All-time best Oceania ODI XI

Middle-order batsmen - Ricky Ponting, Ross Taylor, Michael Hussey, and Michael Bevan

Ponting leads the team

A good percentage of the greatest batsmen in cricket are middle-order batsmen. Hence, it is extremely difficult to choose only 4 or 5 out of a possible 50-60 batsmen from Oceania alone.

However, the most ideal choice for No.3 is the best captain in the history of cricket Ricky Ponting, a player who could play every shot in the book and has the abilities one looks for in a match-winner- a good blend of aggression and composure, the ability to stitch partnerships with any batsman, and of course, being a nightmare for any bowler.

With captaincy records one could only dream of, Ponting also and easily, takes the captain’s spot.

Ross Taylor has been one of the greatest batsmen New Zealand have ever produced

At No.4, I have gone with Ross Taylor. One of the greatest batsman New Zealand have ever produced, Ross Taylor is the third highest ODI run-scorer for the Kiwis and has scored 5569 of his 6486 ODI runs while batting at No.4, including 15 of his 17 ODI centuries.

Taylor can be a very suitable partner for Ricky Ponting as both batsmen are very well-known to be partnership-material batsmen.

Even in his mid-30s, Mike Hussey was a terrific batsman

The No.5 position in this team has been taken by Mr.Cricket Michael Hussey. A late bloomer, Hussey never allowed age to get the better of him as he played many match-winning knocks for Australia while in his mid-30s.

A very balanced middle-order batsman who can play aggressively and can also last long as evident by his ODI average of above 48, Michael Hussey scored 1544 of his 5442 ODI runs batting at No.5.

One of the greatest finishers of the game

Although Hussey scored more runs at No.6 than any other position, the No.6 spot cannot be given to anybody other Michael Bevan. One of only few batsmen who maintained his ODI average above 50, Bevan has scored more than 3000 runs batting at No.6 including half of his 46 fifties and a hundred.

Considered to be one of the finest finishers in the history of the game, Bevan has played some spectacular knocks batting at No.6 and has won matches for Australia on a number of occasions. Bevan can also come in pretty handy as a part-time spinner.

The middle-order for this team has four extremely reliable batsmen who are very, very adamant towards giving their wicket and can be more than a headache to bowlers.