5 ODI World Cup victories in a total of 11 World Cups by a single nation, shows the dominance of that format. Australia remains one of the best ODI teams since the inception of the format boasting of the above-mentioned record.
Australia has consistently produced players that have dominated the shorter version of the game. Their bowlers have both the pace and control to succeed in the format, their batting has always been flamboyant as per the demands of the game and they have also produced some handy all-rounders.
Amongst the plethora of great players that Australia has produced, choosing an all time Australian ODI XI is always an arduous task. There have been some players who were unlucky to miss out against the superiority of their mates. So let’s have a look at an all-time Australian ODI XI:-
1) Adam Gilchrist
Adam Gilchrist’s selection in this team was perhaps the easiest decision to make. Australia has never produced an ODI wicketkeeper of the calibre of Gilchrist, even in World cricket barring MS Dhoni and Kumar Sangakkara, not many keepers would compete with Gilchrist’s abilities.
A player who could destroy any bowling attack on his day, Gilchrist was the key member of the Australian side that dominated ODI cricket for a number of years. In 287 ODIs, he scored 9,619 runs at an average of 35.89 and an extremely impressive strike rate of 96.94.
His records are a testimony to the talent he possessed and the impact he had on the game. Such was his impact in the big games that he scored two half-centuries and a century in the three World Cup finals that Australia won. There can be no doubt in Gilchrist making it to this Australian XI.
2) Shane Watson
If Gilchrist’s selection was the easiest one to make, this selection was perhaps the toughest one. Shane Watson’s selection will surely raise quite a few eyebrows but looking at the record that Watson has, it was hard to omit him from the side and playing him in the middle order is a waste of his talent.
Watson’s closest competitors were Mark Waugh and Matthew Hayden. Waugh has an ODI average of 39.35 while Hayden has an ODI average of 43.80. Both of them have their strike rates in the seventies. Watson has an ODI average of 40.54 and a strike rate of 90.44. Though Watson has played in more batting friendly conditions than both Waugh and Hayden, his record is hard to ignore.
Add to his batting, the 168 ODI wickets that he has picked up and he becomes an extremely tough player to leave out. Simply on the basis of the balance he provides to the side and his overall record, Watson takes the place of the second opener.
3) Ricky Ponting (C)
The leader of the golden generation of Australian ODI cricket, Ponting is another obvious selection in the team. The aggressive and supremely talented right-hander from Tasmania is arguably his country’s second best batsman after Don Bradman.
His record speaks volumes about his talent, in 375 ODIs he scored 13,704 runs at an average of 42.03 and a strike rate of 80.39. He was an extremely reliable number three for his team for a long time and the copious amount of runs he scored were a result of the high price he used to set on his wicket.
Ponting will also lead this team of greats and he fully deserves it being the two-time World Cup winning captain. Ponting will be an essential part of this team both as a player and captain.
4) Dean Jones
Dean Jones was one of the first few players who mastered the art of ODI batting. In an era when players were struggling to come to grips with limited-overs cricket, he played the format with relative ease and innovation.
He had all the virtues of the modern day ODI cricketer, brilliant in the field and attacking while batting, he made it look like ODI cricket was designed for him. In 164 ODIs, he scored 6,068 runs at an average of 44.61 and a strike rate of 72.56.
His average was exceptional in the times he played the game in and his strike rate is equally commendable. Jones is one of the few players who makes the side outside of the era between 1999-2007.
5) Michael Hussey
’Mr. Cricket’, as he is fondly called holds the number five spot in this team of greats. Despite being a late bloomer in the game, Hussey managed to carve a niche for himself in all the formats of the game and such was his talent that he makes this team ahead of the likes of Steve Waugh, Michael Clarke and Allan Border.
Both Waugh and Border had their ODI average in the low thirties which is way below the average of 48.15 that Hussey has. Clarke’s average was in the 40s but he misses out on the basis of his low strike rate and lack of match finishing abilities.
Hussey was the fighter every team wants, a player with a ‘never say die’ attitude and willpower to defy the odds. He very rightly deserves the number five spot in this team of greats.
6) Andrew Symonds
Andrew Symonds was the quintessential Australian cricketer, an aggressive player as well as an imposing personality. One fact though remains that he was a high-class ODI player.
When Wasim Akram tormented the Australian batting in 2003 ODI World Cup, Symonds stood tall and scored a brilliant century against a frightening Pakistani bowling attack. He was a crucial part of both 2003 and 2007 ODI World Cup victories for Australia.
Symonds scored 5,088 runs in 198 ODIs at an average of 39.75 and a strike rate of 92.44. He also picked up 133 wickets with his seam up and off spin bowling. Symonds will be the second allrounder alongside Watson in this team. A brilliant striker of the ball, he will be surely an asset to this team batting at number six.
7) Michael Bevan
Nobody can think of an Australian ODI XI without including Michael Bevan. The best finisher in the game alongside MS Dhoni, Bevan is an obvious selection in this team. One of the most phlegmatic players to have ever graced the game, Bevan steered his team to victory on numerous occasions.
He scored 6,912 runs in 232 ODIs at a humongous average of 53.58. His slow left-arm chinaman bowling, which is a rare art, was also an asset to the team and made him into an extremely valuable ODI player.
At number seven he will be the finisher in this team and he fittingly deserves this spot with the brilliant record he had over the long duration of his career.
8) Mitchell Johnson
‘Match Winner’, this is what Mitchell Johnson was. An out and out fast bowler, Johnson is one of the few modern day fast bowlers who could pick up wickets by intimidating the opposition, as he showed when he ran through the English batting in the 2013 Ashes.
In 153 ODIs that he played for the Australians, he picked up 239 wickets at an average of 25.26. His left-arm angle along with his raw pace made him an extremely valuable ODI bowler and his records prove that.
Johnson will also be an asset to this team with his hard hitting abilities down the order. A fearful striker of the ball, Johnson can add up some useful runs in the end overs.
9) Brett Lee
If you thought Johnson will take away the ‘speedster’ tag in this team, then you might have to think again. A bowler who could scale his pace upto the 160 kmph mark, Lee was a lethal bowler who could destroy any opposition on his day.
He wasn’t only a speedster but was also an equally good exponent of swing bowling, his toe-crushing yorkers and lethal bouncers were also a sight to watch.
In 221 ODIs, he picked up 380 wickets at an average of 23.36 and an impressive strike rate of 29.4. Lee formed one of the great modern-day bowling partnerships alongside Glenn McGrath. With his handy batting down the order as an added advantage, he makes it into this team quite easily.
10) Shane Warne
Arguably the best spinner to have ever played the game, Warne is an automatic choice for the spinner’s spot in the team. A bowler who could turn the ball a mile, Warne made spin bowling’s art richer by his sheer talent.
In 194 ODIs, he picked up 293 wickets at an average of 25.73. He also was economical in his bowling unlike other leg spinners and had an economy rate of 4.25 in his ODI career.
One of the key players in the 1999 World Cup winning campaign for Australia, Warne remained a crucial part of the Australian lineup for quite a long time and his match winning abilities made him indispensable.
11) Glenn McGrath
McGrath was as accurate a fast bowler as they come. He was never an out and out fast bowler, he was neither a prodigious swing bowler as well. But what made him special was his immaculate control and the ability to seam the ball off the pitch.
The Man of the Series in the 2007 ODI World Cup, he had shown his big match temperament four years earlier as well when he dismissed Sachin Tendulkar in the first over of the 2003 ODI World Cup final.
In 250 ODIs, he picked up 381 wickets at an average of 22.02 and a miserly economy rate of 3.88. His unerring accuracy made him an all-time great of the game in all the formats and he is an automatic selection in our team.
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