[Cricket] World Test XI

[Ooh it’s a corner]

At last! A thread that is even more fun than the Brexit one. Been watching cricket since 1964 and can remember the 1965 South Africans coming to Hove,

A Flower
E Joyce
B Lara
V Kohli
I Khan (occasional Worthing CC player)
K Sangakkara
M Proctor
I Botham
Shakib
R Hadlee
S Warne
12th man Rashid Khan

This team bats deep, has 4 class fast bowlers, 2 spinners (+ Rashid), 2 wicketkeepers and 3 Sussex players. I never could resist a world class all-rounder. Sobers is sulking in the corner.

I remember my sister taking me to Hove for that game. I still have photos of the England and South Africa test squads for the series that year that we bought on the day we were there.

 

[Ooh it’s a corner]

Add Marshall, Roberts and Big Bird, suspect they will have the best Pace attack!

The Aussies would run them close with Dennis Lillee, Jeff Thomson and Glenn McGrath for starters

 

[Eeyore]

Understood, obviously Tendulkar (Like Kohli) was the run maker so Gavaskar is probably the right answer for opener.

Horrible Saffir Oik but cant dismiss Graeme Smith!

Although I could have dropped Foster for Sangakkara. Underwood in for Murali. Open with Sanga and bring in Sachin for Gavaskar.

I think.

 

[jakarta]

Although I could have dropped Foster for Sangakkara. Underwood in for Murali. Open with Sanga and bring in Sachin for Gavaskar.

I think.

This is an utterly wonderful thread for us Cricket Bores! Where do we put Hobbs and Sutcliffe?

 

[Gwylan]

Time to consider stokes over sir Ian though

Depends what you're looking for: Stokes is by far the better batsman but Botham was a much better bowler. And if you're looking for a batting all-rounder, I'd have Greig above both of them, he was a quality batsman (but he was a long way from being a top-class bowler)

 

[Eeyore]

This is an utterly wonderful thread for us Cricket Bores! Where do we put Hobbs and Sutcliffe?

I only included players from time and beyond the first occasion I walked to the crease (and was stumped first ball by someone 68 years my senior).

 

[jakarta]

I only included players from time and beyond the first occasion I walked to the crease (and was stumped first ball by someone 68 years my senior).

Scenes, I can hardly make a run for my Church Team these days..

 

[Sussexscots]

From the players I have seen;

Alastair Cook (Eng)
Sunil Gavaskar (Ind)*
Barry Richards (SA)
Ed Joyce (Ire)
Imran Khan (Pak)
Shakib Al Hasan (Ban)
Andy Flower (Zim)+
Shane Warne (Aus)
Richard Hadlee (NZ)
Michael Holding (WI)
Muttiah Muralitharan (SL)

 

[Ooh it’s a corner]

This is an utterly wonderful thread for us Cricket Bores! Where do we put Hobbs and Sutcliffe?

Yes agreed - it’s a great thread. One of the joys of test cricket, and for me that’s still the ultimate form of the game, is that the game is so long you have time to muse on such things. In the days when all home tests were on BBC all day I sat there from 11.30 to 6.30 glued to it(except when it was at OT and it invariably rained). TMS was always fantastic. I particularly enjoyed the series’ away in Australia in the late 60s/early 70s when I would leave the radio in my room on very low so and tried to stay awake as much as possible listening to the commentary from Perth, Adelaide or wherever - happy days - John Snow and co. In ‘71 or around then I think being one such series.

 

[dazzer6666]

Yes agreed - it’s a great thread. One of the joys of test cricket, and for me that’s still the ultimate form of the game, is that the game is so long you have time to muse on such things. In the days when all home tests were on BBC all day I sat there from 11.30 to 6.30 glued to it(except when it was at OT and it invariably rained). TMS was always fantastic. I particularly enjoyed the series’ away in Australia in the late 60s/early 70s when I would leave the radio in my room on very low so and tried to stay awake as much as possible listening to the commentary from Perth, Adelaide or wherever - happy days - John Snow and co. In ‘71 or around then I think being one such series.

Likewise.....as a kid, I used to love the televised tests. During the school summer hols would watch all day (rain days were so frustrating), and also did the radio under the pillow thing for away Ashes tests........was lucky enough to meet John Arlott a couple of times through work too.

 

[Garry Nelson's teacher]

Brilliant. I remember queuing up to get the team's autographs and being told off by Eddie Barlow for not having a pen! This was their last team to tour before the ban came in and whilst this was
totally the right thing to do, it did deny us the sight of some wonderful players. (I think Sussex had the chance to sign Barry Richards but he slipped through our fingers. Barry Richards! OMG!)

 

[Gwylan]

Brilliant. I remember queuing up to get the team's autographs and being told off by Eddie Barlow for not having a pen! This was their last team to tour before the ban came in and whilst this was
totally the right thing to do, it did deny us the sight of some wonderful players. (I think Sussex had the chance to sign Barry Richards but he slipped through our fingers. Barry Richards! OMG!)

My mum worked at The Regent dancehall at the time and, one night, the entire SA team were there and she got all their autographs (which, sadly, I lost many years ago). That was a fine team: Graeme Pollock was a superb batsman (fourth in all-time averages) and there were some other good players in that team (Barlow, Bland, Peter Pollock and Lindsay) - and they had Kirsten, Procter and Barry Richards soon to arrive. It was right that they were banned from cricket but they'd have thrashed everyone in the 70s

 

[Garry Nelson's teacher]

Sorry to bang on about this, but if I remember correctly Pollock (G) smashed a six flush against the main scoreboard. You are totally right - what a team. One or two of them featured in the 1970 Rest of the World squad which was patched together to fill in for the Saffers cancelled tour. Another treasured memory when they came to Hove...………..although a quick search reveals no evidence of this game having taken place! Bloody hell, have I imagined it? (I did go to the Oval 'test' too and that did really happen.)

 

[Ooh it’s a corner]

Sorry to bang on about this, but if I remember correctly Pollock (G) smashed a six flush against the main scoreboard. You are totally right - what a team. One or two of them featured in the 1970 Rest of the World squad which was patched together to fill in for the Saffers cancelled tour. Another treasured memory when they came to Hove...………..although a quick search reveals no evidence of this game having taken place! Bloody hell, have I imagined it? (I did go to the Oval 'test' too and that did really happen.)

It definitely happened - I was definitely there. Around that time SA also had the guy who was regarded as the best fielder at that time - Colin Bland - I know fielding has improved beyond measure but he was an early advocate!
Back on the original point of the thread Sir Garfield Sobers had to be my first pick - he was a magical all-round player!

 

[jakarta]

Back on the original point of the thread Sir Garfield Sobers had to be my first pick - he was a magical all-round player!

Brilliant player who I only ever saw on TV, I believe that not only was a superb batsman that he could bowl both fast and spin?

 

[keaton]

I've gone for a current world xi
Iqbal - Ban
Karanatne-SL
Williamson- NZ Captain
Kohli-Ind
Taylor-Zim
Stokes-Eng
De Kock-SA
Holder-WI
R Khan-Afg
Cummins-Aus
Abbas-Pak

 

[Gwylan]

It definitely happened - I was definitely there. Around that time SA also had the guy who was regarded as the best fielder at that time - Colin Bland

For years, he was a byword for good fielding in a lot of the teams I played in. Any bit of smart work in the field would be greeted with a "Well done, Colin Bland" or something similar. This went on for some time after he played, showing how much his fieldinig was appreciated. As you say, it's nothing unusual to see brilliant fielding nowadays but Bland really stood out when it wasn't that common.

 

[Ooh it’s a corner]

Brilliant player who I only ever saw on TV, I believe that not only was a superb batsman that he could bowl both fast and spin?

Yes he could and regularly did. He was just so versatile and a fantastic fielder too. Some of you will recall the first televised six sixes in an over against Malcolm Nash at Swansea in 1968 where he savaged the unfortunate bowler. Sunday League was a regular on BBC2 in those days all afternoon from 2pm(40 overs a side). Sad cricket bores like me will also recall in those days the Aussies had 8 ball overs - nostalgia eh?

 

[Ooh it’s a corner]

Sorry to go marginally off topic again but it is related. As above Sobers could bowl very well at different speeds. Greigy did some of this himself in later years you may remember when he increasingly bowled spin rather than medium pace.

The other thing I noticed(unsurprisingly I guess) is how many of the top all-rounders are genuinely great fielders too - Botham, Flintoff, Greig, Stokes, Kallis, Sobers etc - I guess their eye/hand/ball co-ordination is so good they really can do everything well.

In the absence of live cricket I’ve now rewatched the WC final on both the last weekends! I’d quite like to see some of the old tests again - I remember the ‘68 Oval Test when DL Underwood cleaned up the Aussies after a storm on the last day and RJ Inverarity was last man out with all the England fielders crowded around the bat - would like to see that again

 

[Gwylan]

Yes he could and regularly did. He was just so versatile and a fantastic fielder too. Some of you will recall the first televised six sixes in an over against Malcolm Nash at Swansea in 1968 where he savaged the unfortunate bowler. Sunday League was a regular on BBC2 in those days all afternoon from 2pm(40 overs a side).

It was just the first televised six-sixes, it was the first one ever. And it wasn't in the Sunday League, it was in the County Championship. There are, I believe, still only two people who have done this in first class cricket.