Your All-Time Sussex XI

[cardboard]

You have to have Karl Hopkinson in there

 

[Timbo]

Or Rodney Bunting!

 

[The Auditor]

First time I went to Hove was Vs Derbyshire 1971 (I think) ..we have had some great players since then...even in periods when the team as a whole was unsuccessful/poor...the last few years have been amazing..so good that even my teenage daughter loves cricket

 

[The Clown of Pevensey Bay]

Toby Peirce
Rajesh Rao
Mark Newell
Neil Taylor (c)
James Carpenter
Andy Patterson (wkt)
Carlos Remy
Bradleigh Donelan
Kevin Innes
Martin Thursfield
Alex Edwards

 

[BensGrandad]

Murray Goodwin
John Langridge
David Shepherd
Alan Oakman
Chris Adams (c)
Ted Dexter
Imran Khan
Rupert Webb
? Thompson
Mushtaq Ahmed
Jon Snow


This from the players I have seen which I believe would make a team . Bat down to no 7, 3 fast bowlers, change mnedium pace bowler, specialist wicket keeper and a spin bowler and a support spin bowler come batsman come brilliant close in fielder.

 

[Moshe Gariani]

Kepler Wessels
Gehan Mendis
Paul Parker
Javed Miandad
Peter Graves
Tony Greig
Imran Khan
Ian Gould (w)
Paul Phillipson
Garth le Roux
John Barclay (c)

12th Man: Hoppo

 

[Barry Izbak]

Bill Athey
Richard Montgomerie
Murray Goodwin
Chris Adams
Michael Bevan
Javed Miandad
Tony Greig
Imran Khan
Franklyn Stephenson
Vaspert Drakes
Mushtaq Ahmed

This is the closest to my first XI from those players I have seen. Presumably Bev will have the gloves and Grizzly the skipper.

I would have Snowy in for Vasbert Drakes and Michael DiVenuto for Bill Athey.

Bloody Hell that would be a side to see wouldn't it !

 

[severnside gull]

Alan Oakman to open instead of Goodwin please - one of the best slip fielders of all time as well as a good bat

 

[Gwylan]

I'd say you're possibly only looking at a limited number of aspects.

I agree that Dexter was imaginative - and had to be - bearing in mind he had to cope with the new concept of one day cricket and all that. However, while Dexter was a nifty batsman, Adams is no slouch either, and I wouldn't call him conservative when batting - I'd say he's often quite flamboyant. I do take your point about going out to not lose a game, as opposed to winning it, but for me this is a strength in Adams. He is a canny tactician in the field; who relies on batters AND bowlers to win matches.

It helps that he is blessed with having a world-class match-winning bowler (although Dexter also had that in the form of John Snow), so in that sense, there wouldn't be much to choose.

Adams' other strength is getting the best out of a team made up of - in the most part - kids and journeymen. Plus he has achieved something no other Sussex captain has ever done - win the Championship - and he has done it three times.

There resteth my case for Grizzly.

It's a close call but Dexter is well ahead as a batsman. Dexter was an England regular at a time when England were well-served by batsman, Adams didn't make the grade as test cricketer. If you just considered captaincy, then Adams might just shade it (you can't argue with three championships) but as a batsman, there's no comparison.

And that's the case for Lord Ted.

 

[In The Rough]

This is the closest to my first XI from those players I have seen. Presumably Bev will have the gloves and Grizzly the skipper.

I would have Snowy in for Vasbert Drakes and Michael DiVenuto for Bill Athey.

Bloody Hell that would be a side to see wouldn't it !

DiVenuto for Athey!!! DiVenuto was made to look good by some of the players around him. Thats why he has been at the mighty Derbyshire since.

 

[The Large One]

It's a close call but Dexter is well ahead as a batsman. Dexter was an England regular at a time when England were well-served by batsman, Adams didn't make the grade as test cricketer. If you just considered captaincy, then Adams might just shade it (you can't argue with three championships) but as a batsman, there's no comparison.

And that's the case for Lord Ted.

We could get into semantics here and talk about the fact that it was a personal grudge by the then England captain that stopped Adams establishing himself in the Test side. Granted, he never made the greatest of starts to his Test career, but then again neither did Graham Gooch.

So what we're talking about here is effectively batsman v captain? As you say, close, but it's why I've got Dexter AND Adams in the team, with Grizzly as the skipper. Upon reflection, however, if I don't have Dexter in the team as captain, I think I really ought to replace him with another batsman, in the same way that you have Dexter as a captain with no Adams in the team. Our differences are, I suspect, based on the same premise - who is the best captain? I would replace Dexter with Duleepsinjhi.

Whether Adams and Dexter could have ever worked together harmoniously or not is another question...

 

[Alex Alex Dawson oo! oo!]

Or Keith Greenfield.

Mike and Tony Buss, Don Bates?

 

[The Large One]

Or Dennis Foreman?

 

[Alex Alex Dawson oo! oo!]

Or Dennis Foreman?

Yes - definitely a must as he also played for the Albion.

 

[BensGrandad]

Or Dennis Foreman?

better footballer than cricketer though

 

[Pavilionaire]

Goodwin
Wessels
Dexter
Miandad
Adams (C)
Greig
Khan Imran
Parks Jnr (W)
Mushtaq
Tate
Snow

 

[Grendel]

DiVenuto for Athey!!! DiVenuto was made to look good by some of the players around him. Thats why he has been at the mighty Derbyshire since.

He's at Durham now, and topped their batting averages with 1329 runs at 66.45 this season.

 

[Perry Milkins]

Or Allan Green.

Laugh my eyes are pickled.

 

[Perry Milkins]

Mushy
Adams
Imran
Miandad
Le Roux
Parker
Snow
Dexter
Parks
Greig
Bevan

Beat that!

 

[severnside gull]

We could get into semantics here

...

you might also want to consider that Dexter was an arrogant wanker who had no time for the fans and little more for his players....but he was a very talented cricketer (and golfer for that matter) with perfect timing and some of the prettiest and most cultured stroke play I ever witnessed.

Maybe you could select 3 teams - pre war, post war up to the 60's, and 1970 to date. Be interesting to speculate which might win a round robin between them.