Australia Vs Rest Of The World

[Batters]

Just wondering what everyones opinion is of this series next year!! Australia Vs Rest of the World. And also who people think will be in the running for the Rest of the World team to take on the might of the Australians!!!

[Rachael]

Originally Posted by Batters

Just wondering what everyones opinion is of this series next year!! Australia Vs Rest of the World. And also who people think will be in the running for the Rest of the World team to take on the might of the Australians!!!

I've been taken with the idea of a champions vs. RoW Test match ever since I first came across the notion.. my only reservation being about the practicalities and politics of selection. That said.. selection of the CORE of the squad seems to be becoming ever more straightforward - I can't see anyone disputing the following.

1. Richardson
2. ?
3. Dravid
4. Tendulkar
5. Lara
6. Kallis
7. ?
8. Pollock
9. Kumble
10. ?
11. Muralitheran

So far, so good.. and whilst the odd voice might be raised in objection here and there on the basis of personal antipathies / preferences... I don't think anyone could seriously dispute the worthiness of any name on that list: you have the most adhesive opener in world cricket, a middle order of all-time greats, the best batting all-rounder of the modern era, two of the three premier stock bowlers in world cricket (both of whom can bat) and one of the two premier strike bowlers in world cricket.

It strikes me that the difficulty comes in adding the final three names: you need an opener.. but would like to accomodate both Inzi and Laxman ahead of any other batsman; you need a great gloveman who routinely plays at the highest level (and can shine standing up to Murali and Kumble), and you'd like, from somewhere, a strike bowler without the show-pony tendencies of Akhtar or the tendency to go AWOL of Harmison... but perhaps with a bit more pace than the appealing Left Arm Over option offered by Vaas... and with a few more truly series-transforming performances under his belt than Ntini.

My preference would be to see Tendulkar promoted to open so that Inzi or (on a very true wicket) Laxman could play ahead of (say) Gibbs... and then, I guess (without huge enthusiasm) either Sangakkara or Taibu behind the stumps... and whichever bowler of the four mentioned (Akhtar, Ntini, Harmison, Vaas) seemed most suited to the pitch and conditions at the ground in question.

My fear is that all the above would go out of the window... and the team might be bult around Sehwag, Gibbs and Akhtar for "entertainment" rather than cricketing reasons... or that "youth" will be "showcased" at the expense of the sort of maturity the contest will demand.

Doubt it though: the really great players are just too good to be overlooked.

[Mike_Hock]

Harmison and Flintoff in the side with Sangakara keeping wicket. These are the form players. This brings a problem of who will open. From the list Tendulkar is the only obvious candidate and I think he and Richardson would complement each other well.

[Milo]

Flintoff will play Rachael.

[idleguy]

That's a pretty good test team with the gaps being filled up whoever is in form then, though flintoff & laxman would definetly fit in the team. My ODI team for Row is:

1. Sachin Tendulkar
2. Virender Sehwag/Chris Gayle
3. Brian lara
4. VVS Laxman
5. Kumar Sangakkara
6. Jacques kallis
7. Andy Flintoff
8. Shaun Pollock
9. Chaminda Vaas/Harbhajan
10. Shoaib Akhtar
11. Muttiah Muralitharan

I would say this lineup would have atleast 4 full time batsmen, 2 batting allrounders, 1 bowling & 1 keeping allrounder with the rest contributing some heroics with the bat. The choice of Vaas v Harbhajan depends upon the pitch & with this team you can have the luxury of including shoaib who can spew fire when the going is good or spit charcoals when it isn't. This also means that there are 4 prime bowlers & the fifth bowler can be deadly too with flintoff/kallis bowling & sachin or sehwag/ gayle chipping in with their spin. Captaincy should go to Tendulkar because he is more experienced and composed than others.

The test team would run something like this:

1. Virender Sehwag
2. Mark Richardson
3. Brian lara
4. Sachin Tendulkar
5. Rahul Dravid
6. VVS Laxman
7. Kumar Sangakkara
8. Jacques kallis
9. Shaun Pollock
10. Irfan Pathan
11. Mutthiah Muralitharan

This is a batsman heavy team with everyone able to bat right until #10. make no mistake about it the best way to defeat Australia would be to outbat them not outbowl them in test. This is the reason why they lose to India. Irfan pathan is a surprise selection because he can shape up and become one of the best & even peak by the time this test comes around.

[Rachael]

All very sound, Idleguy.. excepting, perhaps, Vaas / Harbhajan in the ODI game (surely Vaas, as the current number one ODI bowler in the world, is an automatic selection, better in the ODI format than, say, Akhtar / Harbhajan, who both languish down below Tuffey and Anderson, might make a better either / or)... and the inclusion of Kallis at no 8 in the Test team: go for a bowler who can bat if you must (Streak, Vaas, Kumble) over one who cannot (Harmison, Ntini, Akhtar).. but please... can you not go for a bowling all-rounder not a batting all-rounder?

With that said.. I take your point about trying to bat the Aussies out of the game: the RoW has a stronger selection of batsmen than bowlers available to it (unlike a few years back when you'd have the likes of Wasim, Waqar, Ambrose, Walsh, Donald, Pollock and Streak, plus Murali, Mushtaq Ahmed and Kumble ALL available to you (when you'd have just picked any 5 and watched the Aussies squirm).

[Rachael]

How's this for a mid 1998 RoW XII... Stewart (wk), Kirsten, Dravid, Tendulkar, Lara, Thorpe, Pollock, Akram, Kumble, Ahmed, Donald, Ambrose. I'd not fancy being the captain who had to make one of them 12th man!

[Batters]

Sounds like the Aussies have their work cut out for them next year if you guys were being the selectors!! Would be a great match tho and am looking forward to it.

Heres another question .. who would be the best Rest of the World all time to face the might of the Aussies.. who I feel woould be close to the best Australian Test team in a very long time!!!

[Rachael]

Originally Posted by Batters

Heres another question .. who would be the best Rest of the World all time to face the might of the Aussies.. who I feel woould be close to the best Australian Test team in a very long time!!!

Gosh - that's a tough call.

The only pre-war contender that springs to mind as almost certainly figuring in the reckoning would be Hobbs.. about whom I know bugger all.. except that he might well have been the best opener cricket ever saw.

Sticking to post-war Englishmen.. the team might read Hutton, Boycott, Barrington, May, Compton, <a. n. other>, Evans, Trueman, Laker, Bedser / Underwood and Statham. The a. n. other might be one from Cowdrey, Gower, Dexter, Graveney and Vaughan.. but some would go for Botham at 6 as an extra bowler (though this would necessitate replacing Evans with Knott as 'keeper to strengthen the batting).

A post-war XI from around the world might read Len Hutton, Sunil Gavaskar, Sachin Tendulkar, Peter May, Viv Richards, Imran Khan, Richard Hadlee, Godfrey Evans, Malcolm Marshall, Muttiah Muralitheran, Curtley Ambrose.. but to be honest.. the current Aussie Xi... and indeed any past Aussie XI.. would want to go and hide if faced with that lot - though an all time Aussie XI would give them a decent game!

Any suggestions for an all-time Aussie XI? Pretty tough call. The only thing I'd pretty well guarantee would be Bradman first on the teamsheet... Steve Waugh as captain... Keith Miller as all-rounder... Shane Warne as the main strike bowler... and a seriously tough call between Gilchrist, Marsh and Healy over the gloves!

[Ernest]

1)Sachin Tendulkar
2)Virender Sehwag
3)VVS Laxman
4)Rahul Dravid
5)Sarwan
6)Andrew Flintoff
7)Cris Read
8)Muttiah Muralitharan
9)S Pollock
10)S Harmison
11)Harbhajan Sing

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