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Who do you think was the most important player for Australia during the mighty Aussies era?

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Rahul1

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Australia during the late 90s to around 2007-2008 had some of the greatest cricketers of all time in their team. But who according to you was the most important player for them during this time?
 
Shane warne.. it was all his brains behind their success, the best captain Australia never had.
 
McGrath.

Australia would win matches they played without Warne at times but they struggled without McGrath.

He doesn’t get points for being artistic but if there is one guy I would LITERALLY watch bowl for days on end, it’s him.

The self-proclaimed master of the “water torture” technique of drying up runs and than forcing a mistake was glorious to watch.

No one got the best of him. Not Sachin, Lara, Kallis, the bigger they were the harder they fell.

At times, he would get angry and lose it occasionally such as against Trescothick and Razzaq but those are a few if useless occasions.

He had the most perfect cricketing career of all time. Four World Cups Finals? Three wins? Bowler of the Tournament in his last edition? Wicket of last ball in Test and ODI cricket? Most Test wickets by a pacer and a sub 21 average in both formats( well, almost)?

Glenn McGrath, you bloody champion!
 
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Glenn McGrath. The ultimate competitor. Dominated just about every great batsman of his era.
 
Their bowlers and batsmen were terrific, but the real difference was Gilchrist imo.

Where other teams had keepers who could score quick 20's, or grind out slow 30's, they had a keeper who could score at will. Down the order, he pummeled runs for declarations, counter attacked in trouble, and was safe behind the stumps.

I mean, look at Pakistan's issues with Moin and Latif, with neither really good enough with the bat. When you realise Safaraz already has a better record than those two in batting, and that Moin was one of the better keepers in the World at that time, you realise just what the state of keepers was then. India had some utter pubber with the bat iirc, England's keepers kept changing.

Boucher was the only one comparable to Gilchrist, and he was a level below.

We took them on and almost beat them. The difference was Gilchrist and Moin, and so it proved for many teams.
 
McWarne. I can’t separate them.

Though I think there is a case to be made for Wame being the greatest cricketer ever.
 
Mcgrath.

He would not get your pulse racing but he imo is the best cricketer ever behind Donald Bradman.
 
It was a team filled with greats but among all of them: Shane Warne*.

*Maybe cuz he used to pwn Pakistani batsmen :D
 
McGrath - not even close. Bowlers win matches, series, tournaments. And he was the best!!! Australia had such a power packed batting squad during those dominant years that if you took any 1 player out of Hayden, Langer, Ponting, Waughs, Martyn, Gilchrist, out of the team, then somebody else would replace him and nobody would feel the difference.

But if you took McGrath out, the bowling potency reduced by a considerable margin. McGrath was usually replaced with Kasprowicz, Bichel, Stuart Clark type bowlers who were good but didn't set the world alight.

McGrath wins this by a comfortable margin.
 
Its McGrath by far.

The number of matches Glenn McGrath has finished with his opening 6 overs burst is insane.
 
Ashes 2005 id the classic example. McGrath destroys England in first test. Gets injured and England turns the table in bis absence. McGrath returns after Ashes and Australia is back to world domination.
 
Mcgrath . Period. The guy literally bullied every team's best batsmen. Lol at Warne being the greatest cricketer. Although I must say Gilly was almost as important. Without these two Australia were beatable .
 
I think they had array of players that were pivotal to there success in there era of dominance. You can't just pick one when they had many great players. Ponting, Gilly, Warne, McGrath and Waugh brothers, there were just some many greats.
 
If we talk about the great players of the great Australian side, four names stand out - McGrath, Warne, Gilchrist and Ponting.

All of these players were brilliant, but Gilchrist was the only one who was in a completely different league in his position.

During the early years of Australia’s dominance, one can argue that the likes of Wasim, Ambrose and Donald were nearly as good as McGrath.

Later on, we had the likes of Shane Bond, who is probably as good as any fast bowler I have seen. He dominated Australia at their best like no other bowler, and one can only imagine how good an injury-free Bond would have been playing for that Australian team.

Even the likes of Pollock, a less fancied name who struggled regularly against Australia, was nearly as good as McGrath against all other teams.

Warne is the greatest leg-spinner of all time, but post 1999, Muralitharan was nearly as good.

Ponting was the world’s best batsman from 2002 to 2006, but he was never in a different league to Tendulkar and Lara, it even Kallis if we talk about Tests specifically. Even Yousuf was better than him for a year.

However, Gilchrist was a country mile ahead of the next best WK of his time. Apart from maybe Hobbs, Bradman and Sobers, I don’t think any cricketer was so far ahead of his closest rival as Gilchrist was.

If you replace McGrath, Warne and Ponting with Wasim, Ambrose, Donald, Bond, Pollock, Muralitharan, Tendulkar or Lara, I don’t think that Australian team would lose their dominance.

However, if you swap Gilchrist for Boucher, Stewart, Kaluwitharana, Jones, Mongia, Moin or Latif, the entire complexion of the team changes.

If we pick one player to define the dominance of Australia from 1999 to 2007, you cannot look beyond Gilchrist.
 
Warne for me. He was taking wickets in unfavourable conditions and bowling long spells to give the seamers a rest. The greatest spinner of all time without doubt.
 
Gilchrist.

He was the achilis heel in the great Australian team who was pivotal in giving the balance. That aussies team had such a bench strength that any player could be replaced (to some level) without disrupting anything.

But not for Gilchrist.

He has many times, saved the team lower down the order when wickets are crumbling. Due to him, aus could afford to play one less batsman even overseas.

It doesn't get reflect in papers or stats. But when you look at the structure of the team, you realize how much strong he was and how he carried the team alone in some particular aspects.
 
Gilchrist was the main difference.. No other team had explosive Wk batsmen like him. No other team had a batsmen like him who would take the game away.. also all the members were too strong in that side... It was Great team with 11 match winners
 
I always thought Micheal Bevan was pretty clutch back in the day however for me it will always be Mcgrath and Gilchrist (The two guys who would blow you away). I also sometimes have nightmares from the Symonds innings where he rescued Australia, in a WC game against us, while coming in at 60-4 :facepalm:
 
Pretty hard to look beyond Gilly who has claims to be an ATG and would walk into any team in the world at anytime.
 
Mamoon said:
If we talk about the great players of the great Australian side, four names stand out - McGrath, Warne, Gilchrist and Ponting.

All of these players were brilliant, but Gilchrist was the only one who was in a completely different league in his position.

During the early years of Australia’s dominance, one can argue that the likes of Wasim, Ambrose and Donald were nearly as good as McGrath.

Later on, we had the likes of Shane Bond, who is probably as good as any fast bowler I have seen. He dominated Australia at their best like no other bowler, and one can only imagine how good an injury-free Bond would have been playing for that Australian team.

Even the likes of Pollock, a less fancied name who struggled regularly against Australia, was nearly as good as McGrath against all other teams.

Warne is the greatest leg-spinner of all time, but post 1999, Muralitharan was nearly as good.

Ponting was the world’s best batsman from 2002 to 2006, but he was never in a different league to Tendulkar and Lara, it even Kallis if we talk about Tests specifically. Even Yousuf was better than him for a year.

However, Gilchrist was a country mile ahead of the next best WK of his time. Apart from maybe Hobbs, Bradman and Sobers, I don’t think any cricketer was so far ahead of his closest rival as Gilchrist was.

If you replace McGrath, Warne and Ponting with Wasim, Ambrose, Donald, Bond, Pollock, Muralitharan, Tendulkar or Lara, I don’t think that Australian team would lose their dominance.

However, if you swap Gilchrist for Boucher, Stewart, Kaluwitharana, Jones, Mongia, Moin or Latif, the entire complexion of the team changes.

If we pick one player to define the dominance of Australia from 1999 to 2007, you cannot look beyond Gilchrist.
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Absolute rubbish that Donald, Wasim and Ambrose were anywhere near as good as McGrath during 1999-2003. Wasim was absolutely the worst bowler among the quartet during that time averaging less than 3 wickets a Test match. None of those 3 come close to replacing McGrath during that time.

The only bowler who could relatively be considered is Shaun Pollock. McGrath absolutely shines through as the greatest fast bowler during Australia's dominant period. Irreplaceable by anyone from or outside Australia.

Also the fact of the matter is, we're talking about if a certain player was replaceable or not. You can't replace McGrath with Pollock and say "look, McGrath is replaceable". Australia can only replace McGrath by having another Australian in its place, not a foreigner. The OP's question was "the most important player for Australia", not "the most important player in a world XI".

Gilchrist while being an ATG, was a luxury for Australia. If Australia didn't have Gilchrist, their world would not have fallen. With Healy they were doing just fine as well. In Tests, Gilchrist usually came and delivered the final hammer blow to an already bruised and battered opposition (barring a couple of instance where Gilchrist bailed Australia out). When McGrath didn't play, Australia's W/L ratio dropped from 6.66 to 3.25 in Tests. they lost all 3 Tests to England when he didn't play. Similarly in ODI's when McGrath didn't play, W/L dropped as well.

McGrath was by far the most important player to Australia during 1999-2007.
 
Are people seriously comparing McGrath to the likes of Donalnd and Akram? McGrath was head and shoulders above every pace bowler when he played. McGrath is not just another ATG on the block, he is a legitimate GOAT contender for bowlers.
 
Just check 2005 ashes ,McGrath didn't play 2 test and Australia lost both.without warne Australia won 2 more world Cup.
 
Hasan123 said:
Warne for me. He was taking wickets in unfavourable conditions and bowling long spells to give the seamers a rest. The greatest spinner of all time without doubt.
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But he did'nt deliver in favourable conditions.
The greatest test for australian side is to win test series in subcontinent,where shane warne was'nt impressive,it was mcgrath who troubled everyone almost everywhere.
The badge of honour which that aussie team wears is the result of them winning against subcontinent teams at their very best.
 
Mamoon said:
During the early years of Australia’s dominance, one can argue that the likes of Wasim, Ambrose and Donald were nearly as good as McGrath.
Click to expand...

Maybe in terms of picking wicket but getting big wicket is art which only Glenn McGrath knew it.
 
Sam99 said:
Maybe in terms of picking wicket but getting big wicket is art which only Glenn McGrath knew it.
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Exactly. Back in 90s and until mid 00s, tailenders were crap batsmen, many bowlers feasted on them. The real challenge was to get through top order. McGrath made it easy for Australia to demolish all teams by dismissing their best batsmen. When McGrath didn't play Aus was nowhere near as good.
 
jeeteshssaxena said:
But he did'nt deliver in favourable conditions.
The greatest test for australian side is to win test series in subcontinent,where shane warne was'nt impressive,it was mcgrath who troubled everyone almost everywhere.
The badge of honour which that aussie team wears is the result of them winning against subcontinent teams at their very best.
Click to expand...

Indian players are very good against spin. Furthmore he didn't have much support in this spin department. I wouldn't hold that against him.
 
Warne was a failure against India in India, that hurts his legacy a little bit. Mcgrath was a beast everywhere, he even held his own in UAE conditions where even Steyn has fallen on his knees.

After Mcgrath it has to be Gilchrist, so many times the man has lifted Australia from precarious positions to winning positions.
 
Savak said:
Warne was a failure against India in India, that hurts his legacy a little bit. Mcgrath was a beast everywhere, he even held his own in UAE conditions where even Steyn has fallen on his knees.

After Mcgrath it has to be Gilchrist, so many times the man has lifted Australia from precarious positions to winning positions.
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Warne was a disaster against us everywhere, in both tests and odi's.
 
Glenn McGrath is the one who performed in all format and every venue.
 
Gilchrist in ODIs was great as an opener but nothing spectacular. Many teams had better openers if not at par.

McGrath was beast in all formatss in all conditions.

Like i said no bowler has ever decided more games in just the opening spell than him. Getting through his spell was a nightnare.

6 overs, 2 maidens, 12 runs, 2 wickets

These were like his regular figures. For most teams the game would end right there.
 
Difficult to look beyond McGrath if I have to chose just one cricketer. Gilly was a powerhouse but Australia cud still win without him. Without McGrath I am not sure.

And most importantly, pitches didn't matter to him. On a slow low dry pitch he wud get 3/33, and on fast bowler friendly pitches he wud get 5/33.
 
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Ponting is underrated as well tbh. He had the second greatest peak of all-time, only behind Bradman. An exceptional fielder who captained his team for many years and won them pretty much everything.
 
Glenn McGrath - chief architect of the might Aussie era.
 
I felt like we were inevitably 30-3 after the first 10 overs whenever up against McGrath.
 
Shane Warne.His ability to produce that magical delivery was unmatched in the Aussie side.
 
Kroll said:
True, but this usually happened after McGrath had already wreaked havoc.
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Not always.

Shane Warne and Wasim Akram had the uncanny ability to produce unplayable deliveries even on placid tracks againist set batsmen. Thats something very very special even among the ATGs.
 
Warne was not just a bowler but he was a shrewd student of the game. He was always the main brain behind he Aussie teams, he could bat, he could field, he could bowl, he could get under their skin of the opppsition. He was a master tactician and Ponting often benefitted from his plans.
 
Shane Warne was also taken apart and nulified way more often than McGrath. McGrath didnt have to produce magic. His regukar spell of pin point accuracy was hars to get through.

Whenever bhaijaan thinks of that great Australian team, as he closes his eyes the first photo that emerges is that of McGrath running up to a fresh batsman with 9 slips waiting for that inevitable edge.
 
Mcgrath & gilchrist both. But Mcgrath more, he would never let you of the hook. I hated him a lot during those days. To me he was that unbeatable video game final boss you keep losing to.
 
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