1974-76 Australian Xi v Rest of the World XI Who would win?

[Harsh Thakor]

I

Australian team from 1974-1976 was considered one of the best ever and the strongest of it's time decimating even West Indies.How great were they?Defeat a rest of the World xi of their time convincingly and join the league of Clive Lloyd's West Indies team or Steve Waugh's Australians?Some rate it the best team ever like Dickie Bird.Afterall it annihilated Clive Lloyd's West Indies team by a 5-1 margin.

 

 

Australian xi

 

Ian Redpath

Alan Turner

Ian Chapell (C)

Greg Chapell

Doug Walters

Rodney Marsh (W)

Gary Gilmour

Dennis Lillee

Jeff Thomson

Max Walker

Ashley Mallet

 

 

Rest of the World XI

Sunil Gavaskar

Barry Richards

Viv Richards

Zaheer Abbas

Clive Lloyd (C)

Asif Iqbal

Richard Hadlee

Alan Knott (W)

Andy Roberts

Michael Holding

Bishen Bedi

 

 I would back Australia because of its sheer killer instinct to win games.The duo of Lillee and Thomson would strike terror like no pair ever did .In no time they would create tremors within the camp of opposition .Ian Chappell was the ultimate master as a tactician and motivator and the best batsmen in a crisis.Greg Chappell was arguably the best batsmen of that era in the world.Doug Walters was a master on fast wickets.Ashley mallet was a world class off spinnner and Gary Gilmour a most adept allrounder.

 

Rest of the World may have won in the sub-continent and come very close in England.More talented but not as professional as Australia.Great bowling talent in Roberts,Holding or Hadlee and batting class in Barry.Sunny,Viv,Zaheer and Clive Lloyd.

Edited March 28, 2020 by Harsh Thakor

[kirkutfan]

A good national side should beat any world XI. The world XI wouldn’t have played together and the team would not be as motivated. Australia wins

 

Having said that, a Gary Sobers led World XI did beat Australia in 1971-72. So, there are exceptions.

Edited March 28, 2020 by kirkutfan

[Deleted_User_1]

When the Aussies thrashed the WI in the 1975-76 tour, the WI team had not fully flourished yet. Holding was raw, there was no Garner or Marshall. The only established genuine pace was Roberts. Plus Viv was starting to make his mark. If the series had taken place in 1980 or ealrly 80s, it would have been labelled the greatest test series ever with WI have an edge because they would have a quatret of fearsome pace vs only two for Aus Lillee and Thommo and maybe Pascoe (who on his day was very fast). 

Edited March 29, 2020 by Audiophile

[Harsh Thakor]

On 3/29/2020 at 11:12 PM, Audiophile said:

When the Aussies thrashed the WI in the 1975-76 tour, the WI team had not fully flourished yet. Holding was raw, there was no Garner or Marshall. The only established genuine pace was Roberts. Plus Viv was starting to make his mark. If the series had taken place in 1980 or ealrly 80s, it would have been labelled the greatest test series ever with WI have an edge because they would have a quatret of fearsome pace vs only two for Aus Lillee and Thommo and maybe Pascoe (who on his day was very fast). 

Totally agree.Would West Indise have beaten the rest of the world?

[Deleted_User_1]

On 3/30/2020 at 1:34 PM, Harsh Thakor said:

Totally agree.Would West Indise have beaten the rest of the world?

The WI of the late 70s/early 80s were the best test team I have ever seen. Better than the Aus team of late 90s/early 00s. They had everything, batting, bowling, fielding and top notch captaincy from Lloyd. The only chink in the armor was spin bowling although Gomes and Richards were better than part timers. Obviously they did not miss it, because they thrashed teams on the subcontinent.

[Harsh Thakor]

14 hours ago, Audiophile said:

The WI of the late 70s/early 80s were the best test team I have ever seen. Better than the Aus team of late 90s/early 00s. They had everything, batting, bowling, fielding and top notch captaincy from Lloyd. The only chink in the armor was spin bowling although Gomes and Richards were better than part timers. Obviously they did not miss it, because they thrashed teams on the subcontinent.

Do read my latest post sir comparing the best teams versus rest of the world XI's.Like your most balanced opinion on my evaluation.I too rate West Indies at the top.