Greatest ODI XI of all-time

[rich1uk]

Brett Lee was a very good ODI bowler, but you have yo have big bird in. Gilchrist at six as well?

I had him opening and dhoni at #6

been having second thoughts about leaving out amla tho , his record really is stunning

I know this might be blasphemy to some but I might leave out Tendulkar , kinda depends on the criteria we are using, Tendulkar was very very good for a long time but I think others on the list were better when at their very best, if that makes sense

[Gingerfinch]

Brett Lee was a very good ODI bowler, but you have yo have big bird in. Gilchrist at six as well?

I had him opening and dhoni at #6

been having second thoughts about leaving out amla tho , his record really is stunning

I know this might be blasphemy to some but I might leave out Tendulkar , kinda depends on the criteria we are using, Tendulkar was very very good for a long time but I think others on the list were better when at their very best, if that makes sense

Sachin was the top man in the mid-late 90's, early 00's, he'd be in my team all day. I don't really like picking current players, as you don't know what the future holds.

[rich1uk]

I know this is probably a terrible analogy , and i'm kinda just thinking aloud here, but would you pick a striker in football who scored 20 goals a season for ten years over one who scored 30 goals a season but for a shorter period

i'm not belittling at all what Tendulkar achieved, performing at the level he did for that length of time is incredible

[Gingerfinch]

Longevity has to be considered, and to average around 45 over 25 years is immense. To be honest, Lara, who I'd take over Sachin in tests, is a tad lucky to get in. On the BBC site, him hitting some of the great knocks in history was mentioned, but this for me, is in tests only. I would have had Ponting over him, in the middle order. Punter should be skipper as well.

[Gingerfinch]

Out of the players in the pot, my team would be.

Tendulkar
Gilchrist
Ponting (C)
Viv
AB
Bevan
Imran
Akram
Garner
Murali
McGrath

[rich1uk]

as I said I might just be going mad , just wanted to throw the question out there about whether a lower average and strikerate over a longer period means more than a higher average and/or strikerate over a shorter but still statistically valid period

[Gingerfinch]

as I said I might just be going mad , just wanted to throw the question out there about whether a lower average and strikerate over a longer period means more than a higher average and/or strikerate over a shorter but still statistically valid period

Compared to Amla? You could argue that Sachin played a lot of cricket in a harder era, so it's difficult to compare. In the same era, then you could argue for Amla, if he were to play another 100(ish) games with roughly the same output.

[rich1uk]

as I said I might just be going mad , just wanted to throw the question out there about whether a lower average and strikerate over a longer period means more than a higher average and/or strikerate over a shorter but still statistically valid period

Compared to Amla? You could argue that Sachin played a lot of cricket in a harder era, so it's difficult to compare. In the same era, then you could argue for Amla, if he were to play another 100(ish) games with roughly the same output.

not just amla , I was asking it more in theory

look at mike hussey, don't think he has even been mentioned in this thread but has a higher average and strikerate than Tendulkar and did it over 185 matches, which altho less than half the games Sachin played is not an insignificant period

as you mention tho it does come down to more than just numbers and the original team I picked was done before I even looked at stats but just from my own opinions of watching, maybe that's the best way when doing things like this

[Gingerfinch]

Hussey was more of a middle order player, so again difficult to compare. Hussey though could have been in the mix, certainly over Steve Waugh. Some of the picks do seem to have been done on test match performances, which is a little worrying when you have former players picking.

[rich1uk]

yeah I think the shortlist they used was flawed

[Making_Splinters]

Tendulkar's greatness lies in his longevity.

[rich1uk]

Tendulkar's greatness lies in his longevity.

and I wasn't questioning that , rather that when picking a greatest team do we pick players based on how good they are at their best or just how consistent they were ?

[Making_Splinters]

Tendulkar's greatness lies in his longevity.

and I wasn't questioning that , rather that when picking a greatest team do we pick players based on how good they are at their best or just how consistent they were

Consistency is more important than peak performance. If Tendulkar had played for a side like England who generally pick their players a little older he wouldn't have the same record.

[rich1uk]

Tendulkar's greatness lies in his longevity.

and I wasn't questioning that , rather that when picking a greatest team do we pick players based on how good they are at their best or just how consistent they were

Consistency is more important than peak performance. If Tendulkar had played for a side like England who generally pick their players a little older he wouldn't have the same record.

I am not saying we pick players based on a handful of games or that consistency isn't a factor, peak performance has to be a factor as well when considering a greatest team as long as it is over a long enough period to be valid does it not ?

its just an argument I have had a few times re baseball and their hall of fame criteria , a player who plays 20 years at an above average level always gets more votes than someone who player for ten years at an exceptional level and I am not sure that's always right as players themselves don't always have control over how long their careers are, as you mention regarding conservatism of selection of young players or injuries

[Gingerfinch]

I know you're not talking about just Tendulkar, but he was at least very good for many years. If he's had averaged say 38-40, and scored about 30 tons in all those matches, then I'd be agreeing.

Back to US sports, I suppose a fair comparison would be Jerry Rice, and Randy Moss?