Which team would you choose to play for?

Immagine for a moment that you had sufficient ability to play for an international test team, not as a superstar but just good enough to make the team. You have the same character/temperament/cricketing approach as now, but just with a higher level of ability and success. If we disregard the issue of nationality, which team from the history of cricket would you choose to play for? Why?

I have two choices.

1) I would like to be an opening batsman for the Indian team of the 00's, having the knowledge that you would be followed by the some truely great batsmen would take the pressure of me completely and help me relax.

2) I would like to be an opening batsman for the England team of the 90's. I would relish the challenge of being defient in the face of probable defeat which suits my temperament.

Who would you choose to play for and why?

Just noticed this article, Living In Italy. An interesting one.

Despite my appalling ability, I'd describe myself as a bowler that has a bit of a slog with the bat. Sometimes it comes off for a short while, others it doesn't.

So, if I were to have two choices they'd be:

England 2005 - first change bowler - that feeling of hunting as part of a pack would be brilliant, knowing that you and your fellow fast bowlers were causing all kinds of problems, and affording the opposition no let-up, particularly when it is against a team that has caused you and so many others endless problems in the past. Getting on top of them would have been a tremendous feeling.

Australia early 00's - first change bowler - bowling in tandem with the great Shane Warne would have been reason enough alone, but I imagine being part of that 'we are unbeatable' mentality would have been very nice indeed. Warnie would buy you a few wickets as the batsmen looked to score against you instead of him, no doubt, and I could have picked up a few tips from Glenn McGrath along the way. Batting at number 9 in this side would have been nice, in fact I can just see myself and Adam Gilchrist butchering opposition attacks once their will had all but gone.

One of the great English "gentleman" cricketting sides pre WWI . Selection was more based on what kind of chap you were than any playing ability which I suspect would suit me better. Perhaps as a Raffles type gentleman rogue, a more romantic type of cricketing criminal than the modern corrupt ones.

Sorry to keep harping on about my two favourite all-time cricketers but, given the chance I'd love to have opened the batting with Hobbs or the bowling with Barnes.
Hobbs would take the best of the opposition bowling and keep the score ticking over, allowing me to simply concentrate on getting in and building a score, as he did with so many other partners.
Barnes would probably take most of the wickets, but batsmen would see me as the easier option which would make them more likely to attack my bowling, giving me a better chance to get them out.
Playing in partnership with either would greatly help any player.

Good article, remember seeing it on the weekend but wasn't in much of a state to respond. I'd probably favour SA or NZ when they started playing tests and were hopeless, easy to be a bit mediocre but still be the standout. Other than that would be great fielding in the slips to the WI attacks in the 70s and 80s and making smart-arsed comments to terrified batsmen.

I imagine batting opposite Bradman wouldn't have been a bad experience, either.

Being an Indian tailender batting in partnership with Sachin at a sold out Eden Gardens would be incredible, every run being cheered so loud that the roof lifted off, I expect that'd be an enormous buzz.

Not so sure about the batting with Tendulkar, imagine being last man out leaving him stranded short of whatever contrived landmark the fans had come up with & finding your house burned down.

Can think of worse scenarious than batting with Bradman though.

I would have liked to bat with Lance Klusener in the 1999 world cup semi final against Australia.

Will have had to do nothing, just not panick like donald.

Middle order batsman of the Windies team... around '77-'78 and again anytime between say '80 and '90. Coming out to bat after Greenidge and Haynes had put a few runs on the scoreboard and knocking the bowling attacks around with Viv Richards or Clive Lloyd would be a superb feeling.

Ha, yeah burning effigy's on your front lawn - it'd be scary but I'd risk it for the experience, before promptly leaving the country, never to return, upon losing my wicket.

If I had a time machine it would be quite funny to go back to the Bodyline series and come out for Australia wearing modern pads and a helmet then see the look on Jardines face.

Opening batsmen for Pakistan after Anwar and Amir Sohail had retired to finally give Pakistan a stable and consistent opener. Or I would not mind opening with Cook in the current England team.

Peter Seabiscuit Wheeler wrote:If I had a time machine it would be quite funny to go back to the Bodyline series and come out for Australia wearing modern pads and a helmet then see the look on Jardines face.

nice idea. Maybe informing him of modern rules, too?

Of course there would be quite a few Australian teams. The 1948 Invincibles would be my first choice. How good would it have been touring England playing 34 matches or whatever it was. Heck, just to be 12th man would have been an honour.

Also our team of the early 2000s - even playing a minor part in those epic clashes (Tests + ODIs) would have been something you'd remember for a long time.

Fists of Fury wrote:

Peter Seabiscuit Wheeler wrote:If I had a time machine it would be quite funny to go back to the Bodyline series and come out for Australia wearing modern pads and a helmet then see the look on Jardines face.

nice idea. Maybe informing him of modern rules, too?

I wouln't mind playing in the current Sri Lankan side facing an opening onslaught from Dale Steyn - wearing old-fashioned bamboo pads, tiny bat, hanky around my neck, socks in both pockets and a porcelain budgy cage.
Then I'd say to his face: "What's ya problem mate... whaddayu lookin' at?"

Linebreaker wrote:

Fists of Fury wrote:

Peter Seabiscuit Wheeler wrote:If I had a time machine it would be quite funny to go back to the Bodyline series and come out for Australia wearing modern pads and a helmet then see the look on Jardines face.

nice idea. Maybe informing him of modern rules, too?

I wouln't mind playing in the current Sri Lankan side facing an opening onslaught from Dale Steyn - wearing old-fashioned bamboo pads, tiny bat, hanky around my neck, socks in both pockets and a porcelain budgy cage.
Then I'd say to his face: "What's ya problem mate... whaddayu lookin' at?"

I personally think donald was more menacing, His face paint alone would have cleaned this lot up.

Wincing thinking about the bamboo pads & seeing your shin bone cart-wheeling behind you.

Having rewatched "Fire in Babylon" over the holiday period, I would have loved to have been the 4th pace bowler in the WI side during the late 70s and early to middle 80s.

Perhaps taking Courney Walsh's spot in this side:

http://www.espncricinfo.com/ci/engine/match/63383.html

They're both fiery characters, biltong... not much between them in terms of aggro.
The face paint got taken to the cleaners quite a few times by our guys.

LondonTiger wrote:Having rewatched "Fire in Babylon" over the holiday period, I would have loved to have been the 4th pace bowler in the WI side during the late 70s and early to middle 80s.

Perhaps taking Courney Walsh's spot in this side:

http://www.espncricinfo.com/ci/engine/match/63383.html

That's some lineup, isn't it.

I'd love to have replaced John Bracewell in the mid-80s NZ side (I was a good enough leggie to get a trial for the Central Districts U17 side).

Thrashing the Aussies in Aussie in 85 and ending the Windies' great run of series victories in '86 would be special.

Having a snort of whiskey and smoking laudanum with WG Grace in between balls in 1888 would have been a delightful experience too...

Hoggy_Bear wrote:Sorry to keep harping on about my two favourite all-time cricketers but, given the chance I'd love to have opened the batting with Hobbs or the bowling with Barnes.
Hobbs would take the best of the opposition bowling and keep the score ticking over, allowing me to simply concentrate on getting in and building a score, as he did with so many other partners.
Barnes would probably take most of the wickets, but batsmen would see me as the easier option which would make them more likely to attack my bowling, giving me a better chance to get them out.
Playing in partnership with either would greatly help any player.

Hoggy - not quite at the level of Hobbs or Barnes but I think this story told by an elderly friend supports your argument.

More than fifty years ago my old mate opened the batting for Somerset Under 19s with Roy Virgin. Two hours later they walked off for lunch with the score on around 120 for none. My friend was as pleased as punch and convinced he had played the innings of his life. However, a further look at the scoreboard showed he had actually scored 16 whilst Virgin was on 90 odd. This probably explains why Virgin went on to enjoy a twenty year career with Somerset and Northants which almost brought about a Test cap on more than one occasion whilst my friend spent a lifetime in Life & Pensions!

I'd love to be Sri Lanka's second spinner during the Murali era. Batsmen would be looking to take advantage of a spinner that isn't Murali which could present a few opportunities for wickets. Would also give a chance to learn from one of the best spinners of all time. The Sri Lankan team seems like a solid together team as well, especially when Murali was around. They didn't always win but the atmosphere always seemed good. I would've liked to be a part of that.

LivinginItaly wrote:Immagine for a moment that you had sufficient ability to play for an international test team, not as a superstar but just good enough to make the team....Who would you choose to play for and why?

That massive leap of imagination rather defeats me But I would have loved to have played alongside former mega stars such as Barnes, Bradman or Sobers to get a real sense of just how good they were.

At the risk of coming up with some awfully sentimental stuff, I wouldn't exchange playing for my country of birth as I have had the fortune of doing so for anything.

Well, all right, I'd have loved to have stood at slip when Warne was bowling... I'd have liked to bat with Steve Waugh, he always seemed to get the best out of people.

The two bowlers I'd love to face are Warne (I wonder how he'd plan to get me out?) and B. Lee. I'd like to face 2 balls from the latter provided he agreed to bowl full, just to see what it was like (2 balls as I reckon you wouldn't see the first one).

I reckon facing Tait (of current bowlers) would be the scariest: I remember a T20 against South Africa (possibly when Warner hit his famous 89) when he touched 159/160 kph which is the first time in the modern era I have seen batsmen genuinely scared by sheer pace (Kallis was backing away, De Villiers hit his stumps after being hit by a short ball - IIRC Duminy made a fantastic 70odd).

Middle order batsman or all rounder in the Aussie team from the early 00s. Id get to travel the world, watch some great cricket and occasionally wander out to field for a little while or throw the bat in search of some quick runs before we declare ......


Or a West Indian player in any team on tour anywhere in the world where there were attractive women ..... for obvious reasons ...

Being an all-rounder I´d like to play for NZ. Any era, at least I´d always get a bat and a bowl.

I find it frustrating that we´ve always had a few promising players but never enough contribution on a consistent basis from any of them apart from the likes of Hadlee or the short-lived career of Shane Bond. Normally we´ve had one reasonably good bowler and then a lot of Dobbly medium pacers trying to contain or trying to get wickets but going for plenty of runs.

What I´d like to be is a pace bowler who can swing the ball (obviously better than what I ever did but this is hypothetical after all) and operate well in tandem with another strike bowler. When you look at the great sides, they always have been able to apply pressure from both ends. Facing a dangerous bowler and then making hay when the other guy comes out to shine doesn´t create pressure and that is what you need in test cricket.

Similarly, I´d like to be the Mark Richardson John Wright Andrew Jones type player who puts down anchor and creates a platform for the likes of McCullum, Cairns, Taylor, Ryder like players who are usually good for the news highlights packages but get out for 20 or 30 to a stupid shot. What we have often struggled for is a guy who can build a big score without feeling the need to up the pace or dominate the attack. Someone who has the technique to knuckle down to face a lot of balls and build up frustration in the bowling side and allow my other flashier players to not feel so rushed and be able to choose their attacking strokes more wisely.

Of course I´d love to be part of a champion side like the Windies or the Aussies or even England now. To know what it is to be at the top of the world is a feeling anybody would like to be experience. But to know that you as an individual are a vital cog in the team is probably more satisfying. And let´s face it more realistic for me, albeit still way out of reach.

I had almost forgotten about this article, since there was no immediate response. I would have liked to bat against warne, just to see first hand how much he spun the ball. Would have liked to bat with Atherton when he had his famous tussle with Donald (99 trent bridge if I remember well) from the non-strikers end of course