best test eleven over the last 12 months

guys what is your best test eleven based on form over the last 12 months? mine is....

1) Alistair Cook
2) Virender Sehwag
3) Brendon McCullum (WK)
4) Darren Bravo
5) Sachin Tendulkar
6) AB DE Villiers
7) Brad Haddin
8) Zaheer Khan
9) Dale Steyn
10) Rangana Herath
11) Abdur Rehman

for me Trott would have to be in there for a start

My side:

1) Alistair Cook
2) Virender Sehwag
3) Jonathan Trott
4) Sachin Tendulkar
5) AB De Villiers
6) Michael Hussey
7) MS Dhoni (W-K)
8) Graeme Swann
9) Zaheer Khan
10) Dale Steyn
11) James Anderson

1) Alistair Cook
2) Virendar Sehwag
3) Jonathon Trott
4) Sachin Tendulkar
5) Mike Hussey
6) Ian Bell
7) Matt Prior
8) Greame Swann
9) Peter Siddle
10) Steyn
11) Anderson

1. V. Sehwag
2. H. Amla
3. J. Kallis
4. S. Tendulkar
5. A.B. de Villiers
6. Mike Hussey
7. M.S. Dhoni (c)(w/k)
8. D. Vettori
9. D. Steyn
10. Z. Khan
11. M. Morkel

1) A. Cook
2) T. Dilshan
3) J. Trott
4) S. Tendulkar
5) J. Kallis
6) AB. de Villiers
7) B. McCullum (c)
8) D. Vettori
9) G. Swann
10) Z. Khan
11) D. Steyn

sonic_boom10 wrote:1. V. Sehwag
2. H. Amla
3. J. Kallis
4. S. Tendulkar
5. A.B. de Villiers
6. Mike Hussey
7. M.S. Dhoni (c)(w/k)
8. D. Vettori
9. D. Steyn
10. Z. Khan
11. M. Morkel

No England players Sonic? Would of thought you would include one or two after the year they've had.

Liam_Main wrote:

sonic_boom10 wrote:1. V. Sehwag
2. H. Amla
3. J. Kallis
4. S. Tendulkar
5. A.B. de Villiers
6. Mike Hussey
7. M.S. Dhoni (c)(w/k)
8. D. Vettori
9. D. Steyn
10. Z. Khan
11. M. Morkel

No England players Sonic? Would of thought you would include one or two after the year they've had.

India and SA are better than England, so I opted for those two sides.

I favoured in Ind-SA played 5 Tests(2 in IND and 3 in SA) and both series where very close and of a very high standard.

England played well, but Australia where pitiful, so it swayed my decision

sonic_boom10 wrote:

Liam_Main wrote:

sonic_boom10 wrote:1. V. Sehwag
2. H. Amla
3. J. Kallis
4. S. Tendulkar
5. A.B. de Villiers
6. Mike Hussey
7. M.S. Dhoni (c)(w/k)
8. D. Vettori
9. D. Steyn
10. Z. Khan
11. M. Morkel

But no Cook and Trott after there seasons? Very harsh.

No England players Sonic? Would of thought you would include one or two after the year they've had.

India and SA are better than England, so I opted for those two sides.

I favoured in Ind-SA played 5 Tests(2 in IND and 3 in SA) and both series where very close and of a very high standard.

England played well, but Australia where pitiful, so it swayed my decision

But no Cook and Trott after there seasons?

Liam_Main wrote:

sonic_boom10 wrote:

Liam_Main wrote:

sonic_boom10 wrote:1. V. Sehwag
2. H. Amla
3. J. Kallis
4. S. Tendulkar
5. A.B. de Villiers
6. Mike Hussey
7. M.S. Dhoni (c)(w/k)
8. D. Vettori
9. D. Steyn
10. Z. Khan
11. M. Morkel

But no Cook and Trott after there seasons? Very harsh.

No England players Sonic? Would of thought you would include one or two after the year they've had.

India and SA are better than England, so I opted for those two sides.

I favoured in Ind-SA played 5 Tests(2 in IND and 3 in SA) and both series where very close and of a very high standard.

England played well, but Australia where pitiful, so it swayed my decision

But no Cook and Trott after there seasons?

No.

Kallis was far more impressive. This maiden 200 in Tests plus twin hundreds in another Test as well. Stuff of legendary proportions.

right, well as usual I disagree with everyone, some more than others. After their impressive year, England deserve a few players in there, regardless of how poor Aus may have been, not many temas have gone there and won three tests by an innings. SA and India were the other to dominant sides over that period, so those three teams make up the vast majority of my team

Cook
Watson
Trott
Tendulkar
Kallis
De Villiers
Prior
Swann
Zaheer Khan
Steyn
Anderson

Alastair Cook
Virender Sehwag
Jonathan Trott
Sachin Tendulkar
Jacques Kallis
VVS Laxman
Matt Prior
Graeme Swann
Dale Steyn
Zaheer Khan
James Anderson

I honestly think the bowling picks itself: Swann, Khan, Steyn and Anderson have been a cut above anyone else.

Not sure why Prior's in so many sides, did ok in Aus but mainly when his side were already in the box seat. I thought Haddin had a better series if I'm honest. I'm not sure how highly I rate Dhoni's keeping. Wouldn't personally pick Watson (too many starts, not enough tons) ahead of either Cook or Shewag. Trott is a shoe-in at 3, and Tendulkar at 4.

This leaves 5 and 6. Hussey was great for 3 tests but did very little in India or the final 2 of the ashes. De Villiers I am biased about, I love the way he bats and I love watching him field so he gets in. My gut feeling is then that we need an all-rounder at 6 if possible, or at least someone who can bowl a few overs (don't rate Trott as a bowler): possibly Vettori or Shakib? I must admit I'm not sure how good they've been this year. Kallis? Of course he would prob bat 4 or 5. On the whole:

Shewag
Cook
Trott
Tendulkar
Kallis
De Villiers
Haddin
Swann
Steyn
Zaheer Khan
Anderson

swann would captain, I reckon he'd be a great captain.

Edit: same team as Liam with a different keeper...

Cook
Amla
Trott
ABDV
Hussey
Watson
Prior
Swann
Steyn
Zaheer
Anderson

I know Watson has been opening for the last 2/3 yrs in tests but I had to include him somewhere as he's been in good form and is a great option as a fifth bowler.

1. Alistair Cook (ENG)
2. Virender Sehwag (IND)
3. Jonathan Trott (ENG)
4. Sachin Tendulkar (IND)
5. Jacques Kallis (SA)
6. Mik Hussey (AUS)
7. M.S. Dhoni (IND)
8. Graeme Swann (ENG)
9. Zaheer Khan (IND)
10. Dale Steyn (SA)
11. Jimmy Anderson (ENG)

Mohammed Amir would have been in for Khan but because of his no balls...

I think VVS hasn't got enough credit. Of all the people, he played the best under high pressure situations. Against SL in SL, against Aus in India, and against SA in SA. He attacked when needed, scrapped when needed. He partnered the top-middle order batters at times, and then shepherded the lower order better than anyone else. I think that consistency has to be seriously acknowledged.

ABDV has been fine, Hussey was ok in patches, but nobody matches VVS for his consistency and high pressure, match winning performances in different conditions.

As far as WKs are concerned, Haddin missed most of the concerned time period, and as usual, his keeping has been suspect. Dhoni has been safe enough with the gloves, but hasn't always performed to his own high standards with the bat consistently. For me, Prior's consistency with the bat, and a much, much improved performance with the gloves edge MSD.

msp makes a very good point about Laxman. He has played a number of match-winning innings. I must admit to being an AB lover though. Plus he does save you 20 runs in the field (Laxman's fielding is...). If I were more neutral then prob Laxman in for AB.

Mike Selig wrote:I honestly think the bowling picks itself: Swann, Khan, Steyn and Anderson have been a cut above anyone else.

Not sure why Prior's in so many sides, did ok in Aus but mainly when his side were already in the box seat. I thought Haddin had a better series if I'm honest. I'm not sure how highly I rate Dhoni's keeping. Wouldn't personally pick Watson (too many starts, not enough tons) ahead of either Cook or Shewag. Trott is a shoe-in at 3, and Tendulkar at 4.

This leaves 5 and 6. Hussey was great for 3 tests but did very little in India or the final 2 of the ashes. De Villiers I am biased about, I love the way he bats and I love watching him field so he gets in. My gut feeling is then that we need an all-rounder at 6 if possible, or at least someone who can bowl a few overs (don't rate Trott as a bowler): possibly Vettori or Shakib? I must admit I'm not sure how good they've been this year. Kallis? Of course he would prob bat 4 or 5. On the whole:

Shewag
Cook
Trott
Tendulkar
Kallis
De Villiers
Haddin
Swann
Steyn
Zaheer Khan
Anderson

swann would captain, I reckon he'd be a great captain.

Edit: same team as Liam with a different keeper...

Dhoni is th best keeper to spinners in the World, takes more skill to keep on slow and low pitches than on bouncy pitches.

I disagree strongly, his hands are a lot harder than the great keepers and he drops more than his fair share of balls from the spinners. India currently only have one decent spinner as well. Jayawardene is comfortably the best keeper playing international cricket at the moment, maybe he should bat at 7 (his record suggests he can)?

Mike Selig wrote:I disagree strongly, his hands are a lot harder than the great keepers and he drops more than his fair share of balls from the spinners. India currently only have one decent spinner as well. Jayawardene is comfortably the best keeper playing international cricket at the moment, maybe he should bat at 7 (his record suggests he can)?

India only have 1 'decent spinner'? Who you kidding? Harbhajan, Ashwin, Mishra and plenty more waiting in the wings.

With regards to Dhoni, his keeping to spin is amazing. He kept to Murali for 3 years in the IPL and didn't miss a thing.

Murali himself said Dhoni's the best keeper off his bowling. Case closed.

Mishra is very average, Ashwin is as yet unproven. I can recall quite a few drops from Dhoni off Murali during IPLs (not talking edges, just balls passing the bat). The fact that he has occasionally fielded rather than kept wicket IMO says it all. He is a decent keeper, but not in the class of Jayawardene.

Mike Selig wrote:Mishra is very average, Ashwin is as yet unproven. I can recall quite a few drops from Dhoni off Murali during IPLs (not talking edges, just balls passing the bat). The fact that he has occasionally fielded rather than kept wicket IMO says it all. He is a decent keeper, but not in the class of Jayawardene.

Keeping to guys like Mishra, or Ashiwn is far more challenging than keeping to someone like Swann. A spinner turning it both ways takes real skill to keep to.

Dhoni has been playing with cracked fingers in the IPL, therefore Parthiv(IPL1-3) and Saha(IPL4) some times deputize.

As good as Prasanna is supposed to be, he was dreadful at Lords.

I don't rate Prior that highly either TBH. The problem is since Gillchrist teams have unilaterally gone for the better batsman at the expense of the better keeper (aided by flatter wickets which make keeping easier, and to some extent the fact there are less spinners around now than in the 90s/early00s).

With regards to Prasanna, it is incredibly difficult for a keeper keeping for the first time in England. The different ball and atmosphere means the ball keeps wobbling after it has passed the bat. The classic technique of "take in front and give" is then not the best way, and it often takes a tour or two for keepers to adapt (remember Hadding in 09? Even Healy and Marsh struggled on their first England tours...). For some reason the backdrop at Lords seems to make it even more difficult.

Prassana's done quite well in my opinion getting used to England's conditions.

Lords is a horrible place to keep, all the keepers will tell you so, the background is poor and the bll in England tends to swing after it passes the bat which makes life very tough. Factor in the slope (makes moving hard) and you understand why traditionally keepers struggle there, all the more so if it's their first time.

Mike's right, Dhoni's a fine batsman and a very good captain, but he is a long way from being the best keeper in the world. That honour does indeed go to Jayawardene, followed by Taibu. After that it's much of a muchness really IMO, no real stand out. "Keeping to Ashwin far more challenging than keeping to Swann"? Give it a rest sonic, your anti-Swann bias is a bit silly sometimes...

Dhoni's not the greatest of glovemen, but he's more than decent. since Sangakkara doesn't keep in all formats any longer, overall, Dhoni's the best balanced wicket keeper. however, since we are dealing with the last 12 months, I think Matt Prior's overall performance just edges that of Dhoni. Dhoni's batting didn't meet the usual high standards in this period, although he remained pretty decent. and at the same time, Prior's keeping improved quite a lot. both of them aren't perfect keepers, but they can keep, and keep well. the only thing is that they are not in the same class as a Heley or a Prasanna. someone like a Sangakkara or a Gilchrist is more likely.
and on VVS's fielding, he doesn't field in the outfield, but he's pretty sharp in the slips.

back on topic I think most of what Mike says is true, they're a few players who pretty much pick themselves:

Cook
Trott
Tendulkar
Swann
Zaheer Khan
Steyn
Anderson

all had a very fine last 12 months and I couldn't leave any of them out.
That leaves
1) second opener: I went for Watson who's been really consistent and with run machines all around you don't mind carrying someone who maybe won't make hundreds but will always give you a solid platform. Sehwag had a poor series in SA, Smith is another option I guess, can't think of many others.
2) couple of middle-order spots: Kallis, De Villers, Bell, Laxman, all in with a good shout.
3) keeper. Dhoni's batting has been a little below par I think recently, Prior had a good enough last 12 months, and they're other options too. A big uncertainty I think here.

i went for mccuulum for his batting as well

Cook
Gambhir
Trott
Tendulkar
Kallis
Bell
Haddin
Swann
Anderson
Zaheer
Steyn

haddin?