Cricket-Match-Special ... A forum for discussion

When I look at this Aussie Test team, it's hard to identify many players who will stand the test of time as a great Aussie player. I can only think of one, now that Mike Hussey's retired, and that's Michael Clarke.

So, does that make this Aussie Test side the worst one ever to come out of a country that has dominated the sport down the years?

Or was the 1984 side captained by Kim Hughes worse than this one? That was a dire side....when I look at the Aussie side that lost 3-0 in the Caribbean, they had only one great player - Allan Border. The likes of Ritchie, Hogg, Hogan, Lawson, Jones, Phillips, Wood, Hookes, Rackemann, Maguire, and Matthews didn't exactly frighten many people.

Was there a worse Aussie team than these two? If so, which one?

The Oz team in the mid to late 80's was pretty awful. We lost to pretty much everybody, and celebrated wildly when we hung on to a draw against the Kiwis in a Test in Melbourne. This current lot isn't great, but our bowling is much better than it was in the mid to late 80's, and we were only one wicket away from being the number 1 ranked Test team in the world last summer. And in Michael Clarke, we have possibly the best Australian batsman of the modern era. Now that Twatto is batting at 6, we seem to have our balance back. In fact I'd go as far as saying that just maybe the pendulum is looking as though it's about to swing towards the Aussies in the next year or two... provided that Usman Khawaja makes some runs and avoids being victimized by poor umpiring.

The one when the Packer players left. Something like

Darling
Wood
Hughes
Yallop
Toohey
Cosier
MacLean
Hogg
Hurst
Clark
Higgs.

Though they may have put out a worse team than that.

Who are Australia

arthur- you dont mean stuart Clark surely? He was a very good bowler.

1985?

These are all from the Packer era. Wayne Clark. Hogg, Hughes and Yallop were all decent. From around 1978-80.

My 1985? Post was meaning that was on of the worst sides, btw. Missing a few rebel players, like Yallop.

Certainly the worst I've seen.

Dr Robert wrote:My 1985? Post was meaning that was on of the worst sides, btw. Missing a few rebel players, like Yallop.

Agree. That was the worst Aussie side I've seen.

1984 is already there in the options. Surely the 1985 team won't have been vastly different? Of course you'd know better.

shankycricket wrote:1984 is already there in the options. Surely the 1985 team won't have been vastly different? Of course you'd know better.

I think Dean Jones was in the 1984 team, but not in the 1985 one, which is a mystery, given their weak middle order. Also, Steve Waugh made his debut in 1985. but this was after the England tour. I still remember thinking to myself that he was a 'bits and pieces' player, who wouldn't do much. Great judgement

shankycricket wrote:1984 is already there in the options. Surely the 1985 team won't have been vastly different? Of course you'd know better.

Maybe shanky, but I didn't see the 1984 side play.