Pogue Mahone
Well-known member
- Apr 30, 2011
- 10,950
- Thread starter
- #21
Yes, I ignored Jofra, Jones and Mark Wood who are/were all, potentially, amongst our greatest fast bowlers - if only bowling very fast didn't mess you up.
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[Cricket] Your Test Team from the last 20 years
- Thread starter Pogue Mahone
- Start date
I considered picking Bell just for his fielding at short leg.
But with the best will in the world I'm not sure I can get behind his best day or innings being better than Pietersen, Root or Stokes'.
I think having Flintoff and Stokes either weakens the batting for a bowler you won't get much use out of, or strengthens the batting at the cost of better bowling options.
Better to watch, then - rather than plain 'better'. I'll take a perfectly executed Bell drive, all along the turf to the cover boundary, over a huge Stokes slog into the Hollies or some poxy reverse helicopter nonsense, every single time.
I take your point over the two all rounders, but it is worth remembering that peak Flintoff was well worth his spot as a front line bowler anyway. Consider his batting a handy bonus (and the opposite is true of Stokes).
Lenny Rider
Well-known member
- Sep 15, 2010
- 6,020
I couldn’t pick Pieterson on principle.
Yes I’m the same! Can’t stand that bloke and just couldn’t enjoy him batting.
See some mentions for Thorpe, I loved him as a player but would struggle to put him in an England team of the last 20 years! He didn’t play in the 2005 Ashes did he?
By the way, does anyone know what has happened to Thorpe? Had those reports of a serious illness a year ago and then nothing I’m aware of?
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Tres
Cook
Trott
Root
KP
Stokes
Prior
Flintoff
Swann
Broad
Anderson
Peak flintoff was an absolutely top class bowler. Sadly he was not there for long. Possibly between 2003 and 2005. Broad and Anderson have to play. Swann is first name down in the attack as the spinner.
Batsman was harder - harsh on strauss but Tres was something else at times. Him and Cook would be a lovely pair. trott was fantastic at three to join it all together before we get to root, Kp (bell end but great batsman) and stokes. Prior at 7 before Fred at 8. What a tail with Fred 8 and Swann 9. Love it.
Cook
Trott
Root
KP
Stokes
Prior
Flintoff
Swann
Broad
Anderson
Peak flintoff was an absolutely top class bowler. Sadly he was not there for long. Possibly between 2003 and 2005. Broad and Anderson have to play. Swann is first name down in the attack as the spinner.
Batsman was harder - harsh on strauss but Tres was something else at times. Him and Cook would be a lovely pair. trott was fantastic at three to join it all together before we get to root, Kp (bell end but great batsman) and stokes. Prior at 7 before Fred at 8. What a tail with Fred 8 and Swann 9. Love it.
Nobby Cybergoat
Well-known member
- Jul 19, 2021
- 8,631
That would be my team as well. Fred coming in when they 6 down is likely to demoralise most opponents
Nobby Cybergoat
Well-known member
- Jul 19, 2021
- 8,631
And for the convicts .....
Hayden
Langer
Ponting
Labuschagne
Smith
Clarke
Gilchrist
Warne
Lee
Johnson
McGrath
Hayden
Langer
Ponting
Labuschagne
Smith
Clarke
Gilchrist
Warne
Lee
Johnson
McGrath
keaton
Big heart, hot blood and balls. Big balls
- Nov 18, 2004
- 9,972
Yeah Flintoff would get in purely as a bowler when at his best
Cummins has to be in that side. Brett Lee averaged over 30 in his career and Cummins is 22 (same as McGrath).
keaton
Big heart, hot blood and balls. Big balls
- Nov 18, 2004
- 9,972
It's an interesting concept of principle when on another thread you've said you've seen Bernard Manning 13 times
If I come across like I'm overthinking this, it's very much the sort of thing I occupy my mind with while sat on the train.
I went for peak Harmison over peak Flintoff, partly because he often seemed to take more wickets than his bowling seemed to deserve, while Flintoff always seemed to take fewer, and partly due to a massive pro-Durham bias. Although to be fair, Harmison at his best was ranked the no.1 bowler in the world.
I would pick Archer to satisfy my adjacent massive pro-Sussex bias, but remarkably he manages to be injured even more often than Wood so I struggle to justify picking him. I satisfied myself by going for Prior over any of the arguably better keepers.
jakarta
Well-known member
Would never pick that that scumbag Saffer other wise a good lineup, how about Broad to really piss them off?
I'd wait to see where Labuschagne's average finishes before I pick him over Hussey as well.
Alastair Cook
Andrew Strauss
Micheal Vaughan (c)
Joe Root
Kevin Pietersen
Ben Stokes
Matt Prior (wk)
Graeme Swann
Stuart Broad
Jofra Archer
Jimmy Anderson
Few tricky decisions!
Bell, Trott and Trescothick all unlucky to miss out at the top of the order. Side has 5 former / current captains and very successful ones, but Vaughan’s understanding was the best and his batting record is fine. Interestingly 3 of my top order also bowl a bit of useful off-break, and not by design!
Middle order - Stokes in as an allrounder over Flintoff. On form Flintoff the better bowler but Stokes balances this side better. Stokes surprisingly has the better bowling average. Both match winners but a prime Stokes is hard to leave out. Recent memory bias perhaps. Big fan of Paul Collingwood, but he’s not getting in over Stokes, Root or KP.
Bowlers - Anderson and Broad pick themselves. On form Broad bowls the most devastating spells and Anderson is the most consistent bowler England have. The attack needs balancing with an outright quick bowler. Archer despite playing a small sample size got in over Wood, who’s also missed an awful lot of games. Logic is a fully fit Archer is the better pick. Robinson, Gough, Hoggard, Harmison and Woakes all deserve a mention. Swann picks himself. Easily the best spinner I’ve seen for England. Ali (the bowler) is underrated though.
Andrew Strauss
Micheal Vaughan (c)
Joe Root
Kevin Pietersen
Ben Stokes
Matt Prior (wk)
Graeme Swann
Stuart Broad
Jofra Archer
Jimmy Anderson
Few tricky decisions!
Bell, Trott and Trescothick all unlucky to miss out at the top of the order. Side has 5 former / current captains and very successful ones, but Vaughan’s understanding was the best and his batting record is fine. Interestingly 3 of my top order also bowl a bit of useful off-break, and not by design!
Middle order - Stokes in as an allrounder over Flintoff. On form Flintoff the better bowler but Stokes balances this side better. Stokes surprisingly has the better bowling average. Both match winners but a prime Stokes is hard to leave out. Recent memory bias perhaps. Big fan of Paul Collingwood, but he’s not getting in over Stokes, Root or KP.
Bowlers - Anderson and Broad pick themselves. On form Broad bowls the most devastating spells and Anderson is the most consistent bowler England have. The attack needs balancing with an outright quick bowler. Archer despite playing a small sample size got in over Wood, who’s also missed an awful lot of games. Logic is a fully fit Archer is the better pick. Robinson, Gough, Hoggard, Harmison and Woakes all deserve a mention. Swann picks himself. Easily the best spinner I’ve seen for England. Ali (the bowler) is underrated though.
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If I get to select the Australia team, NONE of those are getting picked...
The Mole
Well-known member
Agree - Swann is the one player we have never replaced - both attacking and defensive as a bowler. A fine slip fielder as well