Which was the greatest minnow cricket nation ever?

[Bhaijaan]

India took to cricket with great passion and the way they developed their cricket and started producing ATG level batsmen and spinners so early in their time makes them a minnow to remember.


Pakistan were special as a minnow nation because they became a major cricket nation sooner than everyone else. They had the advantage of being a former minnow as part of India though.

Sri Lanka went from minnow to world cup champions like crazy

Afghanistan's rise has been phenomenal so far

Zimbabwe had their days but it could not last.

 

[Ab Fan]

It is Bangladesh who are the greatest minnow cricket nation ever.

Whether it is 1990s, 2000s or 10s or 20s, they will forever remain minnows and hence deserved to be adjudged as the greatest minnow cricket nation ever.

 

[silentkiller187]

As an actual minnow Kenya was one of my favorites in the late 90s, played with a lot of heart and upset some big boys along the way.

Apart from that you could make a case for any of the test playing nations bar england and maybe aus as they were all minnows once upon a time.

 

[SangasCoverDrive]

Kenya. Had they got backing from ICC like Bangladesh, they would have been on Pak level at least by now.

 

[Ashraful_Rox]

Afghanistan, they have the talent and I see them as a top 3-4 team in the next 5 years.

Bangladesh has been given enough chances and they will still need to compete with hongkong, Oman Pakistani Indian immigrant players to get a place in wc20 what an embarrassment of a team. They lost to hongkong last time where a part time delivery truck driver smashes Forad Reza beja fry.

 

[Rana]

The Minnow with the greatest potential is Ireland

They will continuously produce good cricketers with the odd players that will be world class match winners.

 

[Muhammad Saad]

Srilanka and there is not even a single question about it.

In which sports a minnow nation went on to win a world cup?

 

[SangasCoverDrive]

Srilanka and there is not even a single question about it.

In which sports a minnow nation went on to win a world cup?

Denmark even though it was Euros but still.

 

[RedwoodOriginal]

The Minnow with the greatest potential is Ireland

They will continuously produce good cricketers with the odd players that will be world class match winners.

Ireland is like a poor man's New Zealand.

 

[RedwoodOriginal]

Confusing question. Are we talking about being a minnow for a given period of time or being a minnow for pretty much forever? Pakistan and Sri Lanka would be good picks for the former but they graduated to the next level. In Pakistan's case: fairly quickly. Meanwhile a team like Bangladesh would fall in the latter and can legitimately lay claim to being the greatest minnow team of all-time because they almost always remain on a certain (lowly ranked) level and its always a surprise when they beat a team ranked higher than them.

 

[Bhaijaan]

Confusing question. Are we talking about being a minnow for a given period of time or being a minnow for pretty much forever? Pakistan and Sri Lanka would be good picks for the former but they graduated to the next level. In Pakistan's case: fairly quickly. Meanwhile a team like Bangladesh would fall in the latter and can legitimately lay claim to being the greatest minnow team of all-time because they almost always remain on a certain (lowly ranked) level and its always a surprise when they beat a team ranked higher than them.

In terms of how watchable they were, how well they developed into a major team.

 

[RedwoodOriginal]

In terms of how watchable they were, how well they developed into a major team.

In that case it would have to be Sri Lanka. I want to say Pakistan because those early wins against pretty much everyone were a remarkable achievement. Especially that 1954 series in England and the famous Oval victory. Because England were arguably the best team in the world at the time with a fearsome pace-attack, while Pakistan were total minnows who had just started playing.

But I have to go with Sri Lanka because their World Cup win was more impactful. Like you said, Pakistan had some experience with the sport dating back to colonial days. Kardar had even played for India. But for a small island nation that were perceived as minnows, to win the World Cup was simply incredible. Plus they actually used the win to elevate themselves as a cricketing nation.

 

[Jazx]

In that case it would have to be Sri Lanka. I want to say Pakistan because those early wins against pretty much everyone were a remarkable achievement. Especially that 1954 series in England and the famous Oval victory. Because England were arguably the best team in the world at the time with a fearsome pace-attack, while Pakistan were total minnows who had just started playing.

But I have to go with Sri Lanka because their World Cup win was more impactful. Like you said, Pakistan had some experience with the sport dating back to colonial days. Kardar had even played for India. But for a small island nation that were perceived as minnows, to win the World Cup was simply incredible. Plus they actually used the win to elevate themselves as a cricketing nation.

Sri lanka was somewhat more than a minnow when they won that world cup. They were a test playing nation for more than a decade prior to that world cup. And they were finding there momentum just before that world cup by winning a sharjah tournament and performing well in a triangular tournament in Australia. In my opinion the most decent minnows are ireland who have regularly created problems for most of the bigger teams.

 

[RedwoodOriginal]

Sri lanka was somewhat more than a minnow when they won that world cup. They were a test playing nation for more than a decade prior to that world cup. And they were finding there momentum just before that world cup by winning a sharjah tournament and performing well in a triangular tournament in Australia. In my opinion the most decent minnows are ireland who have regularly created problems for most of the bigger teams.

Creating problems for teams is utterly meaningless if you can't win or elevate yourself as a cricketing team. Though I blame ICC more for Ireland's lack of growth than Ireland itself, at the end of the day Ireland have improved very little in the last 14 years.

Sri Lanka may have gotten test status in 1982 but they fought with the stigma of being perceived as a minnow side long after. And coming into the 1996 they were very much underdogs, even if they weren't exactly minnows. If you go back and look at the historical rankings they were ranked 6 in the world. So their win was every bit a surprise for others, as it was a watershed moment for them.

Even after the World Cup they had to fight the stigma of being perceived as a minnow side. Something evident by the fact that lowly ranked England gave them a solitary test at home in 1998. Ofcourse they thrashed England and the next time England gave them a three match test series but that just goes to show how much they had to do to be taken seriously.

 

[Corridor of Uncertainty]

Can't look past Pakistan and Sri Lanka.

Pakistan - winning a test every debut series against all top teams of that era was unreal and unprecedented. They tailed off some but then came roaring back in late 70s, early 80s thanks primarily to county cricket.

Sri Lanka was everyone's punching bag until they were not - and in their short history, have produced many greats and ICC victories to boot.

Of the new one's, has to be Afghanistan. Brimming with talent. Need long form cricket exposure though to bring it all together.

 

[sweep_shot]

The question is a bit confusing.

I think you are asking which former minnow did well to go to next level. In that case, Sri Lanka it is. They were a minnow but they won World Cup 1996 out of nowhere. That was the turning point for them.

 

[Babar_Azam_fan]

Pakistan, can defeat most minnows apart from one or two matches

 

[Jazx]

Creating problems for teams is utterly meaningless if you can't win or elevate yourself as a cricketing team. Though I blame ICC more for Ireland's lack of growth than Ireland itself, at the end of the day Ireland have improved very little in the last 14 years.

Sri Lanka may have gotten test status in 1982 but they fought with the stigma of being perceived as a minnow side long after. And coming into the 1996 they were very much underdogs, even if they weren't exactly minnows. If you go back and look at the historical rankings they were ranked 6 in the world. So their win was every bit a surprise for others, as it was a watershed moment for them.

Even after the World Cup they had to fight the stigma of being perceived as a minnow side. Something evident by the fact that lowly ranked England gave them a solitary test at home in 1998. Ofcourse they thrashed England and the next time England gave them a three match test series but that just goes to show how much they had to do to be taken seriously.

Thats what exactly i meant. They were a lower ranked team but much more than a minnow in that world cup. And if we look into that way then all the teams who started playing after eng and aus were minnows in their initial stages. So by that logic it makes west indies the greatest minnow as they ruled throughout 70-80s. Srilanka had arvinda in that stage who could have walked into any other test playing side easily. Then jayasuriya and murali turned out into greats in the later years. And if i am not wrong srilanka also managed to win an asia cup tournament during the late 80s. So considering them as a minnow in 96 is not appropriate as they have gone past to that status long ago before that world cup. And post 96 no team have taken them for granted as minnows, they were competitive to all other teams since then.

 

[RedwoodOriginal]

Thats what exactly i meant. They were a lower ranked team but much more than a minnow in that world cup. And if we look into that way then all the teams who started playing after eng and aus were minnows in their initial stages. So by that logic it makes west indies the greatest minnow as they ruled throughout 70-80s. Srilanka had arvinda in that stage who could have walked into any other test playing side easily. Then jayasuriya and murali turned out into greats in the later years. And if i am not wrong srilanka also managed to win an asia cup tournament during the late 80s. So considering them as a minnow in 96 is not appropriate as they have gone past to that status long ago before that world cup. And post 96 no team have taken them for granted as minnows, they were competitive to all other teams since then.

I never said they were minnows. I said they were perceived as minnows and back then that was just as bad. And for the record Sri Lanka were nowhere near as good as you are saying they were during that time period. Just one World Cup ago in 1992 they were minnows in perception and reality, and they had started improving only recently, something evident by their ranking that was just above England, New Zealand and Zimbabwe.

So the fact that they won was very much of a surprise and different from nearly every World Cup in history (except 1983 and maybe 1987) where one of the favorites came out on top.

 

[Jazx]

I never said they were minnows. I said they were perceived as minnows and back then that was just as bad. And for the record Sri Lanka were nowhere near as good as you are saying they were during that time period. Just one World Cup ago in 1992 they were minnows in perception and reality, and they had started improving only recently, something evident by their ranking that was just above England, New Zealand and Zimbabwe.

So the fact that they won was very much of a surprise and different from nearly every World Cup in history (except 1983 and maybe 1987) where one of the favorites came out on top.

So you should call them the underdogs in 96. And i am also not saying they were very good before that. But they were just a level above the minnow tag. In 92 except Zimbabwe all others were test playing nations and sri lanka was just a lower ranked team among them, not really a minnow there too. They won against south africa in that tournament and had a highest run chase against Zimbabwe and these two wins are never remembered as a shock of that tournament. And they were a tough team to beat at their home, so all these things simply states that they were a level above a minnow status.

 

[Bhaijaan]

Let's be honest. We all love a good minnow.

There's none in world cricket right now. Bangladesh is there but they are not a good minnow. Sorry

 

[RedwoodOriginal]

So you should call them the underdogs in 96. And i am also not saying they were very good before that. But they were just a level above the minnow tag. In 92 except Zimbabwe all others were test playing nations and sri lanka was just a lower ranked team among them, not really a minnow there too. They won against south africa in that tournament and had a highest run chase against Zimbabwe and these two wins are never remembered as a shock of that tournament. And they were a tough team to beat at their home, so all these things simply states that they were a level above a minnow status.

They were definitely minnows in 1992. Didn't have a great side by any measure. Their bowling wasn't expected to trouble any side, and sure enough it didn't. Barring Ranatunga, de Silva and Gurusinha most of their players were either woefully inexperienced or just not very good. And even de Silva and Gurusinha were nothing close the level they were on in 1996. I highly doubt anyone in that squad barring Ranatunga even averaged 30 with the bat at the time. Sure they played well in a few games and even upset South Africa, but then so did Bangladesh in 2007.

 

[Jazx]

They were definitely minnows in 1992. Didn't have a great side by any measure. Their bowling wasn't expected to trouble any side, and sure enough it didn't. Barring Ranatunga, de Silva and Gurusinha most of their players were either woefully inexperienced or just not very good. And even de Silva and Gurusinha were nothing close the level they were on in 1996. I highly doubt anyone in that squad barring Ranatunga even averaged 30 with the bat at the time. Sure they played well in a few games and even upset South Africa, but then so did Bangladesh in 2007.

If they were minnows than what you will say about uae, holland, namibia, scotland kind of teams. Even bangladesh was way below the level of sri lanka of 92 when they played in 99 wc. You need to rethink about your definition of minnows.

 

[RedwoodOriginal]

If they were minnows than what you will say about uae, holland, namibia, scotland kind of teams. Even bangladesh was way below the level of sri lanka of 92 when they played in 99 wc. You need to rethink about your definition of minnows.

I don't need to rethink my definition, you need to rethink yours.

They had zero bowlers who could trouble other teams, and one batsman who averaged over 30. That's a minnow side through and through. Brining other minnow sides into this argument won't change the fact that Sri Lanka were minnows in 1992.

 

[Jazx]

I don't need to rethink my definition, you need to rethink yours.

They had zero bowlers who could trouble other teams, and one batsman who averaged over 30. That's a minnow side through and through. Brining other minnow sides into this argument won't change the fact that Sri Lanka were minnows in 1992.

I would still say they were not minnows, they were just one level up from the minnow status. Its okay whatever your opinion is. You can't change mine too.

 

[street cricketer]

There is something nostalgic about the dead and buried.



Current cricket fans will never know the legendary era of 90s and early 2000s cricket with minnow and near minnow team legends like Steve Tikolo, Maurice Odumbe, Thomas Odoyo, Kennedy Otieno, Henry Olanga, Andy Flower, Heath Streak, etc.

Those were the days when India could legit get bowled out for 200 by the Netherlands in the cricket world cup and a Canadian guy called John Davison could score a blistering century off 70 odd balls which was a rarity then. Damn, I'm talking like Junaids now..

 

[gani999]

India took to cricket with great passion and the way they developed their cricket and started producing ATG level batsmen and spinners so early in their time makes them a minnow to remember.


Pakistan were special as a minnow nation because they became a major cricket nation sooner than everyone else. They had the advantage of being a former minnow as part of India though.

Sri Lanka went from minnow to world cup champions like crazy

Afghanistan's rise has been phenomenal so far

Zimbabwe had their days but it could not last.

India was never really a minnow side. They won a test series in New Zealand as far back as 1967 and have always been quite strong at home with their spin attack and batting.

The same holds for Pakistan. I don't think they can ever be called a minnow side either.

I'd say the greatest minnow side has been Sri Lanka. The only real minnows ever to have won the WC.