Best test eleven from the last 11 years

What would be your world test eleven from the year 2000.....this would be mine

1.Justin Langer
2.Chris Gayle
3.Rahul Dravid
4.Sachin Tendulkar
5.Younus Khan
6.Mike Hussey
7.Adam Gilchrist (wk)
8.Zaheer Khan
9.Chaminda Vaas
10.Shane Warne
11.Glenn McGrath

Interesting selection CF. Younis and Hussey over Kallis? Zaheer and Vaas? really can't say how you can justify Langer and Gayle over Hayden, Sehwag, Smith or even Cook. But each to their own Mine would be...

Smith
Hayden
Sangakkara
Kallis
Yousuf
VVSL
Gilchrist
Pollock
Warne
Akhtar
McGrath

i chose hussey based on the fact that his form has been amazing since 06, with just a minor blip...Younis is consistently on form. Langer was the most improved cricketer on the planet. Gayle hit regular big scores, and hit a few triple hundreds, and offered good control with the ball. Zaheer's record speaks for its self, and Vaas was a class act with over 300 test wickets.

Gayle? No chance. Not a bad side, though overall. I'll think of my own a little later.

i think Gayle was a controversial pick for me, however he scored bagfuls of runs, and big runs, also his offspin was more than useful.

Sehwag
Dravid (I had to find a place)
Ponting
Tendulkar
Kallis
Gilchrist
Pollock
Warne
Steyn
McGrath
Murali

V Sehwag
M Hayden
R Dravid
J Kallis
S Tendulkar
K Sangakkara (c)
A Gilchrist (wk)
S Warne
D Steyn
M Muralitharan
G McGrath

S Warne
D Steyn
M Muralitharan
G McGrath

If that was the main bowling line up I think a bit of spin from Chris Gayle would probably be superfluous....

This will be my test eleven.

Sehwag
Smith
Hayden
Ponting
Kallis
Tendulkar
Gilchrist
Warne
Steyn
McGrath
Muralitheran

Strauss
Cook
Trott
Pietersen
Bell
Morgan
Prior
Broad
Swann
Tremlett
Anderson

skyeman wrote:Strauss
Cook
Trott
Pietersen
Bell
Morgan
Prior
Broad
Swann
Tremlett
Anderson

Good team.

I would love to see Skye's team face Biltong's.

Could you imagine a WSC style Super Test Series at Lord's, Capetown, Chennai, Melbourne and Cardiff - if required?

Sehwag
hayden
Dravid
Ponting
Tendulkar
Kallis
Gilchrist
Shane Bond
Warne
Steyn
McGrath

Cf, how about doing one of these with a stipulation of a player from each of the last 11 years?

I think the cricketfan team (see above) would be hard to beat. Don't want to start the Sehwag debate again, but surely it's a good idea to get into your best-Test team a guy who might not just get a quick 60 or 70 but a quick 250.
Steyn and McGrath look a fairly tasty opening pair, and a side with Kallis at six and Gilly at seven looks rather good. How about another NZ guy - Vettori - at eight, rather than Mr Bond. After all, not many guys have taken 300 Test wickets and scored 4,000 Test runs.

No Shoaib Akhtar people?

Too inconsistent (and mad!) for my liking, GG. A very effective bowler no doubt, but doesn't quite make it in amongst such esteemed company as McGrath and Steyn.

@sirfredperry

Vettori is a great player but when i have got a top 7 of such calibre , i would like to have a line up of match winning bowlers , even though they dont posess good batting skilld , tbh warne is a good lower order batter so is steyn

my team has got lethal fast bowlers in steyn,mcgrath and bond and a destroyer in warne, sehwag ,tendulkar and kallis will form my 5th,6th bowlers

If I can have the Kallis of 11 years ago I'd pick both Warne and Murali. If not I'd probably have to split them and play 3 out and out quicks.

Skyeman: this is a good England side, but going back 11 years I think
Hayden
Langer
Ponting
Waugh
Waugh
Martyn
Gilchrist
Warne
Lee
Gillespie
McGrath

might just give them a run for their money?

I would go for:
Hayden
Smith
Ponting
Tendulkar
Kallis
Pietersen (let's annoy Gregers a bit)
Gillchrist
Warne
Steyn
Murali/Gillespie (the non-05 version)
McGrath

Actually on reflection Shewag should probably be there. Sorry Smith. Also worth noting that with Warne, Kallis and Ponting you've got a decent slip cordon. Hayden was a good gully/short-leg.

Gregers wrote:Cf, how about doing one of these with a stipulation of a player from each of the last 11 years?

which CF are you talking to? as someone else decided to copy my username

Linebreaker wrote:I would love to see Skye's team face Biltong's.

Could you imagine a WSC style Super Test Series at Lord's, Capetown, Chennai, Melbourne and Cardiff - if required?

I thought I would take you up on your challenge and tried to work the stats on existing averages of each player in on four different grounds. Lord's, Chennai, Newlands and Melbourne.

The problem is some players, expecially the English team have not played at these grounds. so it is difficult to work it out. Also some players have had only one game at a specific ground and thus they could have bloated figures due to one match performances.

However looking at some of the figures.

Lords.
England's batsmen all have great averages totalling a massive 673 possible total per innings.
My team the batsmen have very poor averages with only Greame Smith 125 and Sehwag 56 averaging above 50.
The difference though could be Warne, McGrath and Murali who averages 15 wickets per match there.

Newlands.
Here only 2 english batsmen average above 50, whereas in my team 5 batsmen average above fifty, and the totals 480 per innings for my team and 380 for the English team, surprisingly also the ground which is most likely to give a result based on the number of overs reuired to bowl both teams out.

Chennai.
Chennai could also provide a result in the favour of my team as Steyn, Murali and Warne has been rather succesful there, whereas the english bowlers have struggled at Chennai and only Anderson and swann have bowled there.

Melbourne.
Could be interesting as both scores are close, Steyn has only played one match and taken 10 wickets, Anderson and Tremlett have also only played 1 match each and has taken 5 wickets each. So the dilemma is what can be taken from statistics of one match.

But overall I would think when looking at the pedigree of my team against some players largely untested over a longer career in the English team, I fancy my chances.

biltonbeck - Don't begrudge the England batman their terrific Lord's averages. After years of bending over backwards to make the visitors as comfortable as possible, England are now playing hardball with Test series and venues.
Now there is a Test at Lord's in May, or at the latest early June, in which the hosts rip thru the tourists and then make vast scores. The later Lord's Test - in July - has also seen big 100s from the England guys in recent years.
As someone who invariably sees both Lord's Tests every year, I am loving this arrangement. Having had to dutifully clap 100s, and, yes, double hundreds, by the tourists at Lord's for years, I'm now revelling in the England supremacy.

no one in there from the worlds number 1 team then???

Jimmy Anderson would certainly be considered, you'd imagine, along with Kevin Pietersen maybe, but overall there have been some truly outstanding players operating in the last 11 years, and whilst some of our guys may/will go on to be that great, it is a little too early to call.

I did consider Freddie but went for Pollock.

My picks would be:

1. Virender Sehwag - To average over 50 and play the way he does is a fantastic asset to any Test team
2. Rahul Dravid - A top player and a top man. Tour of England this year, where he succeeded whilst filling in at the top of the order means he will be the man to provide solid support to Sehwag
3. Ricky Ponting - Performances in last 2 years put him under pressure but his adaptability to play any type of innings makes him my number 3
4. Jacques Kallis - Too often overlooked, one of the greatest all-rounders of all time slots in at 4. Should provide good support for the front line bowlers
5. Sachin Tendulkar - Another legend of the game, whose exploits make him an automatic pick
6. Kevin Pietersen - Still averages over 50 and batting at 6 should free him up to take the attack to the opposition
7. Adam Gilchrist - Probably the easiest pick of the lot. Simply revolutionised the role of the keeper-batsman
8. Andrew Flintoff - A controversial choice selected as an impact bowler and late-order hitter if the unquestionable happens and the batting fails. Should form deadly reverse swing pairing with Steyn
9. Shane Warne (captain) - A quality bowler and an imposing character. Chosen as captain as, although all of the top 9 have tasted either full-time or stand-in captaincy he is the only one to have really revelled in it. Expect aggressive field settings. Will form top-notch slip cordon with Flintoff, Dravid and Kallis
10. Dale Steyn - Third best strike-rate of all time. Will be deadly with both the new ball and the old ball
11. Glenn McGrath - Will be the most economical of the pace bowlers and also serve a purpose in accurately predicting whitewashes for this team

Reserves:
Justin Langer - A good, solid batsman, who will provide cover at the top of the order and could slot in if Dravid struggles in the opening slot
Kumar Sangakkara - An underrated player who could fill in for any one of the middle order. Also the back up keeper
Muttiah Muralitharan - Hard to leave out and will play instead of Flintoff in sub-continent. Misses out to Warne because I feel only one spinner is needed on most pitches when that spinner is of Warne's calibre.
Jason Gillespie - Gillespie has a top record but will struggle to get in the team itself unless injuries strike
Zaheer Khan - Knows how to bowl pace on slow wickets and thus might challenge Steyn for a place in those conditions

Good list Shelsey - welcome to the cricket pages.

Sehwag,
Gayle,
Ponting,
Tendulkar,
De Villiars,
Gillchrist,
Vettori,
Warne,
Anderson,
Steyn,
Mcgrath.

Virender Sehwag
Matthew Hayden
Rahul Dravid
Sachin Tendulkar
Jacques Kallis
Adam Gilchrist
Andrew Flintoff
Shane Warne
Dale Steyn
Muttiah Muralitharan
Glenn McGrath.

The debatable choice in my list may be that of Fredye Flintoff. But I think I have a strong case here. Both Shane Warne and Muttiah Muralitharan, being the most impactful bowlers of the time period, has to be in there. For the pace unit to be as effective as it could be come in all condition, it needs additional strength. Kallis is there, and Fredye Flintoff can be an effective enforcer in all conditions. He is a fine slip fielder, and as he's batting at 7, that department won't be compromised a lot.

Shelsey93 wrote:My picks would be:

1. Virender Sehwag - To average over 50 and play the way he does is a fantastic asset to any Test team
2. Rahul Dravid - A top player and a top man. Tour of England this year, where he succeeded whilst filling in at the top of the order means he will be the man to provide solid support to Sehwag
3. Ricky Ponting - Performances in last 2 years put him under pressure but his adaptability to play any type of innings makes him my number 3
4. Jacques Kallis - Too often overlooked, one of the greatest all-rounders of all time slots in at 4. Should provide good support for the front line bowlers
5. Sachin Tendulkar - Another legend of the game, whose exploits make him an automatic pick
6. Kevin Pietersen - Still averages over 50 and batting at 6 should free him up to take the attack to the opposition
7. Adam Gilchrist - Probably the easiest pick of the lot. Simply revolutionised the role of the keeper-batsman
8. Andrew Flintoff - A controversial choice selected as an impact bowler and late-order hitter if the unquestionable happens and the batting fails. Should form deadly reverse swing pairing with Steyn
9. Shane Warne (captain) - A quality bowler and an imposing character. Chosen as captain as, although all of the top 9 have tasted either full-time or stand-in captaincy he is the only one to have really revelled in it. Expect aggressive field settings. Will form top-notch slip cordon with Flintoff, Dravid and Kallis
10. Dale Steyn - Third best strike-rate of all time. Will be deadly with both the new ball and the old ball
11. Glenn McGrath - Will be the most economical of the pace bowlers and also serve a purpose in accurately predicting whitewashes for this team

Reserves:
Justin Langer - A good, solid batsman, who will provide cover at the top of the order and could slot in if Dravid struggles in the opening slot
Kumar Sangakkara - An underrated player who could fill in for any one of the middle order. Also the back up keeper
Muttiah Muralitharan - Hard to leave out and will play instead of Flintoff in sub-continent. Misses out to Warne because I feel only one spinner is needed on most pitches when that spinner is of Warne's calibre.
Jason Gillespie - Gillespie has a top record but will struggle to get in the team itself unless injuries strike
Zaheer Khan - Knows how to bowl pace on slow wickets and thus might challenge Steyn for a place in those conditions

Solid list, shelsey, and to echo the Corporal - welcome!

Shelsey - that's a very strong and well balanced team.

My immediate reaction upon seeing Flintoff as low as number eight was that you might be a bowler light. However, I then noticed Kallis and your apt comment about him being able to ''provide good support for the front line bowlers''. Given that and the calibre of your front line bowlers, no issues at all.

A warm welcome from me too.

Well, the best Test team during the last 11 years was the Aussies in the early 00s as Mike Selig listed above, so I think they'd provide the foundations for the best XI.
Absolute shoo-ins from that Aussie team
Hayden
Ponting
Gilchrist
Warne
McGrath

Graeme Smith or Ali Cook would be a good pick for a second (more solid) opener.

Tendulkar, Lara and Kallis to bat 4 ,5 and 6, with the added bonus of Kallis's 3rd/4th seamer options.

Steyn as opening bowler, then you're picking for conditions between Murali (picked behind Warne because SW could also bat 8 and was an outstanding slip fielder) and another seamer - Dizzy Gillespie or Anderson in English conditions, perhaps Brett Lee on quick wickets.