Greatest aussie test XI

we all talk about australia's decline and rise etc...but in your opinon what would be their greatest test XI...this is mine:

1.Matthew Hayden
2.Arthur Morris
3.Don Bradman
4.Ricky Ponting
5.Steve Waugh (c)
6.Allan Border
7.Adam Gilchrist (wk)
8.Bill O'Reilly
9.Shane Warne
10.Glenn McGrath
11.Dennis Lillee

cricketfan90 wrote:we all talk about australia's decline and rise etc...but in your opinon what would be their greatest test XI...this is mine:

1.Matthew Hayden
2.Arthur Morris
3.Don Bradman
4.Ricky Ponting
5.Steve Waugh (c)
6.Allan Border
7.Adam Gilchrist (wk)
8.Bill O'Reilly
9.Shane Warne
10.Glenn McGrath
11.Dennis Lillee

And Larwood to bowl at them

Can't have an all-time Aussie 11 without Chappell (G.) and Miller. So great players though they were Waugh and Border miss out. Ponting captains.

Lindwall unlucky to miss out, but both Warne and O'Reilly bowled ridiculously well on seaming wickets, so even if it's a green-top I'd pick the two spinners.

i considered Miller, but wouldnt need his bowling, with the bowling attack i have, and already have plenty of batting.

Bobby Simpson
Arthur Morris
Don Bradman
Greg Chappell
Steve Waugh (capt)
Keith Miller
Adam Gilchrist
Shane Warne
Dennis Lillee
Bill O'Reilly
Glen McGrath

2nd XI:
Matt Hayden
Bill Lawry
Ricky Ponting
Stan McCabe
Neil Harvey
Allan Border (capt)
Ian Healy
Alan Davidson
Ray Lindwall
Charlie Grimmett
Fred Spofforth

Trumper
Hayden
Bradman
Ponting
Border
Miller
Gilchrist
Warne
Lillee
McGrath
Lindwall/O'Reilly

cricketfan90 wrote:we all talk about australia's decline and rise etc...but in your opinon what would be their greatest test XI...this is mine:

1.Matthew Hayden
2.Arthur Morris
3.Don Bradman
4.Ricky Ponting
5.Steve Waugh (c)
6.Allan Border
7.Adam Gilchrist (wk)
8.Bill O'Reilly
9.Shane Warne
10.Glenn McGrath
11.Dennis Lillee

I’d probably swop Morris with Simpson and O’Reilly with Benaud whom I would also make captain. In doing this I agree with the accepted norm that O’Reilly was the better bowler but I’d have Benaud for his captaincy skills

IMO o'reilly and warne both have to be in there...also S.Waugh was a phenonemal captain, so IMO benaud dosent get in there.

I'd go:

Trumper
Simpson
Bradman(c)
Chappell G.
Ponting
Miller
Gilchrist(wk)
Warne
Lillee
O'Reilly
McGrath

Second XI:
Hayden
Morris
MaCartney
Border(c)
McCabe
Waugh
Healey(wk)
Lindwall
Grimmett
Davidson
Johnston W.A.

that was my first XI
1.Matthew Hayden
2.Arthur Morris
3.Don Bradman
4.Ricky Ponting
5.Steve Waugh (c)
6.Allan Border
7.Adam Gilchrist (wk)
8.Bill O'Reilly
9.Shane Warne
10.Glenn McGrath
11.Dennis Lillee

my 2nd XI would be:

1.Justin Langer
2.Bob Simpson
3.Bill Lawry
4.Damien Martyn
5.Michael Clarke
6.Keith Miller
7.Ian Healy (wk)
8.Richie Benaud (C)
9.Brett Lee
10.Alan Davidson
11.Stuart MacGill

Martyn and Clarke above Neil Harvey?
MacGill above Grimmett?
no Spofforth or Lindwall?

not sure if I agree with your 2nd XI cf...

the thread was titled greatest test XI....not 2nd XI....dont even know why i bothered posting a 2nd XI

1) Justin Langer
2) Michael Slater
3) Don Bradman
4) Steve Waugh (c)
5) Mark Waugh
6) Ricky Ponting
7) Adam Gilchrist (wk)
8) Richie Benaud
9) Shane Warne
10) Dennis Lillee
11) Glen McGrath

Notable mentions: Glen Chapple, Bill Lawry, Matthew Hayden. Bill O'Reily, Jason Gillespie, Allan Border, Michael Clarke, Damien Martyn

Gregers, you gonna vote in the HoF this round, (you did the last round) there are some great names there including 11 out of 11 votes for Larwood

skyeman wrote:Gregers, you gonna vote in the HoF this round, (you did the last round) there are some great names there including 11 out of 11 votes for Larwood

11 out of 11 votes for Larwood my a**e!!!

There should be, Hoggy

Glad to see Trumper in some people's list. By all accounts he was a wonderful player. Neil Harvey should be mentioned. Would support the inclusion of Miller. Wonder just which players - part from the obvious Bradman - would, and should, be in everybody's list. I would say:
Warne
Gilchrist
McGrath
Lillee
but perhaps no one else so no Greg Chappell, no Trumper, no O'Reilly, no Hayden. Realise I've swayed away from the best ELEVEN and this is more like the top five. Thoughts ?

Hoggy_Bear wrote:

skyeman wrote:Gregers, you gonna vote in the HoF this round, (you did the last round) there are some great names there including 11 out of 11 votes for Larwood

11 out of 11 votes for Larwood my a**e!!!

I was careful not to include the word yes

sirfredperry

interesting question:
Bradman, Warne, McGrath and Lillee you suspect would make everyone's lists. Gilchrist probably too, though I somewhat surprised myself by not picking Healy (in fact I'm still having second thoughts about that) who was a much superior glovesman.

I think it would take a brave man to leave out Gilly however good the other glovemen (Oldfield, Tallon, Grout, Healey) were.

I wouldn't be too adamant about Harvey over Martyn TBH: Martyn was a fine player who was rarely called upon (mainly because the Australian sides he played in were so good) but who when he was almost always came up with the goods (excluding the '05 ashes when to be fair he had an awful run of luck as well). Harvey was a fine player who was comfortably the best batsman of his era (in the Australian side) and as such usually gets more plaudits. I wouldn't fancy splitting them personally...

It seems I was right when I mentioned David Boon was an underrated player.

No mention of him yet. Surely he was as good as Clarke and Martyn.

Stella wrote:It seems I was right when I mentioned David Boon was an underrated player.

No mention of him yet. Surely he was as good as Clarke and Martyn.

Nope, not really. Both have higher averages and have played more match-winning knocks (of course helped by the fact that they have played in great sides).

Mike Selig wrote:

Stella wrote:It seems I was right when I mentioned David Boon was an underrated player.

No mention of him yet. Surely he was as good as Clarke and Martyn.

Nope, not really. Both have higher averages and have played more match-winning knocks (of course helped by the fact that they have played in great sides).

Boon arguably played in a tougher era. The 80's which included the Windies (who he played very well) and the 90's and we all know there were some great bowlers in that era.
I'd put him on par with those two.

Very surprised to see the love on here for Bobby Simpson and, especially, Bill Lawry. Lawry could make Boycott look like an express train and no other string to his bow compared to Simpson's slow bowling, slip-fielding and captaincy.

Neither as outstanding as an opener as Harvey was as a middle-order bat.

Think I'd go with:
Border
Morris
Bradman
Harvey
Ponting (Capt)
Miller
Gilchrist
Warne
McGrath
Lillee
O'Reilly

Cricinfo's all time Aussie XI from a couple of years back (http://www.espncricinfo.com/magazine/content/current/story/magazine/alltime.html?site_area=1929) was

Victor Trumper
Arthur Morris
Don Bradman
Greg Chappell
Allan Border
Keith Miller
Adam Gilchrist
Shane Warne
Bill O'Reilly
Dennis Lillee
Glenn McGrath

with a readers' XI of
Matthew Hayden,
Bill Ponsford,
Don Bradman,
Ricky Ponting,
Steve Waugh,
Adam Gilchrist,
Keith Miller,
Shane Warne,
Bill O'Reilly,
Dennis Lillee,
Glenn McGrath

kwini

Simpson averaged more than 55 when opening the batting, for me that's enough to get him into the side.

Australia has had too many great players to choose from, lol - but some very good sides posted on here.

I'd go for an Early XI (up to 1960) and Modern XI (post 1960):

Trumper
Morris
Bradman (C)
Harvey
McCabe
Miller
Tallon (wk)
Davidson
Lindwall
O'Reilly
Spofforth

Hayden
Simpson
Ponting
Chappell, G
Border (C)
Waugh, S
Gilchrist (wk)
Lillee
Thompson
Warne
McGrath

What about the famous 1985 Australian Team which toured England :-

1 Graeme Wood
2 Andrew Hilditch
3 Kepler Weesels
4 Allan Border
5 Greg Ritchie
6 Wayne Phillips
7 Simon O'Donnell (Australia's answer to Ian Botham)
8 Bob Holland
9 Craig McDermott
10 Geoff Lawson
11 Jeff Thompson

gboycottnut wrote:What about the famous 1985 Australian Team which toured England :-

1 Graeme Wood
2 Andrew Hilditch
3 Kepler Weesels
4 Allan Border
5 Greg Ritchie
6 Wayne Phillips
7 Simon O'Donnell (Australia's answer to Ian Botham)
8 Bob Holland
9 Craig McDermott
10 Geoff Lawson
11 Jeff Thompson

Greatest at losing to England I agree

skyeman wrote:

gboycottnut wrote:What about the famous 1985 Australian Team which toured England :-

1 Graeme Wood
2 Andrew Hilditch
3 Kepler Weesels
4 Allan Border
5 Greg Ritchie
6 Wayne Phillips
7 Simon O'Donnell (Australia's answer to Ian Botham)
8 Bob Holland
9 Craig McDermott
10 Geoff Lawson
11 Jeff Thompson

Greatest at losing to England I agree

Most of that lot got thrashed by Hadlee New Zealand in 1985 too.

gboycotnut- i noticed this on all the threads...do you just look at cricinfo's XI?

most of the players u mention have nothing on the likes of mcgrath, warne etc....

I think he was having a dig at the 1985 team.

That was another awkward period for Australia as Kiwi says - even NZ (c/o/Hadlee) tore them to bits. That was a 6 Test series if I recall but it did set things up nicely for the 1989 tour (Oz 'not a chance!') - which I remember very well.