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Don’t worry. I’m not proposing yet another fantasy team but asking a more concrete question: which 11 players constituted the best ever Test team…
This article is a follow-up to my recent series on Test cricketers’ birthplaces, which named Sydney and Durban as the top two cities for…
In this final article on cricketing birthplaces, I’m going to baulk at ranking the top two cities using my average-based ratings scheme and tentatively…
So far, the cities from tenth to fourth places in siring Test cricketers have ranked as follows according to my ratings system: Christchurch, Johannesburg,…
This article is the second in a series ranking the cities and towns that have produced the best Test cricketers by birthplace. The method…
Some recent Roar articles have added new dimensions to fantasy team selections. I refer in particular of Matth’s series on the best all-time Australian…
I’ve asked it before and I’ll pose the question again: why on earth do cricketers yell “catch it!” when the ball goes in the…
In recent weeks, The Roar ran a great series on the best-ever Sheffield Shield dream teams by Matth, based on performances in the Shield…
Okay, it’s a bit unfair to kick a guy when he’s down. But I’ve already looked on the bright side of the Ashes –…
Steve Smith’s Ashes campaign was one of the most dominant performances with the bat in the Ashes or any other series. An average over…
Australian selectors are going against history and maths by selecting Marnus Labuschagne and Marcus Stoinis for the national Test team. By the time you…
Reading Roar articles and other media after last week’s Australia vs Italy match I gained the impression that the Wallabies played very unconvincingly -…
Last week’s Australia-South Africa series marked the debut of Foxtel’s exclusive coverage of One Day International cricket and the latter’s disappearance, along with T20…
Earlier this year I argued that allowing a penalty kick at goal in rugby from anywhere on the field was the dumbest thing in…
Awarding three-point kicks for all penalty offences anywhere on the rugby field is crazy. There is a simple fix. It’s official. The David Warner…
With the Australian team imploding in South Africa, the public is now focused on selections for the Channel Seven commentary team next summer. Avid…
Ted McDonald was probably the first Tasmanian of note to play for Australia with some success. He had moved to Vic to get first class experience but had played for Tassie before WWI and grew up in Launceston. Badcock similarly had to move interstate to SA to get national selection.
Forgotten efforts from famous Test players: Part 1
Some interesting bios as usual. Would be interesting to know why Sobers and Worrell thought Sathasivam was so great, especially since he only played 11 first class games. Clive Rice might be many South Africans’ nominee for best player not to play Tests.
A Test team of players who never played any Tests
Watching Fire in Babylon and other interviews you get the impression that there was a fair bit of resentment among the Windies about some of the treatment they got from the crowds and on the field, eg Len Pascoe calling Viv a black **** probably didn’t help.
Clash of the greats: The 1984 West Indians versus the 2001 Aussies
I’d say Kallicharran and Croft were the only one with good years left in him by the time of the rebel tour. None of the others would have made the ‘84 team. Rowe had gone downhill.
Clash of the greats: The 1984 West Indians versus the 2001 Aussies
Good call, I can’t think of any other team that might come close with centuries. I’d also be surprised if any team in history apart from the 2002 Aussies had all batsmen in the top 7 averaging 42 or more in Tests.
Clash of the greats: The 1984 West Indians versus the 2001 Aussies
Ponting’s team vs the Poms in 2006-07 had a better average differential than 2002, but that was thanks to Hussey and Stuart Clark having freakish averages after a small number of Tests. I think after they lost McGrath, Warne and Gilchrist post-2007 the numbers never looked quite the same.
Clash of the greats: The 1984 West Indians versus the 2001 Aussies
Sure they were a quartet but it all hinged on Marshall, Garner and Holding. Walsh was in his first season and a level below those three who between them took 195 wickets at 20.2 during 1984 in the course of winning 11 Tests and losing none against Australia and England. Those three were the core of the attack between 1983 to 1987. Walsh didn’t cement a place until 1987, missing out to Patrick Patterson and Roger Harper in some series. He only took 13 wickets at 33 in the 84-85 series.
Clash of the greats: The 1984 West Indians versus the 2001 Aussies
Thanks Peter. Your article does the trick in terms of pitting two great lineups against each other. Mine was a more nerdy exercise – how to measure great teams and spot a day in history they were at their top. I don’t think it was decisive in determining which of the two sides here was better, but maybe lends some support for the 2002 Aussies.
Clash of the greats: The 1984 West Indians versus the 2001 Aussies
In some senses, you could argue this either way, but wouldn’t common sense dictate that, if we are talking about what is fair and just, it would be best to minimise runs from overthrows? They are pretty much unearned runs compared to others scored in the contest between bat and ball and it is pretty flukes on those rare occasions where the overthrows go to the boundary. So I’d be very happy to restrict overthrows to runs actually completed plus any going to the boundary.
Why the laws of cricket need to change
We tend to remember these guys as a composite of their best. But Greenidge and Haynes had ordinary series in ‘84-85, averaging under 30. The first half of Haynes’s career was a mixed bag and never stellar.
Clash of the greats: The 1984 West Indians versus the 2001 Aussies
I tried to put some numbers on these two teams (and the 1948. Invincibles) in a recent article. https://www.theroar.com.au/2020/07/11/which-was-the-greatest-test-team-assembled-on-a-single-day/
It was the March 2002 Aussies in South Africa who had just about the highest combined ICC ratings of any single team ever, and they also shaded the ‘84 Windies in batting/bowling averages differential. I’d also give the 2002 Aussies a good chance of beating Lloyd’s team over a series, but on any one day who knows? I wouldn’t read too much into the 1985 Sydney dead rubber, just as the Aussies lost the 3rd Test to South Africa in 2002 after beating them 5 games in a row. No doubt Warne could have made a difference, but Windies did have the best pace trio of all time in top form (like having three McGraths). The 2002 Aussies had a better batting side overall in my view. Someone did an analysis comparing the Windies across the 80s with the Waugh/Ponting teams that showed the Windies teams overall didn’t have so much a weakness against spin but suffered from not having a good spinner, which meant they had more draws over a lot of series than the Aussies. But that wasn’t an issue in 1984.
Clash of the greats: The 1984 West Indians versus the 2001 Aussies
I imagine the second longest streak was Australia from 1934-53, which makes about 13 years if you subtract 6 years for WWII. While the Waugh-Ponting teams lost a couple of series, they won 28 series between 1999 and 2008, with only 2 draws.
Which was the greatest Test team assembled on a single day?
Bounce and movement are usually more important than sheer speed. The higher point of delivery also makes it fractionally harder to pick up the trajectory.
Making short work: The ultimate munchkin XI
Roy has the fourth highest ODI batting average of all time for England (behind Trott, Root and Bairstow) and only two batsmen in the top 100 ODI all-time aggregates/averages have a higher run rate – Buttler and Imad Wasim, both of whom bat at 7 or 6. So might be hard to leave him out? Pretty impressive run at the World Cup – only 17 in the final, but scored over 50 in 5 of his 6 other innings, including against Australia, NZ, India and SA.
My England ODI XI of the 21st century
Wikipedia lists Larwood at 173, which is 5’8”.
Making short work: The ultimate munchkin XI
The shortest Aussie fast bowler of note I can think of was Laurie Nash, who played a couple of Tests in the 30s and was better known as an Aussie Rules footballer. Listed at 175 cm and was very quick. So too noted Aboriginal fast bowler Eddie Gilbert who was even shorter. Larwood was 173 according to Wikipedia. Good call on Viswanath, he looked even shorter than Gavaskar. Rohan Kanhai was another shortish bat worth considering, about the same height as Bradman.
Making short work: The ultimate munchkin XI
Which kind of goes to show the relevance of strike rates when comparing the relative impact of the players mentioned on the runs the opposition actually scored.
Not left overs: Lefties XI
Well in your defence Bernie I wouldn’t say Hussey was a bad call, just thought I’d get in my two bob’s worth as we have to have something to talk about.! Very true about it being hard to rate players like Trumper, we can only really judge them in relation to their time. I’ve seen some very old footage of Jack Hobbs on YouTube that made me wonder what the fuss was all about.
All-time Aussie one-day XI
Yes that leg cutter became a key weapon as he lost a bit of pace. I distinctly remember this coming to the fore in the 1976-77 series that culminated in the Centenary Test. Dennis had to carry the attack after Thommo was injured early in the first match, v Pakistan, and ended taking up nearly 50 wickets in 6 Tests. Sadly didn’t make the 1977 tour to England as he thought he back was in danger of giving out again.
Dennis Lillee: The complete bowler
I’d be one of those who’d go for Bevan over Hussey given he has the best ODI average of any Australian by a clear margin batting in an era of lower scoring than Hussey, as well as the crucial innings he played in pressure situations. I’d back JGK’s call for Victor Trumper at the top of the order if we’re going back in history. Charles Davis estimated his scoring rate at 74/100 balls, which is faster than the likes of Warner, Richards and Lara in an era when pitches were worse, scores much lower and scoring rates generally under 50. Bradman was 62, and Hayden and Ponting a bit behind that. Davis also rated Trumper in the top 10 all time for “pressure average”, ie looking at scores made when the match was up for grabs. Charlie Macartney and Stan McCabe were other notable quick scorers.
All-time Aussie one-day XI
Very few lefty quick bowlers across history rank near the top compared to left handed batsmen, I guess as a result of having to bowl mostly at right handers and the nature of the lbw rule. Johnson was a real mixed bag. One fantastic series against England, but three other ordinary ones that we lost. Did great against South Africa, but poorly against India. Hard to know who you might replace him with. Bill Johnston from the post WWII era is a possibility- 160 wickets at 23.9, though it was a lower (and slower) scoring era and didn’t have Johnson’s highs or intimidation factor.
Not left overs: Lefties XI
Have to agree on both. The clincher for Smith over Warner is that Smith averaged 55 away from home while Warner averages about 35. Smith didn’t do so well at home in an era when pitches were more friendly to seamers and scores generally lower, while scoring in the last ten years in Australia has been at an all-time high. Also on Smith’s CV is that he’s the only cricketer to captain a Test team 100 times, and to notch up more than 50 victories. Only blemish was a more mediocre average against Australia- 32, not helped by a terrible last series.
Not left overs: Lefties XI
Hirst’s averages in most of his previous series against Australia had been pretty ordinary, particularly in Australia, so hard to see exactly that this was a great loss in 1907. As I say, not sure which other bowlers would were missing who would have been ahead of Barnes, Rhodes, Blythe and Crawford, who Trumper faced in that series. And Fielder had done very well in the county season. And still not sure how it helps the case for Trumper given he did so much better in Australian than England. But take your point about it being worth looking at his performances against the better county teams. Hirst’s averages in most of his previous series against Australia had been pretty ordinary, particularly in Australia, so hard to see exactly that this was a great loss in 1907. As I say, not sure which other bowlers would were missing who would have been ahead of Barnes, Rhodes, Blythe and Crawford, who Trumper faced in that series. And Fielder had done very well in the county season. And still not sure how it helps the case for Trumper given he did so much better in Australian than England. But take your point about it being worth looking at his performances against the better county teams. And clearly he was special across the whole tour in 1902.
Why Victor Trumper remains unrivalled as the greatest batting exponent in history
I actually think it was that they no longer had good spinners after Lance Gibbs and found they had a battery of great fast bowlers. It didn’t work so well if they they had to bring in a less impressive fast bowler, eg Winston Davis after Colin Croft left, or the Benjamin brothers after Malcolm Marshall retired. And in their two 5-0 sweeps of England in 1984 and 1988, they played spinner Roger Harper in most of the Tests.
Memories of Sunil Gavaskar
Ted McDonald the first to have success in Test cricket?
Forgotten efforts from famous Test players: Part 1