11 Baggy Green Caps

Team of the Week

I continue this week with my "best ... XI" series by naming my ultimate Australian Team. surprisingly this selection was far easier than the New Zealand XI from last week because, although Australia has produced an army of very good cricketers, the great players stand just over the others. No doubt people will question the absence of the Waugh twins, the mighty Allan Border, the elegant Greg Chappell or the legendary Richie Benaud and they were in contention but only just missed out.

The Team:

• B. Woodfull
• B. Ponsford
• R. Ponting
• Sir. D. Bradman (c)
• V. Trumper
• K. Miller
• A. Gilchrist (wk)
• R. Lindwall
• S. Warne
• D. Lillee
• G. McGrath
• B. O’Reilly

Explanations:

• To open I believe the two Bills would be the best combination, both averaged over 45 in tests and 64 in first class cricket and known for their powers of concentration. They formed the rock that Australia built their scores around for a decade between 1925 and 1934 (along with Bradman) and their possible low run rate would be offset by the following middle order.
• The middle order includes three of the most (successfully) aggressive batsmen in the history of the game. Ponting for his ability to confront bowling fits into his natural position which allows Sir Donald to build massive scores at No. 4. Trumper, who averaged just 39 in tests, is included for his reputation on 'sticky' wickets and would be best suited to save a top-order collapse as Australian teams are prone to do every now and then.
• Miller is the allrounder of the side averaging 37 with the bat and 23 with the ball and could counterattack with either skill
• The position of keeper was easy for me, Gilchrist is one of my favourite cricketers for his keeping and his batting (which destroyed many a New Zealand bowling attack) and his ability to keep against spin puts him ahead of Marsh
• The spinner is the best leg spin bowler in the history of test cricket - enough said
• The pace quartet (including Miller) is completed with Lindwall, McGrath and Lillee. It wouldn't really matter which opened the bowling, although I do regard Miller as a partnership breaker. Also Lindwall's ability to bat (average 21 with 2 centuries) removes the need for a batsman to bowl from the top order
• The 12th Man is Tiger O'Reilly solely for the purpose of playing instead of Shane Warne when playing India (he would play along side him in other games too). His leg spinners were near medium pace and provided bounce (like Kumble) and would be very useful on sub-continent pitches.

As you can see the side selected here includes players from as early as 1904 and this is only possible due to the information available on the likes of Trumper and the two Bills. Their reputations have lasted the test of time and still find their ways into conversations concerning the great players of cricket. For those of you not familiar with some of these names I would recommend cricinfo as a starting point and perhaps you can delve into the history of the game that I have so enjoyed doing over the last few years.
Either way I hope you provide your opinions on my Best Australian XI

Join me next Thursday for another XI