Anyone here watch cricket?
In particular the final of the VB One-Day Internation Series hosted in Australia at the SCG on the 9th Feb 2004...
I've never seen a cricket team play so well. Excellent by Australia with Gilchrist smacking them all around the game, along with plenty of quick singles. Then Hayden and Martyn were excellent with the bat, ranging from powerful shots to delicatly place dabs, which they comfortably stole singles from when any other team wouldn't even think of running. Hayden and Martyn get out, enter Symonds and Clarke. Symonds is unbelievable form, smashing the ball every delivery give or take two (and just one over), ending the game scoring almost 200% strike rate. What does all this equal? The highest score ever by Australia. (Well, the equal amount of runs, but less wickets were taken.)
India come in with the game all but over. To make things absolutely out of reach, Lee takes a catch from all three of the first dismisals. India end up at 5/54, still with over 300 runs left to get and only 5 wickets in hand with a runrate of 9/over. Absolutely super stuff that.
Now that Martyn looks back in form, I think this is now the best cricket team ever. The best bowler ever, Shane Warne, has just finished his suspension. Even though he's retired from ODI's, if he's back in top form I expect he'll come back from retirement. (just like Jordan, along with his old ODI shirt number - 23). Not to mention one of the best bowlers ever, Glenn McGrath. He could make a comeback from his serious injury in a month's time. What a team this is, and yet what a team this could be.
Australia A (the non-youth one) could be competently capable and successful at international level cricket too:
ODIAustralia
[list=1]
- A.Gilchrist + (vc)
- M.Hayden
- R.Ponting (c)
- D.Martyn
- A.Symonds
- M.Clarke
- I.Harvey
- B.Lee
- S.Warne
- J.Gillespie
- G.McGrath
[/list=1]
[/color]
Australia A
[list=1]
- M.North
- S.Katich (c)
- M.Hussey (vc)
- M.Bevan
- C.Rogers
- B.Hogg
- B.Haddin +
- A.Bichel
- M.Kasperitz
- S.MacGill
- B.Williams
[/list=1][/color]
Australia B
[list=1]
- J.Maher
- J.Langer (vc)
- D.Lehman (c)
- M.Love
- B.Hodge
- S.Watson
- W.Seccombe +
- S.Tait
- N.Hauritz
- J.Taylor
- N.Bracken
[/list=1][/color]
Sounds promising hey?