Win a World Cup or a series in Australia?

[Sureshot]

World Cup, by some distance.

If you win a series in Australia, then you've shown you're the best out of 2 teams. If you win the World Cup, you've shown that you're the best out of almost 100 teams. It just doesn't compare.

But you only play about 7/8 to win the world cup.

If Tests had the same ammount of teams, it's not as though teams like Aus would lose to USA or PNG.

But I do agree with you, just think that if Tests were to have 100 teams, Ashes would come around about every 20 years at most.

So many players could never play Australia or for England an Ashes.

But you're right World Cup is the pinnacle of Cricket.

 

[Greenidge]

Easy question to answer. Test cricket is the cricket, one day cricket is just a watered down version of the game designed purely to make money. Australia are the best Test side in the world and have been unbeatable at home for a long time.
Beating them at home in a Test series is the biggest achievement in the game.

 

[sohum]

Someone on the previous page mentioned that ODI games are luck. True, but to conclude that winning the WC is based on pure luck is pretty illogical. When you compound so much luck together, you gotta be extremely lucky to win the WC. It's not luck--which is why Australia won the last 2.

As for beating Australia in Australia--the luxury of the moment fades away pretty quickly. India drew the series 1-1 last time around, and were 3 wickets away from clinching the series. But that has since been wiped out from our heads with the 2-1 verdict we suffered in India. The fact is that once you win the World Cup, your name goes down in history.

Beating Australia in Australia once doesn't constitute greatness, though beating the current Aussie team is certainly a feat.

 

[cricket_lover]

Winning WC is not luck, winning a ODI can be luck. You can afford to make mistakes in the WC, look at India in 2003, Pakistan in 1999 (Aus. as well), Pakistan in 1992, India in 1983 and Aus. in 1987. They did very well but initially there were many hiccups. They lost few matches, never really consistent and yet were successful (or almost successful).

In Australia, its a different issue. Considering the current or the best Aussie side, and you're playing a 4-5 test series, you don't get that many chances. Luck will be with you for very little amt. of time.

Winning WC is probably the best thing that can happen for a ODI team.
If we want to perfect comparison, then may be there should be a WC for tests as well, something like Test Championships.

 

[nikish_a]

I will say that win the tests in australia to show your test strength and win the world cup to show your ODI strength. It is upto the team playing how they want to take it.

 

[Greenidge]

As for beating Australia in Australia--the luxury of the moment fades away pretty quickly. India drew the series 1-1 last time around, and were 3 wickets away from clinching the series. But that has since been wiped out from our heads with the 2-1 verdict we suffered in India.

That series is one that I'll never forget, just like the one where NZ came so close to beating the Aussies but were denied in Perth. The fact that both India and NZ got so close to beating Australia in Australia is something that I will always remember. Every bit as much as I will remember who won each World Cup. Had they beaten them it would have been regarded as big an acheivement as England winning back the ashes.
The fact is that as close as those teams came, they still didn't beat Australia in a test series in home. It hasn't happened for so long and we will all remember it for a long time after it happens again.

 

[Sureshot]

for me the choice is simple

I have seen England win a test series in Australia

I have never seen England win the World Cup

Therefore I would want England to win the World Cup :cool:

Crikey!

We haven't won an Ashes in Aus since early 80s iirc.

 

[andrew_nixon]

Crikey!

We haven't won an Ashes in Aus since early 80s iirc.

86/87

 

[gary0808]

My opinion is it is very VERRY close but I'd have to sneak the world cup because I believe you become a very much a more feared team in both forms of the game. It will also be helpful for the English Domestic season.

I feel the 'luck factor' is a load of rubbish because in a World Cup Final playing against teams like Australia, India and South Africa your going to need every player playing well in in all aspects of the game.

 

[sohum]

Now... what about winning a World Cup in Australia.

 

[cricket_lover]

My opinion is it is very VERRY close but I'd have to sneak the world cup because I believe you become a very much a more feared team in both forms of the game. It will also be helpful for the English Domestic season.

I feel the 'luck factor' is a load of rubbish because in a World Cup Final playing against teams like Australia, India and South Africa your going to need every player playing well in in all aspects of the game.

WC finals/semi's are not the only games. To get there, you need to play more than 10 matches, against different teams. Even if you lose three matches in teh qualifying round, you can still be lucky to get into super-six, look at SL how they made it to the semis.

When you play against big teams in big matches, luck factor is very very low. But initially, it can mean a lot.

In tests against Australia, in Aus...even in the first test...you won't have that many chances of "luck".

 

[Adarsh]

I have seen England win a test series in Australia

You've watched it live??

 

[usy]

Now... what about winning a World Cup in Australia.

I agree, Pakistan did well in 1992.

 

[cricket_lover]

I agree, Pakistan did well in 1992.

If i remember, Pakistan were not looking good at all, and then it was a big turn-around. It was a memorable last few matches for them, as they've outplayed their opponents...but the point is, in WC and any other ODI series, the luck factor is high.

 

[sohum]

The difference, of course, is that the actual act of winning the World Cup is not based on luck. You cannot say that Team X won the World Cup because they were lucky. They may have had moments of luck in many stages, but put together, it is not mainly luck. Many victories in test matches/series are also based on luck.

It is your good luck if you are dropped many times. It is your good luck if a cloud cover comes along just after you elected to bowl first. Luck will always be a part of cricket and a even more so a part of ODI games, but very few successful World Cup campaigns have come from scrappy teams.