Test Decades XIs

[icyman]

Good thread this, but have to say will reserve my commenting for the era which I have seen more cricket in. 1990s onwards!

 

[Supreme General]

Good thread this, but have to say will reserve my commenting for the era which I have seen more cricket in. 1990s onwards!

The real spice begins with the '70s now

Yeah... from here on in, things are going to get very controversial concerning some major snubs in the teams.

 

[Supreme General]

1980s

1. Sunil Gavaskar (65/125)- First batter to reach 10,000 test runs, one of the batters I would have opening in my All-time test XI and a great player of pretty much of any type of bowling. Aside from his commentary sounding like nails on a chalk board at times, everything he did in a cricket stadium was just exquisite apart from that famous protest ODI knock in 1975.
2. Gordon Greenidge (75/108)- An irresistible attacking opening batter that bowlers all over the world came to fear especially if he had slight injury and would score bucket-loads of runs with his opening partner Desmond Haynes. His shot making was breath-taking and a marvel for anyone to behold not just at test level but at domestic First-class level as well
3. Viv Richards (78/121)- It's Viv Richards. He is aura personified: from his swagger, facing 90mph bouncers in a cap and hooking them into the stands and the way he would blast the ball to the boundary. A true box-office cricketer who needs no introduction.
4. Javed Miandad (76/124)- Saw cricket in a different way to so many of his peers and those who came before him. The man who made hitting up and over cover fashionable and is the greatest Pakistani batter they have produced to date whose average for his entire career never dropped below 50. Just a world-class batter.
5. Allan Border (97/156)- The yang to the Richards and Miandad Yin. Allan Border was in the you are taking my life before you take my wicket mould. He came into an Australian team in a low ebb and left it as the best side in the world, a hero to so many Australians who grew up in that era. AB would never back down from a fight and his record against the might West Indian attacks just show his determination with bat in hand.
6. Ian Botham (75/102)- Ian Botham's overall career numbers don't do him justice really. Blighted by injuries that cost him a yard or two of pace with ball and less fluid with the bat mixed in with his grand playboy image that the flowing mullet really helped to elevate. Nevertheless, in his pomp, Beefy is up there amongst the absolute greatest all-rounders to play the game.
7. Imran Khan (54/88)- Talking of great allrounders, Imran Khan during the 1980s scored 2430 runs at 44 and took 256 wickets at 19, those are mindboggling numbers. Not just that, he did them consistently in all conditions against the best teams as shown with his performances vs West Indies and Australia home and away with them being the best sides during his career.
8. Jeff Dujon (64/81)- He maybe batting 8 here but Dujon is far from a specialist wicketkeeper, he had almost 10,000 FC runs at an average of 39, his test average is just a shy below 32. In his 81 caps, he never appeared in a losing series just showing to what a dominant side he belonged to. Great and athletic behind the stumps and capable with the bat for the team.
9. Richard Hadlee (53/86)-How about another legendary all-rounder? The greatest Kiwi cricketer and you would find very few people who would disagree. A lot better with the bat to be batting 9 but his bowling record with high pace that turned to lethal swing bowling is out of this world. The Notts legend, took 431 test wickets at 22.29 and 1,490 FC wickets at a ludicrous 18.11.
10. Malcolm Marshall (63/81)- In many people's eyes, the ultimate fast bowler. 376 test wickets at 20.94, is the second best economy for anyone with 200 test wickets. his average in the 1980s was below 20. Bowled rapid and unlike the other West Indian bowlers of the time he did at a height of below 6ft. No-brainer pick
11. Joel Garner (49/58)- Big Bird clocked in at 6ft 8in, even his fuller deliveries had batters on the back front. His test average is 0.03 off his teammate Marshall's and is widely considered as the greatest ODI bowler of all time. Unfortunately at the end of his career reoccurring back and shoulder injuries but an end to one of the most unique and talented bowlers in cricket history.
12. Martin Crowe (45/77)- Even with the presence of Kane Williamson, Martin Crowe can still hold a potential claim to being New Zealand's greatest batter. Having to learn how to bat at test level from a young age making his debut at 19 and then crippling injuries that ruined his prime make his numbers not stand out as much. However, the accounts of his contemporaries and people of the time speak testament to how naturally talented the Kiwi really was.
13. Abdul Qadir (57/67)- The player credited in reviving the leg spin art before Shane Warne skyrocketed to stardom. Qadir was widely considered the best spinner of his generation. A generation which was dominated by fast bowlers, Qadir managed to find his niche and excelled in it to become one of the best leg spinners of all time.

 

[Supreme General]

1990s

1. Mark Taylor (93/104)- Tubs was a stalwart throughout the 1990s including being a quite instrumental captain in Australia's road to world domination. He started his career in record breaking fashion before plateauing but he was still a reliable figure opening the batting.
2. Gary Kirsten (56/101)- Nowhere near the most elegant batter you will ever see but one you could back to bat for your life for a long time. Helping guide South Africa shortly after readmission towards the heady heights they would reach in the late 1990s and early 2000s and beyond.
3. Mark Waugh (99/129)- Any Australian or even just any cricket fan from the 1990s talk about Junior as one of the most elegant batter of the era. Having the shot for any ball and buckets for hands at slip Mark Waugh had the same problem as Barry Richards when it came to scoring big runs that he felt were unnecessary.
4. Aravinda Da Silva (62/93)- Similar mould to Mark Waugh that he had motivation problems when it came to meaningless games or moments but when there was something on the line he had all the skill in the world. So much so that even Sangakkara and Jayawardene called him the greatest Sri Lankan batter, that is some high praise indeed.
5. Steve Waugh (89/168)- An all round talent in his youth until his back put an end to him bowling his decent medium pace bowling. But what remained throughout his career was his dogged ability to never back down and score runs. Sometimes he batted for his average but Steve Waugh would always play to win and never lose no matter what whether with bat or leading his troops as captain in the field.
6. Andy Flower (39/63)- It's not too far off the mark to say that if Andy Flower didn't score runs, Zimbabwe didn't stand too much of a chance in a test match. An incredible talent for a team that was trying to find its feet in test cricket, he could have played for a few more years if his 60 avg for Essex for few years after his forced international retirement for protesting the horrors done by the Mugabe regime.
7. Wasim Akram (62/104)- The 1990s was a bowling decade and Wasim Akram at 7 and the bowling attack to follow shows it. Akram is the greatest left-arm quick cricket has ever seen. Fast with deadly swing and reverse swing, he was a nightmare to batters at any point of the game no matter who you were.
8. Shane Warne (80/145)- The late legendary Shane Keith Warne is the greatest leg spinner and probably the greatest spin bowler cricket has ever seen. A figure that transcended the sport from the very early days of his career to his very last as a commentator. Simply put, there will never be anyone else like him.
9. Curtly Ambrose (71/98)- 6ft 7in behemoth of a person and deadly from 22 yards with a cricket ball in hand. 405 test wickets at 20.99 is just extraordinary figures. Managed to get in the greatest West Indian test team of all time and was one of the few players who kept the West Indies competitive during their decline years. A shoe in selection.
10. Allan Donald (59/72)- 'White Lightning' was a very apt nickname for the South African. He bowled like the clappers and when he had ball in hand he was electric and the batters were in for quite a shock while heading back to the pavillion after be dismissed by him or concussed by him.
11. Courtney Walsh (78/132)- Ambrose's partner in crime for the West Indies and a lethal weapon for Gloucestershire for 13 years. Walsh's consistency and deadliness to batters for the best part of 2 decades is immense, first bowler to reach 500 test wickets for a reason.
12. Mohammad Azharuddin (64/99)- I mean if you want to win, having a match fixer in your squad can go a long way. That moment tarnished the career of a very talented batter who had some of the best wrists in the game at the time making him such a threat to bowl to. His average of 51.98 in FC cricket after scoring 15,855 runs is a testament to that fact.
13. Waqar Younis (56/87)- The perfect embodiment of a strike bowler. His best ball most probably a reverse swinging yorker delivered in the mid 90smph was too good for any batter to ever play the sport.