Would the following current stars get into their nations all time test XIs...?

[Anakin]

I am talking about batting my friend. He is better than Younus and Anwar. Dunno about Majid. Anwar was even more of a flat track bully than Yousuf.

So was Zaheer Abbas, apart from Miandad I really don't see any quality class batsman there.

[Sooda]

Anwar averaged marginally higher away from home than his overall career average Aver in Aus 47, in Saf 34 and Eng 42 Not that much of an FTB to be fair to him. Hanif Mohd was supposed to be a pretty solid opener BTW this has gone way off the OP.. :p

[Gambit]

1 Shivnarine Chanderpaul - No chance in hell. With potential middle contenders like Sobers, Richards, Lara, Weekes, Worrell, Kanhai and Headley, Chanderpaul would struggle to make it to even a second string all time WI side. 2 Graeme Smith - He'll make it as a solid opening bat and decent captain. 3 Ricky Ponting - This is tricky. Bradman(3), Border(5) and Waugh(6) will definitely be in. 7 will be Gilly so the only slot available is 4. Punter's contenders will be Neil Harvey, Doug Walters, Greg Chappell and if Mr.Wicket is the selector, Victor Trumper. I would pick Punter though. 4 Kevin Pieterson - For which country? 5 Mohammed Yousuf - Given how little world class bats they have produced, I guess he would make it unless he's banned for running off to play in some league or the other. 6 Andrew Flintoff - No chance. Beefy was a better bat, slightly inferior bowler and much much fitter. 7 M S Dhoni - Given our historical dearth of good wicket keeping batsmen(Kirmani an exception), I would say by the time he retires, he will be a surefire pick. 8 Zaheer Khan - He might make the squad but he'll almost never get into the playing XI. 6 - Kapil, 7- Dhoni, 8-Chandra, 9- Srinath, 10- Kumble, 11- Bedi? 9 Dale Steyn - Too early to say but he's getting there. 10 :hysterical:

[Gambit]

Just read the others posts. Quite a few people concur on the Punter dilemma. It's a great testament to Australian cricket that a batsman of Ponting's class will struggle to make it to their all time XI.

[Mr. Wicket]

3 Ricky Ponting - This is tricky. Bradman(3)' date=' Border(5) and Waugh(6) will definitely be in. 7 will be Gilly so the only slot available is 4. Punter's contenders will be Neil Harvey, Doug Walters, Greg Chappell and if Mr.Wicket is the selector, Victor Trumper. I would pick Punter though.[/quote'] Actually, Trumper's record and consistency don't make him near that good a contender. I may be posting on the Trumper board but I'm not a fanboy :P - and I'd definitely pick either of the Lawry/Simmo combo or Hayden/Langer ahead of him. Lawry, Hayden (if you're talking about Trumper as an opener), Harvey, Walters, Chappell would all make that side ahead... although here's another fun thought that you didn't mention. Bradman at 3. Chappell at 4, given his brilliant record there. How about having to choose between Waugh, Harvey and Border and fitting Miller in at 6? Is Miller's all round prowess good enough to push him ahead of one of those batsmen?

[Sooda]

Actually, Trumper's record and consistency don't make him near that good a contender. I may be posting on the Trumper board but I'm not a fanboy :P - and I'd definitely pick either of the Lawry/Simmo combo or Hayden/Langer ahead of him. Lawry, Hayden (if you're talking about Trumper as an opener), Harvey, Walters, Chappell would all make that side ahead... although here's another fun thought that you didn't mention. Bradman at 3. Chappell at 4, given his brilliant record there. How about having to choose between Waugh, Harvey and Border and fitting Miller in at 6? Is Miller's all round prowess good enough to push him ahead of one of those batsmen?

Id say yes to that last question, given the balance it gives the side. Particularly since another bat in Gilly will come in at 6 or 7 (and how cool would that be -Miller/Gilly batting together) His fast medium to back up Lillee/McG would be more than handy. And if nothing else just seeing the dream cordon of Miller at first slip and Greg Chappell at 2nd will give any batter the sh!t$... Simpso/Haydo would make a good opening duo, Simpson the righty accumulator to Haydos lefty bludgening. Lawrys test record isnt fabulous and Simpson might edge out J-Lang possibly...? Trumpers always regarded oh so highly because he had to bat on difficult wickets. The same with Bill Ponsford.

[Mr. Wicket]

Trumper was a romantic's cricketer. Could belt the ball around, score a hundred in a session, played with tons of flair but never had the consistency or hard numbers to back up his talent. And whaddaya mean Lawry's test record isn't fabulous? Almost one ton every 5 matches and an average of 47 (back when an average of 47 actually meant you were really, really good). In fact a notch better than Simpson's. Simpson averaged 46.81 in tests with 10 tons in 62 games. Lawry averaged 47.15 with 13 tons in 67 games. Langer averaged 45.27 with 23 tons in 105 games. Personally I'd take either Langer (because I'm a Langer fanboy :P) or Lawry to open with Hayden. Bradman at number three (why hello there Captain Obvious), Chappell at 4, Border at 5 (a notch ahead of Waugh, simply because he was THE batsman of the 1980s) and Miller at 6. Gilchrist at 7, and then a ridiculously hard choice for the bowling. Would it be three quicks + a spinner, or 2 spinners (Warne and O'Reilly) + two quicks - and if so, McGrath picks himself, but who from Lindwall and Lillee? Glad I'm not a selector there. :D

[fineleg]

Just read the others posts. Quite a few people concur on the Punter dilemma. It's a great testament to Australian cricket that a batsman of Ponting's class will struggle to make it to their all time XI.

Very true, Pwnting is a snob, but he is a class batsman. But Aus have produced so many legends and hence Punter's place in all time XI is a :questionmark:

[Mr. Wicket]

Agree. If you take out a first-string Aus AT XI - a second string would still be pretty damn impressive. Here's one: Hayden/Lawry/Bradman/Chappell/Border/Miller/Gilchrist/Warne/Lillee/O'Reilly/McGrath Charlie Macartney/Ponsford/Ponting/Neil Harvey/Stan McCabe/Steve Waugh/Healy/Benaud/Davidson/Gillespie/Lindwall

[Sooda]

Agree. If you take out a first-string Aus AT XI - a second string would still be pretty damn impressive. Here's one: Hayden/Lawry/Bradman/Chappell/Border/Miller/Gilchrist/Warne/Lillee/O'Reilly/McGrath Charlie Macartney/Ponsford/Ponting/Neil Harvey/Stan McCabe/Steve Waugh/Healy/Benaud/Davidson/Gillespie/Lindwall

Langer, Bobby Simpson, Doug Walters, Clarrie Grimmet icould make that 2nd XI...or do they make your squad of 16? :-) Would Lindsay Hasset sneak in ahead of McCabe? And is Arthur Morris good... he is normally the opener in any of these All time Aus selections...

[DomainK]

1 Shivnarine Chanderpaul - No chance in hell. With potential middle contenders like Sobers, Richards, Lara, Weekes, Worrell, Kanhai and Headley, Chanderpaul would struggle to make it to even a second string all time WI side. 2 Graeme Smith - He'll make it as a solid opening bat and decent captain. 3 Ricky Ponting - This is tricky. Bradman(3), Border(5) and Waugh(6) will definitely be in. 7 will be Gilly so the only slot available is 4. Punter's contenders will be Neil Harvey, Doug Walters, Greg Chappell and if Mr.Wicket is the selector, Victor Trumper. I would pick Punter though. 4 Kevin Pieterson - For which country? 5 Mohammed Yousuf - Given how little world class bats they have produced, I guess he would make it unless he's banned for running off to play in some league or the other. 6 Andrew Flintoff - No chance. Beefy was a better bat, slightly inferior bowler and much much fitter. 7 M S Dhoni - Given our historical dearth of good wicket keeping batsmen(Kirmani an exception), I would say by the time he retires, he will be a surefire pick. 8 Zaheer Khan - He might make the squad but he'll almost never get into the playing XI. 6 - Kapil, 7- Dhoni, 8-Chandra, 9- Srinath, 10- Kumble, 11- Bedi? 9 Dale Steyn - Too early to say but he's getting there. 10 :hysterical:

Good post Gambit. I agree with almost all the points except picking Ponting.

[DomainK]

Ajit Agarkar: He wont even make it to all time best KKR team.

[gaurav92]

1 Shivnarine Chanderpaul no 2 Graeme Smith yes 3 Ricky Ponting yes 4 Kevin Pieterson no 5 Mohammed Yousuf yes 6 Andrew Flintoff no 7 M S Dhoni never 8 Zaheer Khan (3rd paceman..?) yes 9 Dale Steyn yes 10 Ajit Agarkar wth r u talkin abt :finger: never

[diegovegaz]

1 Shivnarine Chanderpaul definately he deserves a place 2 Graeme Smith yes, solid top order 3 Ricky Ponting not quite 4 Kevin Pieterson maybe, he's a decent bat 5 Mohammed Yousuf naah 6 Andrew Flintoff no 7 M S Dhoni no 8 Zaheer Khan (3rd paceman..?) no 9 Dale Steyn yes perhaps 10 Ajit Agarkar i hope not

[Guest Gunner]

Here we go- 1 Shivnarine Chanderpaul - No, too many great WI batsmen from the 1930s till the 90s. Shiv though a wonderful fighter just doesn't cut it. Imagine the 3Ws, Fredricks, Kanhai, Kallicharan, Lloyd,Viv, Lara, hunte et al. 2 Graeme Smith - As an opener very likely. despite the pollocks, barry richards etc. Very likely to make an all time SA XI as an opener. 3 Ricky Ponting - No. Same problem as the WIs. And this has been acknowledged by many posters. The talent pool which Aus has had in the last 100 years plus in terms of batsmen is too overwhelming. 4 Kevin Pieterson - No. Atleast not yet. Starting from hobbs all the way to Gower. Too many wonderful players produced by England as well. But, KP could be counted among the greats by the end of his career. 5 Mohammed Yousuf - Yes. 6 Andrew Flintoff - Botham would clearly be selected ahead of Freddie as an all rounder. 7 M S Dhoni - Not ahead of Farookh engineer yet. But again we have to say MSD at the end of his career. 8 Zaheer Khan (3rd paceman..?) - Without any doubt yes. There were only Amar Singh, Kapil Dev and Javagal Srinath before. 9 Dale Steyn - Too early again. We would never know what would have been the case if Apartheid had not brought the isolation of SA. Mike Proctor is a good example of what might have been. 10 Ajit Agarkar - Absolutely yes. When the team sheet is drawn up his will be the first name.

[DomainK]

1 Shivnarine Chanderpaul no 2 Graeme Smith yes 3 Ricky Ponting yes 4 Kevin Pieterson no 5 Mohammed Yousuf yes 6 Andrew Flintoff no 7 M S Dhoni never 8 Zaheer Khan (3rd paceman..?) yes 9 Dale Steyn yes 10 Ajit Agarkar wth r u talkin abt :finger: never

1 Shivnarine Chanderpaul definately he deserves a place 2 Graeme Smith yes, solid top order 3 Ricky Ponting not quite 4 Kevin Pieterson maybe, he's a decent bat 5 Mohammed Yousuf naah 6 Andrew Flintoff no 7 M S Dhoni no 8 Zaheer Khan (3rd paceman..?) no 9 Dale Steyn yes perhaps 10 Ajit Agarkar i hope not

So who do you think are the top 2/3 wicketkeeper batsmen ever in Indian cricket?

[Guest Gunner]

So who do you think are the top 2/3 wicketkeeper batsmen ever in Indian cricket?

Farookh Engineer really comes to mind.

[Guest Gunner]

Zaheer Abbas' date=' Javed Miadad, Saeed Anwar, Imran Khan, Majid Khan, Hanif Mohammad, Inzamam, Yonus Khan to name a few.[/quote'] Zaheer Abbas - Great at amassing runs, wonderful player in English conditions but not the guy who can score runs quickly enough to win you a game. Susceptible to lifters. Javed Miandad - Average player but great fighter. His batting was neither elegant nor interesting. Saeed Anwar - Reasonably good batsman. Great sub continent record nothing much outside. Imran Khan - What are you talking about? Majid Khan - In one word class but no career longevity which was a shame. Hanif Mohammad - Have you seen him bat? All descriptions I have heard of his batting is that he would put you in a coma. He could save a test but unlikely to win you one. However hust for batting 3 days against the windies I would acknowledge his greatness. Inzamam - Yes definitely. Younis Khan - Please!! Why didn't you name Salim Malik?

[Mr. Wicket]

Langer, Bobby Simpson, Doug Walters, Clarrie Grimmet icould make that 2nd XI...or do they make your squad of 16? :-) Would Lindsay Hasset sneak in ahead of McCabe? And is Arthur Morris good... he is normally the opener in any of these All time Aus selections...

Yeah, the 2nd XI is really debatable. LOTS of very good opening choices. Morris was also a phenomenal player who could also contend for either side. Hassett; possibly although McCabe as per all sources was a truly dashing, thrilling batsman to watch (heck when Bradman envied his strokeplay it says something) who played a couple of truly immortal innings including that legendary hundred v. Larwood's bodyline. Then again could be very easy to also stick Doug Walters in there. Re. Grimmett, hard to leave out but Lindwall and Davidson HAD to make the cut ahead of him, and Gillespie IMO was a truly world class bowler who has to be there as well. Comes down to Grimmett v. Benaud for me... and Benaud wins as he'd be captaining the side as well, and was quite the handy all rounder too. And Domaink: Kirmani, Engineer and Budhi Kunderan.

[The Outsider]

1 Shivnarine Chanderpaul - Certainly not. Won't even make the 2nd XI with talent like Richards, Lara, Sobers, Headley, Weekes, Walcott, Kanhai, Kalicharan, and Worrell to compete with. 2 Graeme Smith - Yeah.....has done enough to be amongst the two best test openers from South Africa. 3 Ricky Ponting - No. Again the competition from guys like Bradman, Waugh, Border, Chappell, Harvey, Ponsford, McCabe will put him out of contention. 4 Kevin Pieterson - Tough one, but probably will by the end of his career. Compton, Barrington, Hammond would be his main competitors. 5 Mohammed Yousuf - I rate Miandad, Inzamam, Malik as better middle order batsmen than Yousuf, so will slot in for the 4th middle order position. 6 Andrew Flintoff - Might not even make the 2nd XI with Botham and Tony Greig. 7 M S Dhoni - Not at the moment. Would pick Kirmani and Engineer before him. Won't make even the 2nd XI. 8 Zaheer Khan (3rd paceman..?) - Yes if picking 3 fast bowlers but picking an all time Indian XI wit 3 fast men would mean leaving out quality spinners, so no. 9 Dale Steyn - Would lose out to the likes of Donald, Pollock(Junior and Senior) 10 Ajit Agarkar - This is an insult. His name should only be mentioned for World XIs