All time SA team

Link

Hmm, without checking the figures, I'd have to go with Barry Richards and Graeme Smith as the openers.

I went for Richards and Mitchell

Looking Mitchell's figures up now.

Yeah, average of 48.88 in the Saffies developing years, compared to Smiffy's 50.33 in the era of flat tracks and minnows.

Probably a fair call.

Did they end up publishing the AT teams for the other nations?

Anyone got a link?

As for me, my Saf team would be:

B Richards
Mitchell
Kallis
G Pollock
Nourse
Faulkner
Lindsay (wk)/ Boucher
S Pollock
Steyn (or maybe Adcock or P Pollock)
Tayfield
Donald

I think that's close to the team I put up here some months back

taipan wrote:I went for Richards and Mitchell

Yep. I'm pretty shocked at the lack of mention that Bruce Mitchell has gotten, by all accounts he was top drawer. The only thing I can think of is that he didn't play all that many match-winning knocks and instead had fighting efforts in draws and losses. It is closer than it used to be for me between him and Smith who has improved quite a bit (he didn't score a ton against top 5 opposition for something like 4 years).

Interesting is who they might put head to head for the allrounder spot.

Kallis v Polly v Faulkner.

Don't think Procter played enough tests

skully wrote:Looking Mitchell's figures up now.

Yeah, average of 48.88 in the Saffies developing years, compared to Smiffy's 50.33 in the era of flat tracks and minnows.

Probably a fair call.

Don't really know much about Mitchell but Smiffy has to be in with a good shout, a high average is all well and good but he has really delivered when it has mattered and played a number of vital innings in important tests.

That's a shame. He'd be in my team without question. He didn't need to have actually done it because he did it against world class opposition. No mention of Eddie Barlow? In a way I suppose that it would be insulting to the players that actually did play Tests to have some bloke's theoretical career displace you in the team.

Barlow is already down for an opening slot. Don't think you can be nominated in 2 categories.

Just use the 69/70 team and use the third Pollock and throw out Kallis, and try to fit Tayfield in.

Bradman wrote:Just use the 69/70 team and use the third Pollock and throw out Kallis, and try to fit Tayfield in.

I think Bill Lawry would begrudgingly agree.

JGK wrote:Did they end up publishing the AT teams for the other nations?

Anyone got a link?

New Zealand

Had never heard of Dempster

Yeah, Stewie Dempster - one of those statistical anomolies.

The 69-70 side PLUS a decent spinner? The mere thought might be enough to send Bill into the foetal position.

69/70 + Tayfield would be pretty tough to beat.

Last team before banning

BA Richards
EJ Barlow
A Bacher*
RG Pollock
BL Irvine
DT Lindsay†
HR Lance
MJ Procter
PM Pollock
PHJ Trimborn
AJ Traicos

Bacher, Lance, Trimborn and Traicos have to go

Trimbone? Someone's taking the p!ss, right?

Medium fast form Natal.

Of course for the Aussie tour we would have had Van der Bijl and Rice

God knows, 69-70 plus Traicos was hard enough. But any spinner would have been pretty redundant in that side on those pitches. Australia still wouldn't have got close to winning a Test if SA's spinner had been Johnny Watkins.

Not sure why Goddard was dropped for the last test.

I was too young to remember the 69-70 tour but 66-67 and 69-70 used to send a shudder down my old man's spine every time it was mentioned.

Perhaps it was a blessing that I "got" the Great Game when the MCC toured Aus in 70-71. We were still sh!te but we improved pretty quickly after that.

skully wrote:I was too young to remember the 69-70 tour but 66-67 and 69-70 used to send a shudder down my old man's spine every time it was mentioned.

Perhaps it was a blessing that I "got" the Great Game when the MCC toured Aus in 70-71. We were still sh!te but we improved pretty quickly after that.

Your surname is Lawry?


And that the SA tour was cancelled.

"Not sure why Goddard was dropped for the last test."

Esp as a bowler (Trimborn) took his place.

Wasn't Goddard an ex-captain? Maybe he was behaving a bit too much like another Trevor we all kinow....