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Opinion

Australia’s teams of the decade - 1930s to 2010s

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Roar Rookie
5th July, 2021
40

Having read the recent article selecting Australia’s seven best XIs, I wondered what would happen if I followed this line of thought and applied a similar concept to the best XIs of the decade that cricket magazines often select but applied it to individual countries.

Given Australia’s consistent strength, it seemed logical to begin there. Where a player’s career has stretched over two or more decades, for example in Shane Warne’s case, I have included them in the period where they achieve their greatest period of success.

So, here they are (in reverse order).

2010-2019
1. David Warner
2. Chris Rogers
3. Usman Khawaja
4. Steve Smith
5. Michael Clarke
6. Shane Watson
7. Tim Paine
8. Mitchell Starc
9. Pat Cummins
10. Mitchell Johnson
11. Nathan Lyon

I would have loved to have included Ryan Harris, but given the three pace bowlers he’s competing for a place with, it was impossible to justify.

Batting competition includes Marnus Labuschagne and Adam Voges but in the decade in question neither played enough Tests.

The final choice was between Paine and Brad Haddin for wicket-keeping duties. With similar batting averages I’ve gone with Paine as the better keeper.

2000-2009
1. Matthew Hayden
2. Justin Langer
3. Ricky Ponting
4. Damian Martyn
5. Michael Hussey
6. Andrew Symonds
7. Adam Gilchrist
8. Shane Warne
9. Brett Lee
10. Jason Gillespie
11. Glenn McGrath

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This decade is almost a no-brainer.

Though Warne and McGrath started their stellar careers in the previous decades, their numbers are superior in this one. Simon Katich misses out at No.6 to Symonds, despite a superior average, simply because most of his runs came at the top of the order. Darren Lehmann, Stuart MacGill and Stuart Clark miss out.

Shane Warne bowls

Shane Warne. (Hamish Blair/Getty Images)

1990-1999
1. Mark Taylor
2. Michael Slater
3. David Boon
4. Mark Waugh
5. Steve Waugh
6. Greg Blewett
7. Ian Healy
8. Paul Reiffel
9. Tim May
10. Merv Hughes
11. Craig McDermott

Again, this one is fairly straightforward.

Though Michael Bevan was a one-day genius, his Test performances aren’t good enough to dislodge Blewett. Damien Fleming just misses out to Reiffel with the latter’s batting giving him the edge.

No matter how much I would have liked to include the variety of Colin Miller, I had to go with May as the better pure spin-bowler. His performances in 1993 when playing in tandem with Warne were exceptional.

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1980-1989
1. Kepler Wessels
2. Bruce Laird
3. Dean Jones
4. Allan Border
5. Kim Hughes
6. Greg Matthews
7. Wayne B. Phillips
8. Bruce Yardley
9. Geoff Lawson
10. Bruce Reid
11. Terry Alderman

Laird gets the nod ahead of Geoff Marsh and Graeme Wood as opener on the basis of his WSC performances against the West Indian fast bowlers, although Wood was no slouch either.

Graham Yallop was an alternative to Hughes but I went with who I would rather watch in full-flow. On that basis, David Hookes is an option at six ahead of Matthews, but Matthews had the higher average and was also an all-rounder.

There weren’t a lot of alternatives in the bowling department. Though Rodney Hogg played more matches in this decade, his record was vastly inferior to his 1978 debut series, and Carl Rackemann was too often injured to make a bigger impression.

1970-1979
1. Ian Redpath
2. Rick McCosker
3. Ian Chappell
4. Greg Chappell
5. Ross Edwards
6. Doug Walters
7. Rodney Marsh
8. Dennis Lillee
9. Max Walker
10. Jeff Thomson
11. Ashley Mallett

This one pretty much picks itself. Though Gary Gilmour is an option as an all-rounder and Alan Hurst, Geoff Dymock and Jim Higgs offer bowling alternatives, none are good enough to displace the incumbents. McCosker gets the second opener role ahead of Keith Stackpole.

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1960-1969
1. Bill Lawry
2. Bob Simpson
3. Bob Cowper
4. Norm O’Neill
5. Peter Burge
6. Brian Booth
7. Wally Grout
8. Graham McKenzie
9. Neil Hawke
10. Alan Connolly
11. John Gleeson

With many of the stars of the early-1960s team having played the bulk of their careers in the 1950s, this decade lacks depth. The only competition for the above XI are Barry Shepherd who played only nine Tests and Tom Veivers with unexceptional numbers.

1950-1959
1. Arthur Morris
2. Colin McDonald
3. Neil Harvey
4. Lindsay Hassett
5. Jim Burke
6. Keith Miller
7. Richie Benaud
8. Alan Davidson
9. Ray Lindwall
10. Gil Langley
11. Bill Johnston

Probably the best bowling attack of all the teams here (and possibly of all time). So good that Ian Johnson, Ron Archer and Ian Meckiff don’t make the XI.

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1940-1949
1. Sid Barnes
2. Bill Brown
3. Ken Meuleman
4. Lindsay Hassett
5. Sam Loxton
6. Ron Hamence
7. Colin McCool
8. Don Tallon
9. Bruce Dooland
10. Len Johnson
11. Ernie Toshack

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This is very much a best-guess line-up with WWII interrupting or delaying the careers of the above. Other possibilities include Mervyn Waite, Ted White, Merv Harvey, Jack Badcock and Ben Barnett.

Brown and Hassett are included as they were 28 and 27 when the decade started and their careers spanned pre and post-war. Though this is also the case with Don Bradman and Bill O’Reilly, both were in their 30s and were firmly established in the team during the 1930s.

1931-1939
1. Bill Ponsford
2. Bill Woodfull
3. Don Bradman
4. Archie Jackson
5. Stan McCabe
6. Jack Fingleton
7. Bert Oldfield
8. Clarrie Grimmett
9. Bill O’Reilly
10. Ernie McCormick
11. Tim Wall

No room in an incredibly strong batting line-up for Alan Kippax, while Bert Ironmonger and Chuck Fleetwood-Smith cannot displace Grimmett and O’Reilly. Alan Fairfax and Laurence Nash did not play enough Tests to be selected ahead of Wall and McCormick.

Roarers, I would love to hear any thoughts on the above and any suggestions for improvements, especially anyone I may have missed.

England’s XIs are next.

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