Gavaskar and Greenidge. Gary Kirsten was a good player but nothing more, no way should he be put in this company. Same with Saeed Anwar.

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Freddie Flintoff=God

Milo, sorry if I didn't respond at the time. What I have said all along is that people can (or could at that stage) nominate who they want, if they felt passionate enough about the player. The fact is, if a player is not widely supported he will not get past this stage to the final voting (eg Richards has one vote and it looks like Haynes, Greenidge and Gavaskar will progress). I understand what you are saying but don't see it as a big problem.

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Steven

I can't believe that Gordon Greenidge and Desmond Haynes are getting such support here. They were destructive and got attention for flaying attacks with thunderous cuts, pulls and drives.. especially off fast bowling... but neither ever struck me as especially refined players.

Maybe not, but the fact remains that together they were a remarkeably effective pair, and both of them were in their primes in the 80s whereas Gavaskar was on the wane (although it's a measure of his quality that he still averaged in the mid-forties during this period). Personally, I think you could make a case for either keeping G+H together, or batting SMG with one of them (probably Greenidge).

Greenidge always struck me as more agricultural than Haynes... but I'd have backed Richards in retirement to have played with more refinement than either. My leading choice for partner for him would still be Slater.

With greater refinement, maybe, but with greater effect? I don't know how well he did in the Rebel Tests (I'd like to find out, though) but he'd really have to have sustained his form from the late 60s-early 70s in order to be seriously considered for this team IMO.

Barry Richards topped the averages in the Packer world series. He scored two centuries in his five games, one a sparkling double. Greenidge on the other hand, always struggled in Australia, only scoring a century in his last test there, and had a very poor World series. Growing up on English pitches made him slightly suspect to top quality fast bowling and bounce, although anyone who saw his two doubles in the 84 series (especially the second at Manchester) would have to a recognise a player with great ability.

Fact remains, Barry Richards was pretty much retired (he missed the 1981 SA season, and injured himself halfway through the 82 season, when batting down the order for Natal). I'm sure Proctor, van der Bijl (has anyone actually seen the guy's record, 700 wickets at 16) and even Sobers would feature if we could pick players that weren't playing.

PS Rachael: Richards retired because he was past it in the 80s. He captained SA in the Gooch's rebel series and failed and averaged mid 30s in first class cricket in the 80s.

That's hardly the criteria though, is it? Also, isn't it somewhat elitist to expect everyone else to fall in with your own (very subjective) tastes? You say "agricultural farmer", someone else might say "refined horticulturist"; a question of semantics, and a pretty abstract one at that. It would be far more logical to look at returns and results, that being the objective of professional sport; and there, Greenidge stands head and shoulders above most others on this poll.

If aesthetics was the only criterion, or even a leading criterion, a middle-order of Azhar-ud-din, Zaheer Abbas and Carl Hooper would be selected everyday instead of Ponting, Tendulkar and Kallis, the modern favourites! It isn't, so it's not...

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A lie can travel halfway around the world while the truth is putting on its shoes
Mark Twain

Good point M.

The fact remains that they were a very successful pairing and whilst they never had to face their teams own quartet they did come up against the likes Lillee and Thompson, Hadlee, Imran, Willis and Botham all bowlers who at that time had good records.

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Mark.

I took Kirsten and Hayden and if I had used my other vote which I thought was senseless since there are only two openers, it would have went to Haynes.