The 'heart' XI

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Thought about recent discussions involving Ambrose and Waugh and proposed the question:
Who would you have in an XI comprised of cricketers while not necessarily talented, would always give 100% no matter what situation the team was in?

I guess it is easier to think about teams that had one player carrying them in times of crises (thinks of Walsh in the West Indies teams of the late nineties).

Ambrose and S. Waugh would probably be defaults in my team.
Perhaps the NLWL as well.

Can we get some other contributions while I continue to think about it?

― Poseiden (Poseiden), Thursday, 27 November 2003 07:09 (twenty-two years ago)

Bruce Laird

― emporernero, Thursday, 27 November 2003 07:55 (twenty-two years ago)

Kaspo and Bichel. Gough.

― powwow (powwow), Thursday, 27 November 2003 07:57 (twenty-two years ago)

Gough can be a bit of a sook but, can't he?

BTW powwow, I'm not sure if I can bring myself to include any Englishmen in this team.
It is about heart, y'know ;-P

― Poseiden (Poseiden), Thursday, 27 November 2003 08:01 (twenty-two years ago)

I suppose the thing is to think of players who have done well or at least tried hard as their teams have been flogged by Australia over the last ten years, or previously against the Windies.

How about Border?
And just to piss off Fred, I'll nominate Deano for his 216 in the tied test in India.

― powwow (powwow), Thursday, 27 November 2003 08:02 (twenty-two years ago)

Holly cow, something like a real time discussion is happening here!
I suppose so, I just think of some of the tours down under when he get going despite having about three catches dropped off his bowling per innings.

― powwow (powwow), Thursday, 27 November 2003 08:04 (twenty-two years ago)

I should have clarified. You cannot include:
Deano, Slats, Hookes, Elliot, Hughes. All big sooks.
I don't wanna have tantrum throwers like Warne or McGrath in there either.
Difficult to remember any Saffies of recent times with heart, except 'hard men' like Symcox and McMillan. But they didn't actually do very much, only promised a bit.

Perhaps some of the Pakistan bowlers like Wasim and Waqar, but they all seemed to have a bit of a cry at one time or another. Sri Lankans? I was waiting for someone to mention Ranatunga. ;-) Whoops, you could almost put someone like Murali in there- gets on with the job no matter what.

The train of thought continues...

― Poseiden (Poseiden), Thursday, 27 November 2003 08:12 (twenty-two years ago)

Not too many Windies of recent times of note. I always rated Chanderpaul as a batsmen who had the ability to bat long innings when the other crabs were falling around him.

Possibly could include some of the bygone Australians/English like Boycott or Lawry, but they too all seemed to do it with a lot of whinging. Chappelli perhaps? or Chappellig?

― Poseiden (Poseiden), Thursday, 27 November 2003 08:15 (twenty-two years ago)

Maybe we should have a 'spineless' XI. That would seem to be easier.

― Poseiden (Poseiden), Thursday, 27 November 2003 08:15 (twenty-two years ago)

AB and DKL. There aren't bigger hearts in human bodies than those two had.

The "spineless XI" would be easy. They're in Sri Lanka right now.

― tailender (tailender), Thursday, 27 November 2003 08:30 (twenty-two years ago)

Hughes a sook? Oh, you meant Kim Hughes. Merv, on the other hand, never let Australia down (remember Perth '88/'89?).

Robin Smith.

Boonie.

Mark Richardson (even though he is a crab).

Can't think of too many subcontinent players who weren't/aren't sooks. Tendulkar comes to mind.

― ojitarian (ojitarian), Thursday, 27 November 2003 08:46 (twenty-two years ago)

Ian C definitely, Greg maybe, AB def, Laird great call, if Powwow wants Jones for one innings (which was great but untypical) I'll take Hughes for Melb Dec 81, Wessels v Windies last 3 Tests in 84-5, David Boon for getting us home in most of the 4th inns we didn't stuff up (also for being Australia to Hadlee's NZ in 87-88), Walters 104 in 3 hrs out of 222 in NZ Feb 74 on Auckland cow-paddock(NZ 8-85 at stumps), Ian Redpath's epic 171 in nearly two days in Perth v Snow and company (despite horrible-looking short-ball technique) was the most overshadowed great innings ever (GC was scoring a first-up ton at the other end) until Gilly's effort 6 weeks ago.

― Fred Nerk (Fred Nerk), Thursday, 27 November 2003 08:46 (twenty-two years ago)

BOONIE! How could I forget Boonie.

Perhaps an 'off-field' XI.
Boonie, AB, Merv, Walters...

Turning into a bit of an Australia XI though:
[..]
[..]
Boon
Chapelli
AB
S. Waugh
+[..]
Merv
[..]
[..]
DKL

― Poseiden (Poseiden), Thursday, 27 November 2003 08:56 (twenty-two years ago)

Few subcons for consideration: Sunny Gavaskar, Mohinder Amarnath, Kapil Dev, Syed Kirmani, Erapalli Prassanna (better than Bedi, who was also great but more dependant on the pitch); Mushtaq Mohammed, Qasim Omar, Asif Iqbal; Duleep Mendis, Romesh Ratnayeke.

― Fred Nerk (Fred Nerk), Thursday, 27 November 2003 09:10 (twenty-two years ago)

Gavaskar did have one very famous sook at the umpires.

Will give you Amarnath, Kapil, Kirmani and Mushi. the others, not so sure.

And how could anyone have forgotten Boonie? :o(

And given Boof's last performance for Aust., he deserves a mention.

― tailender (tailender), Thursday, 27 November 2003 10:19 (twenty-two years ago)

ah yes, boonie, the only batsman ever called for chucking ...

Some of these go back a bit, but what about Eddie Paynter, Slasher Mackay, Stan McCabe, John Edrich, Alan Knott, Jack Russell, Geoff Marsh, Larry Gomes ...

― pieman (pieman), Thursday, 27 November 2003 12:34 (twenty-two years ago)

Max Walker always tried his heart out, too ...

― pieman (pieman), Thursday, 27 November 2003 12:34 (twenty-two years ago)

And how about Colin McDonald(?) who took bouncers from Hall and Griffith on the body for fun - with no chest protector.

― ojitarian (ojitarian), Thursday, 27 November 2003 23:20 (twenty-two years ago)

What about John Davidson. Despite the fact he was on a team that had no hope (Canada) he belted many runs.

He's my favourite player. (Excluding the Kiwis)

― Kiwi in Oz (Kiwi in Oz), Thursday, 27 November 2003 23:53 (twenty-two years ago)

I was thinking along the lines of some of the gritty English 'keepers as well pieman- Knott and Russell would have to be close.

Even being a wozzie I dunno if I can put Swampy Marsh's excrutiatingly slow batting down to grit though. More his grit for continuing to get picked for Australia despite very little natural ability. :-)

― Poseiden (Poseiden), Friday, 28 November 2003 01:13 (twenty-two years ago)

agree with ojitarian re colin mcdonald...cannot agree to inclusion of the koala...sooked too many times on being given out, sacrificed too many partners in run outs, farmed the strike to mcgrath many times too often, undermoned Taylor to get the one day captaincy...give me AB, rick mccosker and big hearted bowlers like merv

― horace, Friday, 28 November 2003 01:23 (twenty-two years ago)

Horrie, I largely agree with you on Tugga's occasional bad behaviour when given out, but he would still have to be in there, even if only for standing up to Ambrose et al. in '95 (and he has done much more besides to justify inclusion).

― ojitarian (ojitarian), Friday, 28 November 2003 02:31 (twenty-two years ago)

good call re McCosker horrie

― pieman (pieman), Friday, 28 November 2003 05:13 (twenty-two years ago)

bugger, you trumped me. thought of them at work today.

Tugga's greatest (to me) innings - Lords with the torn calf muscle.
and McCosker for the Centenary.

And what about Valentine? ;-)

― tailender (tailender), Friday, 28 November 2003 08:39 (twenty-two years ago)

"if you wanted someone to play for your life, you'd choose Steve Waugh because he loves a challenge."

Some pommy git

― emporernero, Saturday, 29 November 2003 09:11 (twenty-two years ago)

emperor

He doesn't believe in lost causes, though.

― tailender (tailender), Saturday, 29 November 2003 10:03 (twenty-two years ago)

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