have risen victorious!
The Aussie batting line-up was sufficiently strong to, at least, accumulate a competitive score; the spiteful malevolence of the Windies’ bowling attack notwithstanding. I accept it would have been tough. Though the likes of Hayden and Langer, Ponting, the Waugh twins, Martyn and Gilchrist had prospered against express bowlers like Allan Donald, Shoaib Akhtar, Simon Jones and Javagal Srinath, they never had to endure the unrelenting venom of a quartet such as Marshall, Garner, Holding and Walsh. But I believe they would have found a way to post an adequate score.
So why do I think the Aussies would have prevailed?
Simple. The Warne factor.
Any Australian who remembers that harrowing summer of ’84-85 will rejoice in the memory of the final Test, in Sydney, where spin twins Bob Holland and Murray Bennett made the West Indian batsman look like they’d been punked on Candid Camera. Australia’s innings triumph brought joy to a nation in despair.
But if spinners of middling talent, like Holland and Bennett, could befuddle, bewilder and bemuse the West Indian batting greats, there is little doubt that Warnie would have skittled ’em.
And that is why – at least in my fantasy Test – the 2001 Aussies would have avenged the anguish wrought by the 1984 West Indians.
Once Upon a Time on the Roar
Roar Guru
As Bob Simpson wrote in his 1996 book 'The Reasons Why' ... ' ... Brearley wasn't nearly a good enough batsman to play test cricket, and without Botham where would he have been as a captain? .... '
Jwoody74
Roar Rookie
I beg to differ. Indian batsman are raised on spinners to say he did very little is not entirely correct. The West Indies struggled with Abdul Qadir, Bob Holland bamboozled them they struggled against leg spin full stop. The best leg spinner ever would have had a field day.
sauron2000000
Roar Rookie
Those West Indians were overrated test batsmen. India in the early 2000s had a better batting lineup.
Kalva
Roar Rookie
Every Ashes series between 1993-2004 would see Aus cruise to retaining the urn and then suddenly, out of nowhere, England would pull a Test and talk would be about a "new era"! The situations are similar.. a dead rubber is a dead rubber.
Kalva
Roar Rookie
I can only think of one Englishman or South African who truly take Warne on and he was a mixture of both... Kevin Pietersen. He had plenty of success and some failures which is what you expect. Lara scored 277 in Sydney when it was still known as a turner the match after Warne's break through at the MCG. Have no doubt that the great Viv and Clive would have had plenty of success against Warne along with some failures...rather than being a match winner as he was against Eng and SA, I think Warne would have been more of a stock bowler in a match in between those and it would have basically been a match up between the pacers and batsmen.
Peter Hunt
Roar Guru
I agree with your thinking Kalva, although various teams, the Poms and South Africans included, did experiment with taking Warne on from time to time, without much success. As did West Indians like Lara and Richie Richardson.
Peter Hunt
Roar Guru
The situations are not exactly the same because the it happened to the Windies twice in remarkably similar circumstances; albeit those circumstances including that the series had already been decided. I have often wonder how the 1984 series would have played out had the First Test been in Sydney. I'm guessing you would theorise that the Windies would have turned up to play and the result would have been different.
Kalva
Roar Rookie
Warne's record vs India could be a good indication of how he might have gone vs WI...players who were willing to take him on as opposed to the rabbits in the England and SA (and Pak) teams who were already beaten in the mind before going out to bat. Think WI may have played him him the same way they played another larger than life personality with a great record in Ashes cricket- Ian Botham. However, bowlers like Hadlee, Kapil and Imran all had superior bowling records vs WI to Botham and this is why I think McGrath and Gillespie would have posed more of a threat.
Kalva
Roar Rookie
Both Sydney wins for Australia came after the series had been done and dusted after 3 Tests...to even be partially influenced by those Tests as to how the WI play spin would be similar to saying that Australia couldn't play Andy Caddick or that Mark Butcher was a phenomenal batsmen....because they did well in a few "dead" rubbers after the Ashes were decided.
Kalva
Roar Rookie
Warne did very little over 12 years against the 2nd best batting lineup of his time- India! There is no reason to suggest that he would have done much better against the phenomenal WI batsmen...
Peter Hunt
Roar Guru
Wow!
justin
Roar Rookie
Steve waugh never made a run until they brought in the two short balls per over rule...im not sure his brother was much braver...its also worth mentioning the bats used in the 80's weree nowhere near as good as 2000...hayden was not that good that he averaged more than greenidge
Peter Hunt
Roar Guru
Those are some interesting points Kalva. Perhaps when the Windies prepared for a series featuring lots of spin bowling they had the talent to work out how to deal with it. My opinion was partially influenced by how inept they appeared to be in 85, against Dutchy Holland, and again in 89, when a part-timer like AB made them look foolish. Whilst my primary point is that Warnie would have been the difference between the sides, I totally agree that McGrath and Gillespie would have had an impact too. I reckon Viv and the gang may have taken to Brett Lee, though!
Jwoody74
Roar Rookie
Dujon, definitely scored a ton in that series and Gomes got 3 of them. It was the same thing seemingly over and over. Oooo we’re a chance here.............no we not Gomes has got another ton. Marshall was terrifying but they were definitely light on outside the top 6. Gus Logic almost seemed like a novelty act, this tiny little bloke surrounded by giants. As great and as daunting as they were that Australia team of 01 would have been victorious all because of Warne. Of all the marvellous brilliant iconic cricketers we’ve been able to watch over 40 years, SK Warne still stands on the shoulders of giants.
Kalva
Roar Rookie
Pollock was a brilliant batsman...the Aussie bowlers on the tour were Hogg, Rackemann, Alderman, Maguire and McCurdy. Hogg had already been dropped by Aus, Maguire and McCurdy had barely played Test cricket...Alderman and Rackemann were the major losses. Incidentally, the SAfricans won their series vs Eng and Aus Rebels but lost both "Test" series to the WI...their fast bowlers were too much for the Springboks.
Peter Hunt
Roar Guru
Mike Brearley was one of the more fascinating cricketers of my early years. The 3-0 hammering in 79/80 is frequently forgotten when praised for his triumphs over the WSC-depleted Aussies in 78/79 and against the Kim Hughes-led Aussies in 1981 (which, even on the English version of the events, required `miracles' to win).
Kanggas2
Roar Rookie
Kalva Spot on .
Once Upon a Time on the Roar
Roar Guru
Kalva that was basically our best bowlers on those rebel tours, with Lawson suffering perpetual injuries in this period and McDermott, Hughes and Reid all raw rookies debuting in this period. Have you ever seen a 5 minute youtube video of an innings that a 43 year old Graeme Pollock played against that first string Australian attack?
Once Upon a Time on the Roar
Roar Guru
I agree Jon Richardson … Geoff Lawson wrote in his autobiography that Viv “was driven by what he perceived as the line between black and white”. I think, however, that Asian teams like Pakistan prolly copped it even worse. One thing I admire about Ian Chappell is he seems to have been completely above all that, his younger brother Greg perhaps not necessarily as much.
Kalva
Roar Rookie
Just to add to the correction of this myth that the West Indies were hopeless against spin...They won in Pakistan in 1980 playing against Qasim and Qadir and then drew series in 1986 and 1990... they won in India in 1983 and drew the series in 1987. SL weren't considered good enough to tour at that time! This was at a time of home umpires! Personally I feel that as great as Warne was, he was found wanting when it came to Tendulkar, Lara, Laxman and even Sidhu and Viv and Lloyd were as good as them and they would have found a way against him. McGrath and Gillespie would have been the main threats from that team.