For Aussie fans: Name your most feared opposition XI

[bharat297]

This is a thread mainly for the Aussie fans that are here on this forum, and I know there are a few. I would like to ask Aussie fans who their worst (or best, depending on which way you look at it) opposition players are, in that players that have caused you the most grief. There are a few that immediately come to mind such as ... Tendulkar, Lara, Sehwag, Pietersen, Bhajji, Wasim Akram etc. I ask the Aussie fans to name their best opposition side. I am later planning to have a thread for India's worst opposition side.

[Lurker]

Good thread. And although I am not an Aussie fan I would still like to give this a go. My pick would be more of a team of players who have played in last 30 years or so..so if you are looking for current lot you might be disappointed. Openers: Virendra Sehwag and Barry Richards. Sehwag is easily the most accomplished opener against Australia in last 3 decades, both at home and away. That he has scored at will against an era of Australia when Aussies were world's best distance by a long distance makes this easy pick. Barry Richards didnt play enough cricket but he did play against Australia, both at Test cricket and first class level and did very well. Any opener that can score 300 plus in a day against Dennis Lillee gets my vote. Also considered - Anwar, Sunny, Boycott. Middle order - Richards, Lara, VVS. Richards is rather easy. No one pulverised Aussies the way Richards did. In fact one can make the argument that Aussies made Richards the player he was, considering how they brought out the best in him. Lara had a tussle with SRT for the 2 down spot and this is as good a contest as any. In the end if I would pick a LOI team I shall go with SRT but Lara outpips SRT for Test slot. Narrowest margin ever. VVS is rather easy. Not much to be explained there. Also considered - Lloyd, Dravid, Miandad. 4th down - Kevin Pietersen. Kind of sacrilage to pick KP ahead of Sachin(yes I am still not over not picking SRT) but KP has impressed with the way he has taken the fight against the Aussies, lifting an entire country(adopted) with him. With age on his side I go with KP. All-rounder: Ian Botham. This one was easy. Of the 4 great all-rounders Ian Botham was the best when it came to performance against Aussies, specially in terms of sheer impact in winning series both at home and abroad. Probably Flintoff comes close to matching Botham and although Freddie had a great series Botham did that over many series and so I pick him. Imran, Kapil and Hadlee all had their moments and all of them ensured their country won but Botham ranks ahead. Although as a Kapil fan I must say it rankled I couldnt pick the player who made an absolutely boring dull draw into the famous Tied test with a scorching hundred, also helped India to first win Down Under with pain killers. Also considered - Flintoff, Hadlee, Imran, Kapil Wicket-keeper : Alan Knott. The main fight was between Knott, Dujon, Sangakarra and Boucher. My personal favorite is Sangakarra due to the sheer depth he would bring to the batting. However he has increasingly moved away from keeping so that would be a dishonesty to pick him as a keeper. Boucher is great and very dependable but Dujon and Knott pick him to post. Of the two Knott was easily a better keeper though Dujon was a more stylish batsman. I go with Knott. Also considered: Dujon, Sangakarra, Boucher. Pacers: Marshall & Ambrose. Marshall was the best fast bowlers that I have seen. Anyone who can knock the bat off Sunil Gavaskar on a dead Kanpur pitch gets my vote. He could whip it at a great pace, move the ball both aways and had the best bouncer of them all. Ambrose was at his deadliest against Australia. Good pace with great length and a bounce that would make the best batsman hop. Rather easy selection. Also considered: Roberts, Wasim Akram, Harmisson, Simon Jones(only 1 series but what a series!). 3rd seamer: Richard Hadlee Had to get him in. Probably has the best record of them all who played against Australia between 70s till date. Can land the ball in the corridor of uncertainty with as good, if not better, than Mcgrath and beats Mcgrath on sheer ability. Spinner: Anil Kumble. His average is on the higher side but Anil Kumble has an excellent record against Aussies. He is specially deadly when there are runs on board and with the kind of batting we have there is no reason to feel otherwise. I have always had issues Murali's action so he didnt make it. Also considered: Harbhajan, Saqlain Mushtaq, Qadir and Underwood. So thats my team, in batting order: Virendra Sehwag Barry Richards Viv Richards Brian Lara VVS Kevin Pietersen Ian Botham Alan Knott Richard Hadlee Malcolm Marshall Anil Kumble Ambrose.

[Chaos]

haha lara over sachin against aussies. HAHAHAHAHAAH

[SachDan]

Lurker bhai, this is insane!! How on earth can you not pick Sachin in a team to face up Aussies?? He has scored most number of runs and centuries against them..dismantled their bowlers home and away many an occasion..two of their greatest bowlers openly admited he's the toughest to bowl at.stil... Knowing your fondness for Sachin :winky: given a chance you would like to exclude him from an all time great Indian X1..then picking any unknown 'Giant' and giving umpteen reasons to defend your selection. Anyone who followed cricket over a period of time won't even hesitate for a second to pick Sachin in the team to play against Aussies..abt you selecting KP ahead of SRT..you are prepared to see him thrashing a waning Australian bowling but not ready to accept SRT's superlative performances against one for thier dominant bowling line up!! wat kinda logic is that?:giggle:

[DomainK]

SRT and VVS are a must in this team. Lurker, on what basis did you pick Lara over SRT? Stastically SRT outclasses Lara against Australia and his record in Australia is particular better. I would love to pick both, but if both lock horns for one spot, SRT wins it for sure.

[PaiN_KiLLeR]

Another thoroughly enjoyable post by Lurker. But I'd have to agree with the others in this thread about picking SRT over Lara. He averages almost 60 IN Australia. I can't think of any other batsman who has such a high average down under in spite of touring there 4 times (Lara averages 41 there). Even though Lara's 277 at Sydney (1993) and that 'out of this planet' 153* at Barbados (1999) will never be forgotten by anyone who witnessed them, overall SRT takes the cake when it comes to hammering the mighty Aussies. Personally, I'd play them both and drop KP :--D

[King Tendulkar]

Not picking sachin by lurker confirms how far he will take his anti indian stance! Sachins record against the aussies is brilliant. Impeccable! All the aussies cr#p their pants when they here his name, yet you don't include him. Madness!

[King Tendulkar]

Harbhajhan has also to be considered!

[Lurker]

Lurker bhai, this is insane!! How on earth can you not pick Sachin in a team to face up Aussies?? He has scored most number of runs and centuries against them..dismantled their bowlers home and away many an occasion..two of their greatest bowlers openly admited he's the toughest to bowl at.stil... Knowing your fondness for Sachin :winky: given a chance you would like to exclude him from an all time great Indian X1..then picking any unknown 'Giant' and giving umpteen reasons to defend your selection. Anyone who followed cricket over a period of time won't even hesitate for a second to pick Sachin in the team to play against Aussies..abt you selecting KP ahead of SRT..you are prepared to see him thrashing a waning Australian bowling but not ready to accept SRT's superlative performances against one for thier dominant bowling line up!! wat kinda logic is that?:giggle:

Lurker, on what basis did you pick Lara over SRT? Stastically SRT outclasses Lara against Australia and his record in Australia is particular better. I would love to pick both, but if both lock horns for one spot, SRT wins it for sure.

He averages almost 60 IN Australia. I can't think of any other batsman who has such a high average down under in spite of touring there 4 times (Lara averages 41 there). Even though Lara's 277 at Sydney (1993) and that 'out of this planet' 153* at Barbados (1999) will never be forgotten by anyone who witnessed them, overall SRT takes the cake when it comes to hammering the mighty Aussies

All valid criticism. I shall try to adress them. First up its kinda unfortunate that in a team of XI some of you have limited yourself to merely one player. I personally would find it a very interesting discussion to see why an Ambrose shall make way for Wasim Akram or how Derek Underwood shall be the better bowler ahead of Kumble. Then again knowing Indian cricket fans liking for Sachin it is not exactly a surprise. Between Sachin and Lara's performance against Australia(since thats the issue here) I have a few innings that come to mind to me. You will have to excuse me since I dont go by Statsguru. The two innings that really stand out for me are: a) His half century in an extremely low scoring Test match in Mumbai 2004. b) His century at Perth in early 90s which is widely recognized as one of the best innings ever, early 90s. He has played many other great innings, specially at Sydney, Adelaide and Bangalore however my pick would be those 2. Now as great as those innings have all been there have been no epics. Certainly not one that could match Lara's innings at Bridgetown, late 90s, where he won the match for West Indies all by himself. I can still recall Windies losing wickets one by one and then Adams and Lara raising a rearguard action. After Adams dismisscal wicket keep falling with Walsh as last man out. He gets beaten time and again and pumps his first afters as if to say okay I am alive. Then Lara comes to face the Aussies(bear in mind this is 90s and Frank Worrell trophy is still the unofficial world cup for Test playing nations) , tucks the ball around, scampers for the runs and raises his bat. It was one man band, if ever there was one man band. The win gave Windies the trophy and was probably the last great series for West Indies as a team. That innings of Lara would be rated by me ahead of any innings played by Sachin against Aussies. This is not to take anything from him of course. But I just couldnt bring myself to have Sachin ahead of Lara considering what they have delivered against Australia. The only way to do it would be to get them both in and move VVS away. And how would that be fair to a player who, to me anyway, is the batsmen the Aussies fear the most? xxx

[SachDan]

All valid criticism. I shall try to adress them. Between Sachin and Lara's performance against Australia(since thats the issue here) I have a few innings that come to mind to me. You will have to excuse me since I dont go by Statsguru. The two innings that really stand out for me are: a) His half century in an extremely low scoring Test match in Mumbai 2004. b) His century at Perth in early 90s which is widely recognized as one of the best innings ever, early 90s. He has played many other great innings, specially at Sydney, Adelaide and Bangalore however my pick would be those 2. Now as great as those innings have all been there have been no epics. xxx

How can one forget Sachin's innings of 155* at Chennai 98..India needed some quick runs on the 4th day to give ample time for our bowlers to bowl out Aussies in the last innings..here was Sachin fearlessly taking on Warne bowling around the wicket and pitching all those balls in the rough out side leg stump..Sachin kept on dispatching him over mid wicket fence. That to me is the 2nd best innings played by SRT against Australia.

[DomainK]

Lurker, that's a personal reflection. You have taken a liking for one particular innings and have chosen to see the overall performances. I dont have any lack of faith in Lara's abilities, but when you are selecting a team like this, you can not take that decision on basis of one innings that you loved. That does not do justice to the team. For one slot, if you have to chose between two players of that quality, you have to go for the one who has more consistently performed against that opposition.

[Lurker]

How can one forget Sachin's innings of 155* at Chennai 98..India needed some quick runs on the 4th day to give ample time for our bowlers to bowl out Aussies in the last innings..here was Sachin fearlessly taking on Warne bowling around the wicket and pitching all those balls in the rough out side leg stump..Sachin kept on dispatching him over mid wicket fence. That to me is the 2nd best innings played by SRT against Australia.

Fair enough. But all things being equal would that same innings be as good as the one I mentioned? Taking nothing away from Sachin's innings I would rate Lara's effort much better.

[Lurker]

Lurker' date=' that's a personal reflection. You have taken a liking for one particular innings and have chosen to see the overall performances. I dont have any lack of faith in Lara's abilities, but when you are selecting a team like this, you can not take that decision on basis of one innings that you loved. That does not do justice to the team. For one slot, if you have to chose between two players of that quality, you have to go for the one who has more consistently performed against that opposition.[/quote'] Of course it is a personal reflection, its all my personal XI and I can see why some would want other players included. Different folks different strokes. In regards to your criticism about a player being selected based on how he performs against a particular country that is indeed my selection criteria here. Quite simply an average Aussie team is more fearful of Lara than Sachin. In fact I would say if you consider overall series played between India and Australia, Aussies have been as much fearful of Sehwag, Dravid and Laxman than they have been of Sachin. Indeed in many series I would say Aussie team fears more a Sehwag, a Laxman, a Dravid than Sachin. Lara is more flair and substance, Sachin is solid and consistent. I go with Lara.

[DomainK]

This question is best asked in a place frequented by Aussies fans. I know a couple of places, I will ask the question there and we will come to know soon what they really think.

[ludhianvi]

Statistics are like miniskirts, they reveal more than what they hide. --Navjot Sidhu [/quoteblock]As for the Brian Lara vs Tendulkar comparison against the Aussies, let's look at some stats: First, looking at their overall averages against Australia, Tendulkar is ahead although Lara has scored more runs than Tendulkar. When looking at their home/away records, Tendulkar has a 'much' better average than Lara in Australia while Lara has a better average in West Indies compared to Tendulkar in India. So why someone would pick Lara over Tendulkar against Australia in Australia is beyond statistical reasoning

              Span  	Mat  	Inns  	NO  	Runs  	HS  	Ave  	BF  	SR  	100  	50  	0  	4s  	6s
[B][COLOR="Red"]Lara[/COLOR][/B]
overall     1992-2005  	31  	58  	2  	2856  	277  	51.00  	4675  	61.09  	9  	11  	5  	381  	21
home  	     1995-2003  12  	23  	2  	1387  	213  	66.04  	2231  	62.16  	5  	7  	1  	192  	15
away 	     1992-2005 	19 	35 	0 	1469 	277 	41.97 	2444 	60.10 	4 	4 	4 	189 	6

[B][COLOR="Red"]Tendulkar[/COLOR][/B]
overall     1991-2008  27  	51  	6  	2512  	241*  	55.82  	4064  	61.81  	9  	10  	4  	303  	18  	  
home        1996-2008  	11  	21  	2  	990  	177  	52.10  	1515  	65.34  	3  	5  	1  	132  	12
away 	     1991-2008 	16 	30 	4 	1522 	241* 	58.53 	2549 	59.70 	6 	5 	3 	171 	6   	

[DomainK]

Precisely Ludh, thats the question I asked Lurker. An average above 58 in Australia against Australia is quite unbelievable. He should be the first one to be picked.

[bharat297]

Guys its Lurker's opinion. If he was selecting the side, this is who he'd have. I asked the question that way. He obviously has seen the stats before but has made his decision. Are there any other aussie fans on this forum?

[ludhianvi]

Lara is more flair and substance, Sachin is solid and consistent. I go with Lara.

We meet again:D How do backup 'more flair and substance' with an average 42 in Australia ? :hmmm:

[Aussiefanguy]

I havent been around long enough to really form an opinion on who we most "feared". But i would definatly put both Sachin and Lara in the XI, with KP making way for Sachin. I also think Sangakarra should be keeper, but he is moving away from the profession which is fair enough.

[Mr. Wicket]

Splitting into eras for this one 1990s onward: Virender Sehwag Michael Vaughan VVS Laxman Sachin Tendulkar Brian Lara Kumar Sangakkara Andrew Flintoff Wasim Akram Anil Kumble Curtly Ambrose Harbhajan Singh 1970-1980s Geoff Boycott Majid Khan Viv Richards Zaheer Abbas Martin Crowe Ian Botham Alan Knott Richard Hadlee Bob Willis Malcolm Marshall Derek Underwood Post WW II - 1970 Len Hutton Peter May Graeme Pollock Denis Compton Rohan Kanhai Garry Sobers Denis Lindsay (wk) Fazal Mahmood Alec Bedser Fred Trueman Jim Laker