Who is the second best team in the Test format right now?

[Buffet]

Eng seems to be playing with too many all rounders who can't bowl.

Aus just had a series loss at home and not too good in Asian conditions.

SA can't compete in Asian conditions right now, but playing well at home.

NZ has lost their last series against Aus and SA at home and away both, but they did win in UAE.

Who do you pick as the second best test team right now?

 

[Sin Nombre]

Aus with Smith and Warner back. Easily.

Very good bowling attack who are as good at batting as English "allrounders".

 

[YousafTheBeast]

India.

Australia with Warner, Smith and Bancroft are number 1.

 

[Buffet]

Last 4 years sorted by W/L,



SA stands 2nd, but AB was crucial for SA.

 

[YousafTheBeast]

Last 4 years sorted by W/L,

View attachment 87593

SA stands 2nd, but AB was crucial for SA.

W/L ratio away from home?

 

[Buffet]

Away from home record in the last 4 years,

 

[YousafTheBeast]

Away from home record in the last 4 years,

View attachment 87594

Excluding Sri Lanka?

 

[Ab Fan]

SA have shown good results in recent times except SL series. However, the curve is expected to go down for them as England series and India away series is scheduled next year. There is UAE series as well.

NZ loses to SA and Australia at home and not sure but India will give them a tough fight in tests next year as well. So, while they are doing well, not exactly up there as 2nd best team in the world.

England loses to WIN 0-2, Kiwis 0-1, 0-4 Aus and 0-4 India.

<B>My bet is Australia soon will get there in coming months once they will have the duo back. Cameron Bancroft and Burns,one of them as Warner backup will be a good opening pair as well. However, they need to have more consistent performances and wins as they haven't done good for themselves after losing series to SA and India, both of them their first ever in that country.</B>

 

[Buffet]

Australia with Warner, Smith and Bancroft are number 1.

Excluding Sri Lanka?

Didn't Warner and Smith play in Sl series and end result was Aus getting whitewashed in SL. Score was 0-3 loss. Why will you exclude that? Doesn't make any sense.

SL has whitewashed many teams , including Pakistan in UAE, in this period. No need to exclude them.

 

[Ab Fan]

Warner
Bancroft
Burns
Smith
Head
M Marsh
Paine(wkt)
Cummins
Starc
Richardson
Lyon

 

[cricketAXEpert]

Eng seems to be playing with too many all rounders who can't bowl.

Aus just had a series loss at home and not too good in Asian conditions.

SA can't compete in Asian conditions right now, but playing well at home.

NZ has lost their last series against Aus and SA at home and away both, but they did win in UAE.

Who do you pick as the second best test team right now?

Tough Competition. South Africa is 2nd best now. But Australia Is improving fast, Return of Smith & Warner; Will further strengthen Australia.

 

[Sin Nombre]

Didn't Warner and Smith play in Sl series and end result was Aus getting whitewashed in SL. Score was 0-3 loss. Why will you exclude that? Doesn't make any sense.

SL has whitewashed many teams , including Pakistan in UAE, in this period. No need to exclude them.

He wants you to find him a table which doesn't have India comfortably on top.



Just give him results in England and he will be happy.

 

[Buffet]

Warner
Bancroft
Burns
Smith
Head
M Marsh
Paine(wkt)
Cummins
Starc
Richardson
Lyon

They have a good shot at number 2, but I will wait for them to actually perform. Often players/teams are over hyped if they are not actually playing. Warner and Smith have played for Aus before without winning much away in alien conditions. They will surely make Aus team stronger.

 

[Sin Nombre]

Why are a lot of you including Bancroft in your best Aussie xi.

He isn't good.

 

[Aman]

Aus are the best with a full strength team.

 

[Ab Fan]

They have a good shot at number 2, but I will wait for them to actually perform. Often players/teams are over hyped if they are not actually playing. Warner and Smith have played for Aus before without winning much away in alien conditions. They will surely make Aus team stronger.

It is generally harder to win in alien conditions. However, I believe they will be competitive now away as well with the duo back.

They were the best away team among all to tour India and I do feel this time they will do well in Ashes as well. They should win in NZ and hopefully in SL also. The previous tour to SL had some players touring Asia first time and hardly knew how to play spin, but they eventually learned it and did relatively better on a bigger tour, India series.

The youngsters have had tough time in last 6 months but it had made them tougher only while the duo seniors once back will have a lot to prove for them.

 

[Buffet]

It is generally harder to win in alien conditions. However, I believe they will be competitive now away as well with the duo back.

They were the best away team among all to tour India and I do feel this time they will do well in Ashes as well. They should win in NZ and hopefully in SL also. The previous tour to SL had some players touring Asia first time and hardly knew how to play spin, but they eventually learned it and did relatively better on a bigger tour, India series.

The youngsters have had tough time in last 6 months but it had made them tougher only while the duo seniors once back will have a lot to prove for them.

Agree with the views above. Interesting times for Aus test team.

 

[Ab Fan]

Why are a lot of you including Bancroft in your best Aussie xi.

He isn't good.

He is a tough guy. Don't go with stats. These are young days. He will evolve with a little more experience.

 

[YousafTheBeast]

Didn't Warner and Smith play in Sl series and end result was Aus getting whitewashed in SL. Score was 0-3 loss. Why will you exclude that? Doesn't make any sense.

SL has whitewashed many teams , including Pakistan in UAE, in this period. No need to exclude them.

Australia isn’t a sub continent team, India is and no sub continent team should be losing to Sri Lanka away and home.

Pakistan was an unsettled team, when you lose your 2 most experienced players, it’s difficult for the players who replace them to have the similar impact.

As soon as India lose badly in a series they call for a home series against teams like West Indies and Sri Lanka in order to keep themselves at the top.

 

[Buffet]

It is generally harder to win in alien conditions. However, I believe they will be competitive now away as well with the duo back.

They were the best away team among all to tour India and I do feel this time they will do well in Ashes as well. They should win in NZ and hopefully in SL also. The previous tour to SL had some players touring Asia first time and hardly knew how to play spin, but they eventually learned it and did relatively better on a bigger tour, India series.

The youngsters have had tough time in last 6 months but it had made them tougher only while the duo seniors once back will have a lot to prove for them.

Being competitive even if you don't win is the first step. What not acceptable is getting blown away and not competing in alien conditions. Aus has shown that they have game to fight in Asian conditions, so it's a plus.

 

[jnaveen1980]

Bancroft lol He has not built that much reputation

 

[barah_admi]

India are the second best team in test cricket.

 

[Hasan123]

Close call between Australia and South Africa.

I think Australia beat all teams at home with their full strength team. India maybe could challenge them. Wouldn't be easy for them to be Australia at full strength but that doesn't take their victory away from them.

 

[Buffet]

Australia isn’t a sub continent team,

And SC teams are not SENA teams ....

Good teams play well in all conditions even if they can't win. Aus performance in SL carries as much weight as SL performance in Aus.

 

[Sachin136]

New Zealand.

The rankings should go like

India
NZ
SA
Australia
England
WI
Pakistan
SL
Bangladesh

 

[geraltofrivia]

New Zealand.

The rankings should go like

India
NZ
SA
Australia
England
WI
Pakistan
SL
Bangladesh

Sl over Pakistan. Sl defeated pak 2-0 in 2017.

 

[moghul]

1-India
2-SA
3-England
4-NZl
5-Australia
6-West Indies
7-Pakistan
8-SL
9-Zimb
10-BD
11-Afghanistan

 

[Sachin136]

Sl over Pakistan. Sl defeated pak 2-0 in 2017.

Since then SL have declined, especially with Herath retiring. They lost 0-3 at home against England and are losing in Australia. Pakistan would be whitewashed in Australia too, but I don't think they would lose to England at home.

 

[Buffet]

New Zealand.

The rankings should go like

India
NZ
SA
Australia
England
WI
Pakistan
SL
Bangladesh

Ranking will take care of itself if performance is consistent.

India can lose it's top ranking because SA will play at home against SL and almost guaranteed to get to 112 points. If WI can even draw against Ind at home then India will lose lots of points to drop below.

WI-Ind in WI will be an interesting series.

 

[YousafTheBeast]

And SC teams are not SENA teams ....

Good teams play well in all conditions even if they can't win. Aus performance in SL carries as much weight as SL performance in Aus.

No team has played well in all conditions.

Beating an Australia C team isn’t something to gloat on.

 

[BreadPakoda]

India.

As England has been the "real" number one according to many here.

 

[Sachin136]

Ranking will take care of itself if performance is consistent.

India can lose it's top ranking because SA will play at home against SL and almost guaranteed to get to 112 points. If WI can even draw against Ind at home then India will lose lots of points to drop below.

WI-Ind in WI will be an interesting series.

WI's batting is still very weak. If they produce similar pitches then Bumrah will be a handful for them. If they go back to the slow pitches, then of course we have Jadeja and Ashwin.

And we saw how they were demolished in India just a few months ago, where Shaw tore apart their bowling attack (though I believe Roach and Joseph weren't playing, and Holder missed a test).

India should comfortably win the series and be at #1 for at least 20 months.

 

[Hasan123]

New Zealand.

The rankings should go like

India
NZ
SA
Australia
England
WI
Pakistan
SL
Bangladesh

New Zealand lost to Australia and South Africa at home. They were also defeated away by them as well. They drew in England as well. Winning 1 away series in UAE is not enough to be the number 2 team in the world.

 

[Buffet]

No team has played well in all conditions.

It's relative. Aus in UAE drew a test. That shows that they are capable for drawing rather than simply getting whitewashed.

 

[geraltofrivia]

Ranking will take care of itself if performance is consistent.

India can lose it's top ranking because SA will play at home against SL and almost guaranteed to get to 112 points. If WI can even draw against Ind at home then India will lose lots of points to drop below.

WI-Ind in WI will be an interesting series.

Naah. We are too strong now. We have reached the point where India will be no 1 from now on, actually will consolidate even further and keep growing from strength to strength. Our economy/systems have hit that point. We will lose the odd tournament/series here or there but by and large we will be the top team in cricket like America is in basketball.

A country with our population should always have been no 1 but due to poverty most ppl didn’t have access to better facilities. Now due to 7-8% growth for two decades we have finally reached the point where we can have better teams than smaller richer countries. Since this growth is going to continue for next 30 odd years we’ll only become stronger and stronger.

 

[YousafTheBeast]

It's relative. Aus in UAE drew a test. That shows that they are capable for drawing rather than simply getting whitewashed.

Pakistan drew a series in England, India lost 4-1 in England. Does that make Pakistan the best team?

 

[BreadPakoda]

Was Australia no. 1 when Smith and Warner were playing?

 

[Buffet]

Pakistan drew a series in England, India lost 4-1 in England. Does that make Pakistan the best team?

Yes, if Eng is only venue that matters.

In reality all venues matters and that's why I posted 4 years of away and over all record.

I mentioned Aus drawing test in UAE to simply show that Aus team has gotten better in Asian conditions because Aus even with Warner and Smith failed to draw tests earlier in UAE.

 

[geraltofrivia]

Pakistan drew a series in England, India lost 4-1 in England. Does that make Pakistan the best team?

no cause they were whitewashed by sl at home, ind def them at home.
they lost to nz at home, ind whitewashed aus at home.
they were whitewashed in aus away, ind won in aus away.
they were whitewashed in sa, ind won a match in sa.
they lost a match in wi, ind last lost vs/in wi in 2002.

etc
etc

some pakistani posters are like parrots with two phrases - ct 2017, england series (which they didn't even win).

 

[YousafTheBeast]

Yes, if Eng is only venue that matters.

In reality all venues matters and that's why I posted 4 years of away and over all record.

I mentioned Aus drawing test in UAE to simply show that Aus team has gotten better in Asian conditions because Aus even with Warner and Smith failed to draw tests earlier in UAE.

Australia hasn’t gotten better away from home, Pakistan have gone down in SC due to selection errors.

 

[Buffet]

Australia hasn’t gotten better away from home, Pakistan have gone down in SC due to selection errors.

They lasted 140+ overs to save a test in UAE. That's not normal Aus batting. You should give credit. Yes, Pakistan made error in selection criterion as well. It's not necessary to have both situations mutually exclusive.

 

[geraltofrivia]

Australia hasn’t gotten better away from home, Pakistan have gone down in SC due to selection errors.

not selection errors. lack of talent.

selection errors does not mask the fact that pakistan has not produced a great batsman (50+ average or for that matter 45+) who has debuted post 2000.

 

[Sachin136]

India.

Australia with Warner, Smith and Bancroft are number 1.

I really don't understand the obsession with Bancroft. He was never a good player and Australia have decent openers right now. In fact when Warner comes back, they'll have to pick between Burns, Harris, and Warner. Bancroft isn't even in the picture.

 

[YousafTheBeast]

I really don't understand the obsession with Bancroft. He was never a good player and Australia have decent openers right now. In fact when Warner comes back, they'll have to pick between Burns, Harris, and Warner. Bancroft isn't even in the picture.

His ability to keep the ball in perfect condition for his bowlers gets him into the side alone.

 

[jnaveen1980]

Was Australia no. 1 when Smith and Warner were playing?

Lost to Bangladesh in Bangladesh.

The great warner, great Smith, great max well all there

http://www.espncricinfo.com/series/...ladesh-vs-australia-1st-test-bdesh-v-aus-2017

 

[MMHS]

I'll stick to the current ranking in that order - IND, SAF, ENG, NZ, AUS, SRL, PAK, WIN, SRL, BD, ZIM.

Rankings are built over a period and they are quite reflective. I am a bit open between ENG-SAF and not sure if SAF should be 2nd and Kiwis might be an unfortunate 4th, but from 4th to 10th it's perfectly acceptable.

 

[Nikhil_cric]

I'll stick to the current ranking in that order - IND, SAF, ENG, NZ, AUS, SRL, PAK, WIN, SRL, BD, ZIM.

Rankings are built over a period and they are quite reflective. I am a bit open between ENG-SAF and not sure if SAF should be 2nd and Kiwis might be an unfortunate 4th, but from 4th to 10th it's perfectly acceptable.

After the Caribbean tour, England will actually go down to #5.

 

[MMHS]

After the Caribbean tour, England will actually go down to #5.

Still, that's probably acceptable - there is very little between ENG, SAF, AUS & NZL. These are the SENA 4 and for them home & away is almost similar among themselves. Poms will regain 2nd spot after the Ashes series and SAF might go to 5th after IND series.

 

[Nikhil_cric]

Still, that's probably acceptable - there is very little between ENG, SAF, AUS & NZL. These are the SENA 4 and for them home & away is almost similar among themselves. Poms will regain 2nd spot after the Ashes series and SAF might go to 5th after IND series.

I agree with this. Very difficult to differentiate between the teams right now .

 

[ex-q-zit]

Since then SL have declined, especially with Herath retiring. They lost 0-3 at home against England and are losing in Australia. Pakistan would be whitewashed in Australia too, but I don't think they would lose to England at home.

Didn't they just lose to NZ at home?

 

[Sachin136]

Didn't they just lose to NZ at home?

England aren't as good as NZ away from home, so I'd expect Pakistan to be able to beat them in the UAE.

 

[MMHS]

England aren't as good as NZ away from home, so I'd expect Pakistan to be able to beat them in the UAE.

ENG won the SRL series for the toss - they won 8 straight tosses and won 7 of those Tests. If they win 3 tosses against PAK in UAE, I am damn sure they'll win at least 1 Test, while PAK under Sarfraz won't take 20 wickets bowling first 3 times - most likely 0-2 or at best 1-2 is likely outcome.

I put it other way - had SRL won all 3 tosses, I am sure they would have won at least 2 Tests if not all 3; because their entire strategy was built on batting first on good, buy crumbling wickets on fast outfield with 3-4 spinners & spin all-rounders to bat deep, having only Lakmal with new ball, that too as Captain. Basically they had almost nothing attack for Day 1 where they had to bowl all 3 times. But, if PAK wins all 3 tosses to Poms in UAE, I doubt if this team will win 2 Tests, but there is every chance of a batting collapse and losing one Test despite winning toss - Misbah's team had lost 3 Tests (2 by innings) after winning the toss there and would have lost to Poms as well light permitting ...... this Sarfraz's team is a skeleton of Misbah's Test team - will be white washed by BD if we win all 3 tosses at home and lose Series in UAE.

The ranks are fine - WIN will be closer to SRL/PAK in coming days than BD from bottom half, which is going to be the most significant move; rest are within touching distance.