Best Test XI for major Test teams in the last 20 years

Legends arrived and legends left

The cricketing fraternity, since the past two decades has witnessed many breath-taking moments including hat-tricks, a last ball six, power-hitting, breath-taking innings in the most difficult of the conditions. Many players have come and gone and have left memories to cherish for a life-time. While for some players the start was blistering, for others the end was chastening. We also witnessed how one bowling change turned the match on its head, and how one innings and one bowling spell altered a career. We take a look at the best XI from each major Test playing nation in the past two decades.

#1 Zimbabwe

Masakadza has been a warrior for the minnows recently

While Zimbabwe as a cricketing team may not be a powerhouse like they once they used to be, they are an integral part of cricket because of the talented players they have produced and have been producing over the years. The period between 1997-2002 was their golden period in cricket. In the 1999 world cup, they had scored victories over India and South Africa only to lose a place in the semi-final to New Zealand, owing to an inferior run-rate. The signs of decline started to show, courtesy of the political situations from which Zimbabwe cricket is still struggling to recover.

Heath Streak, Paul Strang, Andy Blignaut, Andy Flower, Grant Flower, Neil Johnson, Murray Goodwin, Alistair Campbell and David Houghton had formed a side that made Zimbabwe a force to be reckoned with against top sides. We take a look at the best test XI for Zimbabwe from the last two decades. Some tricky and close calls on the way though.

1. Alistair Campbell
2. Hamilton Masakadza
3. Murray Goodwin
4. Andy Flower (wk)
5. Guy Whittall
6. Brendan Taylor
7. Elton Chigumbura
8. Heath Streak (c)
9. Graeme Cremer
10. Paul Strang
11. Henry Olonga

#2 Bangladesh

Shakib is a phenomenon

One of the emerging teams in world cricket, Bangladesh have taken giant strides towards being better since playing their first Test match in 2000 against India. Due to the inconsistent composure and by lacking the knockout punch in crunch situations, they have been lingering on the bottom of the table for quite some time now. However, in the current squad players like Shakib Al Hasan, Mahmudullah, Mushfiqur Rahim and Tamim Iqbal have shown the way to excel in Test cricket in their own way. Let us take a look at how Bangladesh's best test XI would look like from the past two decades.

1. Tamim Iqbal
2. Mominul Haque
3. Mohammad Ashraful
4. Shakib Al Hasan
5. Habibul Bashar (c)
6. Mushfiqur Rahim (wk)
7. Mahumudullah Riyad
8. Mashrafe Mortaza
9. Mohammed Rafique
10. Shahadat Hossain
11. Mustafizur Rahman

#3 West Indies

Lara's Double Century against Australia

West Indies, in their glory days of 1970s to late 1980s were an unstoppable force however since the retirement of the champion players, they have found it difficult to remain the same dominant side. The duo of Clive Lloyd and Viv Richards along with the towering quick bowlers raced them to consecutive World Cup victories in 1975 and 1979. They were equally dominant in Test cricket and did not lose a Test series between 1980-1995.

Among the lot, Brian Lara made his debut in 1990. He played a pivotal role in keeping West Indies afloat when the greats were calling it quits. The bowling department was later spearheaded by Courtney Walsh and Curtly Ambrose who were bowlers of equal effectiveness however their successors failed to maintain the high standards set by them. Here we take a look at their best playing eleven accumulated in Test cricket from the past two decades.

1. Kraigg Brathwaite
2. Chris Gayle
3. Ramnaresh Sarwan
4. Brian Lara
5. Shivnarine Chanderpaul
6. Jimmy Adams
7. Ridley Jacobs (wk)
8. Curtly Ambrose
9. Courtney Walsh (c)
10. Jerome Taylor
11. Devendra Bishoo

#4 Sri Lanka

Atapattu finds a place in the list

Sri Lankan cricket had their moment of resurgence when they captured the 1996 World Cup. Arjuna Ranatunga, Sanath Jayasuriya, Arvinda De Silva, Chaminda Vaas, Muttiah Muralitharan were the chief contributors and uplifted Sri Lankan cricket. The same was carried on by Kumar Sangakkara, Mahela Jayawardene, Ajantha Mendis, Tilakaratne Dilshan, Lasith Malinga and many other talented cricketers once the former greats walked into the horizon.

Sri Lankan cricket team currently holds the highest team total in Test cricket. The squad is currently is going through a transition phase because of the retirement of their experienced players. Let's have a look how their best XI in Tests since the past two decades stack :-

1. Marvan Atapattu
2. Sanath Jayasuriya
3. Kumar Sangakkara (wk)
4. Mahela Jayawardene (c)
5. Thilan Samaraweera
6. Dinesh Chandimal
7. Angelo Mathews
8. Chaminda Vaas
9. Dilhara Fernando
10. Rangana Herath
11. Muttiah Muralitharan

#5 New Zealand

Bond is one of the most lethal bowlers from New Zealand

The New Zealand cricket team, nicknamed as Black Caps, played their first Test match in 1930 against England. Probably the most underrated team in cricket, New Zealand has been a formidable force from the outset however a major ICC trophy has eluded them in the recent past. The likes of Martin Crowe, Richard Hadlee, Stephen Fleming, Chris Cairns, Shane Bond, Daniel Vettori and many other very talented players have been decisive to boost New Zealand's supremacy. Here we take a look of their best test XI since the past two decades.

1. Tom Latham
2. Stephen Fleming (c)
3. Kane Williamson
4. Nathan Astle
5. Ross Taylor
6. Chris Cairns
7. Brendon McCullum (wk)
8. Daniel Vettori
9. Mitchell Santner
10. Trent Boult
11. Shane Bond

#6 Pakistan

Saeed Anwar in action

The Pakistan cricket team is unpredictable and a team that can beat any opposition on any given day. The side has traditionally been known for producing best fast bowlers like Wasim Akram, Shoiab Akhtar, Waqar Younis, Aaqib Javed and Mohammed Amir who are capable of rattling any batting line-up. Pakistan played their first Test in 1952 and ever since

Pakistan has also produced some of the greatest batsmen like Javed Miandad, Zaheer Abbas, Inzamam Ul-Haq, Younis Khan and prolific all rounders like Imran Khan, Abdul Razzaq and Shahid Afridi. Below is their best playing XI in Test cricket since the last twenty years.

1. Saaed Anwar
2. Aamir Sohail
3. Younis Khan
4. Inzamam Ul-Haq
5. Mohammad Yousuf
6. Misbah Ul-Haq (c)
7. Sarfaraz Ahmed (wk)
8. Wasim Akram
9. Mohammad Amir
10. Yasir Shah
11. Mushtaq Ahmed

#7 South Africa

Smith took the team to great heights

South African cricket team, nicknamed as Proteas played their first Test in 1889. A ban was imposed on South Africa's Test cricket, from which they were exonerated in 1991. Since re-admission, South African team have produced top quality players like Graeme Smith, Hashim Amla, Jacques Kallis, AB de Villiers, Dale Steyn, Shaun Pollock, Kagiso Rabada. However, in spite of being a top quality side, they have failed miserably to capitalize on the key moments in the global organized tournaments. Below is their best XI in Test cricket since the past two decades.

1. Gary Kirsten
2. Graeme Smith (c)
3. Hashim Amla
4. Jacques Kallis
5. AB De Villiers
6. Daryll Cullinan
7. Mark Boucher (c)
8. Shaun Pollock
9. Kagiso Rabada
10. Paul Adams
11. Allan Donald

#8 England

Andrew Flintoff is still remembered for his feats in the 2005 Ashes

The oldest cricket team along with their arch-rivals Australia, England played their first Test against Australia in 1887 in a losing effort. Australia and England translate their rivalry in the Ashes series, a series which Australia has dominated for the majority of it.

England have produced some of the greatest cricketers namely Jim Laker, Derek Underwood, Bob Wilis, Ian Botham, Graham Gooch, Mike Atherton, Alec Stewart, Michael Vaughan, Andrew Flintoff, Kevin Pietersen, James Anderson and currently dominate the limited overs cricket, a format in which they used to remain behind traditionally. We take a look at the best English XI in Test cricket since the last twenty years.

1. Alistair Cook
2. Marcus Trescothick
3. Michael Vaughan (c)
4. Kevin Pietersen
5. Alec Stewart (wk)
6. Ian Bell
7. Andrew Flintoff
8. Graeme Swann
9. Stuart Broad
10. James Anderson
11. Darren Gough

#9 India

Dravid announced his retirement after a poor series Down Under in 2011-12

The Indian cricket team played its first Test match in 1932, becoming the sixth team to be granted Test cricket status. The team gained strength in the 1970s with the emergence of players such as Sunil Gavaskar, Gundappa Vishwanath, Kapil Dev, Bishan Singh Bedi. Sachin Tendulkar, who made is debut in 1989 had been the mainstay of Indian batting line-up since more than a decade.

Having played 200 tests in which he scored 15921 runs, Tendulkar remains the highest run scorer and the most capped player till date in Test cricket. We take a look at their greatest Test XI since the past two decades.

1. Virender Sehwag
2. Gautam Gambhir
3. Rahul Dravid
4. Sachin Tendulkar
5. Sourav Ganguly (c)
6. VVS Laxman
7. Mahendra Singh Dhoni (wk)
8. Zaheer Khan
9. Ishant Sharma
10. Harbhajan Singh
11. Anil Kumble

#10 Australia

Ponting, one of the most ruthless leaders

The Australian cricket team, being the most successful team in Test cricket, is ranked the number-one team in terms of overall wins, win-loss ratio and win percentage. Sir Donald Bradman is considered the greatest batsman of all time. The Australian team, led by Don Bradman which toured England in 1948 were given the nickname of “The Invincibles”.

The team is famous for being the first Test side to play an entire tour of England, going undefeated. Their dominance was reinstated back between the late 1980s and early 1990s. Over the years, Allan Border and Mark Taylor orchestrated the dominance which was carried on by Steve Waugh and later by Ricky Ponting. Australia were undefeated for 16 Tests in a row twice. One between December 2005 - January 2008 and the second being October 1999 - March 2001. We take a look at the best Australian Test XI from the past two decades.

1. Justin Langer
2. Matthew Hayden
3. Ricky Ponting
4. Damien Martyn
5. Steve Waugh (c)
6. Michael Hussey
7. Adam Gilchrist (wk)
8. Shane Warne
9. Nathan Lyon
10. Jason Gillespie
11. Glenn McGrath