Australia's Greatest ODI Team

[Aussie-Yank]

Well it was interesting that they extended the offer to the 163 players (of wich 120 responded) who have represented Australia in ODI cricket to select there best team and some (for me) surprising results came out of it.

Australia's greatest ODI XI
Adam Gilchrist (wk)
Mark Waugh
Ricky Ponting
Dean Jones
Steve Waugh (capt)
Michael Bevan
Andrew Symonds
Shane Warne
Brett Lee
Dennis Lillee
Glenn McGrath

12th man Greg Chappell

Dean Jones beating out Chapell, Hussey and Border, while Lee beats out bowlers like Thompson. Other than that, the only other spot for me which could have gone either way would be Mark Waugh for Hayden.

Full story here http://content-aus.cricinfo.com/aust...ry/281759.html

[Rachael]

Originally Posted by Aussie-Yank

some (for me) surprising results came out of it [...] Dean Jones beating out Chapell, Hussey and Border

Why is that a surprise?

Originally Posted by Wisden Profile

Dean Jones wrote the book on one-day cricket - literally. He played a new game in which he walked down the pitch to fast bowlers, ran frenetically between wickets and turned outfielding into an attacking occupation.

Dean Jones might make an all time World XI in ODI cricket!

[pie_chucker]

Originally Posted by Rachael

Why is that a surprise?
Dean Jones might make an all time World XI in ODI cricket!

I would have thought he would definately be in the squad. And Bevan should be the first batter down on the list!

[Nostromo]

Would it not be better if Jones came in at No:3 and Ponting at 4? I know that Ponting now bats at No:3, but he used to come in at 4 earlier in his career. And would Michael Slater be suitable to open with Gilchrist instead of Mark Waugh?

[Quagmire]

Well in the all time side I would have out of the Australian side.

Bevan
Ponting
Gilchrist
McGrath
Warne

Would that be fair to say

[pie_chucker]

Originally Posted by Quagmire

Well in the all time side I would have out of the Australian side.

Bevan
Ponting
Gilchrist
McGrath
Warne

Would that be fair to say

Yes very fair! I would also have Jones in the squad.

[Rachael]

Originally Posted by Quagmire

Well in the all time side I would have out of the Australian side.

The Cricket Ratings may have their flaws.. and I certainly don't think you can rely on them and nothing else.. but I think it's fair to say that any all-time ODI XI would have to come principally from players who did at some point in their career top 850 as specialist batsmen or bowlers. That would mean the following:

1 - I.V.A. Richards	WI	935	935 v Pakistan, 02/12/1985
2 - Zaheer Abbas	PAK	931	931 v New Zealand, 20/06/1983	
3 - G.S. Chappell	AUS	921	921 v New Zealand, 03/02/1981	
4 - D.I. Gower		ENG	919	919 v New Zealand, 15/06/1983	
5 - D.M. Jones		AUS	918	918 v West Indies, 09/03/1991	
6 - Javed Miandad	PAK	910	910 v Sri Lanka, 08/10/1987	
7 - B.C. Lara		WI	908	908 v Pakistan, 26/03/1993	
8 - D.L. Haynes		WI	900	900 v New Zealand, 23/04/1985	
8 - G. Kirsten		SA	900	900 v Australia, 19/10/1996	
10 - A.J. Lamb		ENG	897	897 v Pakistan, 02/03/1985	
11 - C.G. Greenidge	WI	895	895 v India, 07/12/1983	
12 - S.R. Tendulkar	IND	887	887 v Zimbabwe, 13/11/1998	
13 - M.G. Bevan		AUS	885	885 v England, 17/01/1999
14 - K.C. Wessels	AUS	872	872 v Sri Lanka, 23/01/1985	
15 - G.A. Gooch		ENG	863	863 v Pakistan, 22/11/1987	
15 - M.E.K. Hussey	AUS	863	863 v New Zealand, 28/01/2007	
17 - P.A. de Silva	SL	861	861 v Pakistan, 11/04/1997	
18 - G.M. Turner	NZ	854	854 v Sri Lanka, 13/06/1983	
18 - M.L. Hayden	AUS	854	854 v India, 15/02/2003	
20 - M.E. Waugh		AUS	852	852 v New Zealand, 11/03/1996

1 - J. Garner		WI	940	940 v New Zealand, 17/04/1985	
2 - R.J. Hadlee		NZ	923	923 v Sri Lanka, 18/06/1983	
3 - S.M. Pollock	SA	920	920 v Pakistan, 14/02/2006	
4 - M. Muralidaran	SL	913	913 v New Zealand, 09/04/2002	
5 - G.D. McGrath	AUS	903	903 v South Africa, 30/03/2002	
6 - E.J. Chatfield	NZ	892	892 v Sri Lanka, 04/11/1984	
7 - M.D. Marshall	WI	891	891 v Australia, 27/01/1985	
7 - D.K. Lillee	AUS	891	891 v New Zealand, 20/02/1982	
9 - C.E.L. Ambrose	WI	877	877 v England, 25/05/1991	
10 - M.A. Holding	WI	875	875 v Pakistan, 02/12/1985	
11 - R.G.D. Willis	ENG	867	867 v Sri Lanka, 20/06/1983	
12 - W.P.U.J.C. Vaas	SL	861	861 v South Africa, 20/08/2004	
13 - B. Lee		AUS	853	853 v South Africa, 03/02/2006	
14 - Maninder Singh	IND	851	851 v West Indies, 02/01/1988	
15 - Wasim Akram	PAK	850	850 v South Africa, 16/10/1994

Of course.. this cannot be the end of the matter as "multi-dimensional" players could perhaps guarantee a place by being on the fringes of both batting and bowling greatness.... but I'd be surprised if many of an all time XI came from outside of the above pool of players.

ps. Any impartial observer would, I think, concede that Murali deserves a place ahead of Warne... and I suspect Hadlee would get the nod ahead of McGrath as the metronomic seamer on the basis that there was little between them as bowlers but a LOT between them as batsmen.

pps. The Aussies have stiff competition: only Gilchrist would seem impregnable given the following as competition....

Tendulkar (M. Waugh)
Gilchrist
Richards (Ponting)
Lara (D. Jones)
Javed Miandad (S. Waugh)
Zaheer Abbas (Bevan)
Wasim Akram (Symonds)
Hadlee (McGrath)
Ambrose (Lillee)
Muralitharan (Warne)
Garner (Lee)

I'm not suggesting that's necessarily the best XI... and can't help thinking Pollock ought to be in there... but the fact that I'm not sure who to leave out in order to accomodate the 3rd highest rated ODI bowler of all time (a supremely multi-dimensional player who has been at / around No 1 in the world for his bowling throughout most of his career) highlights the difficulty of breaking in!

[pie_chucker]

That list of players reads a bit like a whos who of ODI "greats".

One thing that did surprise me is that i would never have though David gower would have been ranked so high - yes he was a great but i didnt realise that great!

[Quagmire]

Im not sure if Lara would be ahead of Ponting in ODI's. There are some very good players that have played ODI cricket. Wasim Akram is behind alot of bowlers that were not as good and him and Garner are certainies, Bevan should be in there as a finished, im not sure why Zaheer Abbas is rated so highely in ODI's. I think that Pontings record is second only to and should be a definate.

Yes Abbas had the fourth highest average of all time but he only player 62 matches, Hussey is top with an average of 66.88 and a sr of 91.38 from 61 matches, Pietersen is second with a batting average of 56.50 at 94.90 from 42 matches, Bevan has a batting average of 53.58 from 232 matches and average sr of 74.16.

Zaheer Abbas - 62 matches, 2572 runs at 47.63, Sr 84.80, Hs 123.

Most Centuries

Tendulkar - 41x100, Ave 44.13, 381 mat
Ponting - 22x100, Ave 42.48, 269 mat
Ganguly 22x100, Ave 41.22, 286 mat
Saeed Anwar, 20x100, Ave 39.31, 247 mat
Lara, 19x100, Ave 40.54, 290 mat
Mark Waugh, 18x100, Ave 39.35, 244 mat

It is always hard to pick a greatest 11 side because there are so many players and only eleven spots.

[pie_chucker]

Yeah, I was surprised at Wasims low rating because when i though one day bowler i thought Wasim.

Any world XI is difficult to choose, you get 8 dead certs then another 6 or so who would all be good enough to complete the XI.