Greatest Test XI

[Cricketman]

Anil Kumble?

Saqulaine (or however you spell that name) Mustaq? In his prime, at least was pretty sweet.

 

[nightprowler10]

Saqulaine (or however you spell that name) Mustaq? In his prime, at least was pretty sweet.

Saqlain. I'll go as far as to say that his prime as an ODI bowler was the best out of any one day bowler. In tests though, he was very good, but not all time material.

 

[Cricketman]

But I do belive Anil deserves a spot on that list.
3rd best spinner of this generation.

 

[cricphan]

How does Ponting have a long way to go? Has the highest average of any player to play over 100 Test Matches & has made over 30 centuries.

The way Ponting's been batting of the last several years & if he continues that, by the time his played the same ammount of matches as Gavaskar or Tendulkar he'll probably have about 10 more centuries under his belt.

You can't just penalize a player because his played in a different era.

let us wait and see what happens .He has some cricket left in him.let us see if his batting graph explodes exponentially or it goes down. Who would have thut sachin wuld go thorugh such a horrible bad patch(by his standards) .Only time will tell.And ponting has been batting the way he is for last 5-6 years . He touched the average of 50 in his 66'th test(he has played 110 tests , sachin has played 137) and he has kept it above 50 since then , infact it has steadily increased. So let us just wait n watch.

And no i think you can never compare players from two different era's .

Anil Kumble?

Saqulaine (or however you spell that name) Mustaq? In his prime, at least was pretty sweet.

No way .He is good , but he will not find a place

 

[aussie_ben91]

let us wait and see what happens .He has some cricket left in him.let us see if his batting graph explodes exponentially or it goes down. Who would have thut sachin wuld go thorugh such a horrible bad patch(by his standards) .Only time will tell.And ponting has been batting the way he is for last 5-6 years . He touched the average of 50 in his 66'th test(he has played 110 tests , sachin has played 137) and he has kept it above 50 since then , infact it has steadily increased. So let us just wait n watch.

And no i think you can never compare players from two different era's .

What are you talking about? After 110 Tests Tendulkar's average was 55.40 and what's his average now? It's 55.44 & considering he averages 139 against Bangladesh & in the 30's against Pakistan & South Africa... Ponting averages over 47 against every other country. Only 2 countries he doesn't average over 50 against.

 

[Pink Unicorn]

What are you talking about? After 110 Tests Tendulkar's average was 55.40 and what's his average now? It's 55.44 & considering he averages 139 against Bangladesh & in the 30's against Pakistan & South Africa... Ponting averages over 47 against every other country. Only 2 countries he doesn't average over 50 against.

You're missing his point. At one point Sachin was God, and everyone predicted him to go onto greater greatness (wow, is my vocabulary good or what). But age caught up with him. Ponting is currently is in a similar situation to Sachin was in the late 90's (except that Sachin actually faced better bowling attacks), and is being looked at as the messiah like Sachin was in the 90s. But he too might be due for the slump that all excellent batsmen go through at the end. Vivian Richards had to end on a low, Sachin seems to be on the same path as Viv, and whats to say Ponting doesnt have a similar fate awaiting him? Sachin too averaged 58 at one point, now he's down to a more realistic 55. Ponting too will not sustain his average.

Sorry for the Double Post,

Also consider this.

Sachin reached his statistical peak of 59 in his 93rd test. He has played 44 Test matches since,and his average now reads 55. Imagine, 44 tests. Thats almost an entire career for most players. Didnt Saeed Anwar play just 45 tests in his entire career?

Ponting reached his statistical peak of 59 in his 107th test, and has since played 3 tests. Lets see him play a further 41 tests and maintain that average. My bet is, he won't.

 

[aussie_ben91]

I don't see the real difference, TBH. Ponting's still only a year younger then Tendulkar & he made his FC debut when he was 17 & dominated aswell.

 

[Pink Unicorn]

I don't see the real difference, TBH. Ponting's still only a year younger then Tendulkar & he made his FC debut when he was 17 & dominated aswell.

But still Sachin has played 30 odd more tests, and has been plagued by injury for the last 8 years. It is also interesting to note Ponting has 25 not outs in 107 tests to Tendulkars 23 in 137 tests.

 

[RoboRocks]

Ponting and Tendulkar deserve places in or at least around the team.
Ponting got into a back up team in the PC greatest XI I'm doing in the games forum and Tendulkar getting a few votes so he should get in the final XI.

 

[aussie_ben91]

But still Sachin has played 30 odd more tests, and has been plagued by injury for the last 8 years. It is also interesting to note Ponting has 25 not outs in 107 tests to Tendulkars 23 in 137 tests.

It is also interesting to note that Ponting averages over 47 against every country in the world whilst Tendulkar averages 139 against Bangladesh, 76 against Zimbabwe & averages in the 30's against Pakistan & South Africa & the chunk of his average of 50+ vs Australia is from a score of 241* against a bowing attack not featuring McGrath or Warne & the other runs made against Australia were off a not-so dominant Australian attack.

 

[Pink Unicorn]

It is also interesting to note that Ponting averages over 47 against every country in the world whilst Tendulkar averages 139 against Bangladesh, 76 against Zimbabwe & averages in the 30's against Pakistan & South Africa & the chunk of his average of 50+ vs Australia is from a score of 241* against a bowing attack not featuring McGrath or Warne & the other runs made against Australia were off a not-so dominant Australian attack.

It is also interesting to note that Pontings average shot up above 50 only after the retirement of many of the greats like Wasim, Waqar, Donald, Ambrose, Walsh, and after Pollock went from great to okay. It is also interesting to note that Ponting averages 12 in India after 3 tours there.

 

[aussie_ben91]

Saying that makes you think why Tendulkar struggles so much nowadays.

 

[Pink Unicorn]

Saying that makes you think why Tendulkar struggles so much nowadays.

Its the multiple injuries and the 18 years of non-stop playing. Also, many people wouldn't like it to suggest it, but I think coaches have a role to play too. Chappell, and to an extent Wright wanted Sachin to bat in the middle order in ODIs, and in Tests he wanted him to be the anchor because of his seniority, instead of going out and playing his shots. They changed his game completely over the past 4-5 years.

Which is why I think this tour of England is important to see how he plays now that there's no coch for the Indian team and he's free to plan his own game. He showed his intent by scoring 2 90s in the 3 ODIs vs SA. The tests vs England will be a pointer to whats was wrong with him for so long, and whether he can go back to his own self again. A make or break series for him.

 

[jeromedascorp]

I think people failed to mention the point that Tendulkar was India during his prime. Ponting was never and will never be Australia. Aussies can win without ponting during his prime, which is now. India could never imagine winning a match without Sachin when he was in his prime.

My point is that Sachin had a lot more pressure as a cricketer than Ponting has. That is one of the reason why Sachin wasn't anything great as a captain. Ponting on the other hand was given the greatest Aussie team to captain.

Fitness is also another factor. Ponting has always been in much better shape that Sachin ever was.

 

[aussie_ben91]

What makes a difference if Ponting's Australia or not? It's not like there hasn't been times when he hasn't saved Australia. Old Trafford 2005 & he saved us on a very dead track against Bangladesh just to name acouple.

Fitness? Ponting has a bad back, why do you think his rarely bowled over the last several years? He also had allot of personal issues when he was a youngster aswell. The guy was predicted to be a future Australian Captain at the age of 14 & was quoted by many in Australia as the best teenage batsman they had ever seen. Allot of expectations were put on him. Not everyone can handle that sorta pressure, can they? Just ask Graham Hick.

http://aus.cricinfo.com/link_to_database/ARCHIVE/1992-93/AUS_LOCAL/SS/NSW_TAS_SS_27-30JAN1993.html