How good do you think the current Australian team is? Clearly as a unit they are almost peerless and all pretty special characters in their own right but how good are they individually?
In a feeble attempt to reconcile the loss of the Ashes in my head I went through my approximately 25 years of Test Cricket knowledge picking my best 11 players from across the nations. For my state of mind I hoped lots of the current crop would feature so I could put the 5-0 humiliation down to exceptional talent. Much to my disappointment ‘only’ 3 made it. Take a few moments to pick your own team and see how you compare.
Opening batsman. Would you take either Hayden or Langer over their peers from the last quarter of a century? The conclusion I came to was that I wouldn’t. My personal preference was for the runs of Sunil Gavaskar and the aggression of Gordon Greenidge, multiply that aggression by a few if he happens to be limping at the time.
Middle Order. Who would you take out of Ponting, Hussey and Clarke? Whilst Clarke and Hussey are fine players their careers currently lack the depth and definition required so the only serious contender would be Ricky Ponting. I did think hard about it but the contenders here are quite frankly staggering.
My chosen three were Brian Lara, Sachin Tendulkar and Viv Richards. Three fearsome accumulators of runs and with their own strengths. Ricky Ponting is a magnificent player and he didn’t miss by much. However any side where you can’t find a place for Alan Border has to be enormously strong.
All Rounder. Now I am not calling Andrew Symonds a bad player, far from it, but this decision was the easiest of the lot. He doesn’t qualify as he is barely Australian and not even the best all rounder in the Ashes series despite Andrew Flintoff being below par.
In the 1980’s four all rounders fought for recognition. Clive Rice (denied his chance to play for his country in his pomp for political reasons), Kapil Dev from India, the magnificent Richard Hadlee of New Zealand and a certain I.T. Botham of England. Call it rose tinted specs but it had to be Botham for this slot, top quality with bat and bowl. A total competitor and a real crowd pleaser to boot.
Wicketkeeper. Simply no argument about this one, try as I might I couldn’t think of anyone to compare to Adam Gilchrist. In an age where runs scored is at least as important as glove work that can compare? 1 to the current Australians.
Opening Bowlers. Glenn McGrath and Stuart Clark against whom? As far as McGrath is concerned he walks into the side, his Test Wickets speak for themselves and his economy and consistency gives the control any Captain craves.
Stuart Clark shows signs of being in the McGrath mould but has a lot to live up to. The only thing that McGrath lacked is real pace and hostility and you could take one of any number of West Indians to give you that. My choice though is Curtley Ambrose who offered those qualities all throughout his career and his stare could kill at 22 yards.
First Change. We all know that Brett Lee is a decidedly useful performer. Seriously quick, committed and a useful lower order hitter to boot. However there are times when his extra speed can be gained at the expense of line and length and we can also use this spot to add balance to the side
My thought would be to add a left armer to the mix and my choice was Wasim Akram who could swing and reverse swing the ball. This to complement the opening pair of Ambrose and McGrath.
Spin. Despite his love of burgers there is only one choice. Shane Warne is the undisputed maestro.
So there you have it. The team I chose consisted of:-
To get three names of a current side in that line up is a real statement, a line up where Lillee, Holding, Marshall, Garner, Ponting , Steve Waugh, Border and Murali don’t get a look in.
On the other hand there is only one player from the English ranks who appears able to gatecrash this party by the end of his career and that is Kevin Pietersen. Oh yes, and he is really South African.
How good do you think the current Australian team is? Clearly as a unit they are almost peerless and all pretty special characters in their own right but how good are they individually?