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Who's the best?

The normally grim-looking Australian cricket captain Steve Waugh is finally smiling. The reason? The 1999 World Cup triumph, series wins against Zimbabwe, Pakistan and India.

During the nineties, three Australian captains - Allan Border, Mark Taylor and Steve Waugh - led Australia to 58 victories from 117 Test matches, out of which 35 have been draws and 24 defeats. The Aussies won 19 series with just five defeats, two of those to the West Indies in the early nineties. Australia had beaten every side including South Africa, who, since their return to international cricket in 1990, have done remarkably well, and at present trail the 'champions' 3-5, with four draws.

Steve Waugh, after completing his seventh straight win at Sydney, said he would back his team against any other of any era. This is an unusually ambitious statement. Can Steve Waugh equal Clive Lloyd's record of 11 wins in a row? Is he right in declaring that his side could beat the invincible West Indians, who won everything both at home and abroad for 15 years (with one hiccup against New Zealand in 1980), or challenge what is generally accepted as the greatest-ever Australian team - Don Bradman's all-conquering team of 1948 - which remained unbeaten during the tour of England.

I have my own doubts. Steve Waugh's Australians are no doubt a formidable lot, but I would not call them the best-ever cricket team. A champion side should have an impressive, long-standing 'away' record. Steve Waugh's men could only draw (2-2) the recent series in the Caribbean when the home team's morale was low and were beaten by Sri Lanka 1-0 in a rain-ruined three-match series.

A true assessment can be made only by a one-to-one comparison of the teams. Cricket experts have acknowledged that Warwick Armstrong's 1921 team which toured England was outstanding, but we must restrict ourselves to the post-war cricket scene. I am listing 14 players each from the Australian team of 1948, Clive Lloyd's West Indians of the eighties and finally the current Australian team:

The Australians of 1948: Arthur Morris, Syd Barnes, Bill Brown Don Bradman (captain), Lindsay Hassett, Keith Miller, Neil Harvey, Sam Loxton, Ray Lindwall, Ian Johnson Don Tallon, Bill Johnstone, Doug Ring and Ernie Toshack

The West Indians of the eighties: Gordon Greenidge, Desmond Haynes, Roy Fredericks, Viv Richards, Larry Gomes, Alvin Kallicharan, Lawrence Rowe, Clive Lloyd (captain), Jeffrey Dujon Andy Roberts, Michael Holding, Colin Croft, Joel Garner and Malcolm Marshall.

Steve Waugh's Australians: Michael Slater, Greg Blewett, Justin Langer, Mark Waugh, Steve Waugh (captain), Darren Lehman, Ricky Ponting , Adam Gilchrist, Shane Warne, Colin Miller, Brett Lee, Damien Fleming, Glen McGrath and Micheal Kasprowicz.

Take the opening pairs. Slater and Blewett are no match for the West Indian and Australian (1948) pairs. Slater is a nice, attacking player but lacks consistency. His successes has come against a weak Indian team and a demoralised Pakistani lot who dropped him dozens of times. A shrewd skipper and a strong bowling side can easily trap him.

Blewett is only a makeshift opener who is uncomfortable against both top class pace and spin bowling.

The West Indian triumvirate and the Australian (1948) openers were streets ahead of Slater and Blewett. Barnes and Morris were a typical blend of defence and aggression; the latter was the best left-handed opener of his time. They were consistent and adjusted their game according to the situation. Morris, in 1948, hit three centuries in five Tests and outscored even the mighty Bradman. From 1951, Morris was often claimed by medium pacer Alec Bedser to the extent of being named as his 'bunny'. But Morris, on his 1948 form, was the automatic choice for any World XI of that era.

The West Indians - Greenidge, Fredericks or Haynes - were equally formidable. Fredericks, left-handed, was more aggressive than the consistent Haynes, who along with Greenidge formed the most successful and prolific opening partnership for his country.

At the beginning of his career, Greenidge had problems on the bouncy Australian pitches, particularly against the pace of Dennis Lillee and Jeff Thomson. But he overcame these deficiencies, tightened his defence and developed murderous aggression. The Greenidge-Fredericks-Haynes combination lasted longer than the Barnes-Morris duo, performed better under different conditions and tops my list among the three teams.

The number three position has to be considered separately. Justin Langer, the current Australian one-drop, was about to be dropped from the team when he came up with that dream innings against Pakistan at Hobart. But he has to thank the Australian umpire who declared him 'not out' when he had clearly snicked a Wasim Akram snorter to wicketkeeper Moin Khan. Prior to the clash against Pakistan, Langer had failed miserably against Sri Lanka, falling time and again to the wiles of off spinner Muralitharan. Thus far, he has been sketchy against the Indians.

Can one compare such a player with Don Bradman? Bradman in 1948 was 42, his reflexes considerably slower. He still scored heavily though not as quickly as he had when younger. Norman Yardley, the England captain in 1948, often tied him down with a leg stump attack. Further, England had no genuine pace bowler like Harold Larwood who had exposed the Don's weakness against the short, rising balls.

Yes, Bradman in 1948, was still very good but was not the champion he was before the second World War. But I doubt if he could have scored as many runs against the rampaging West Indian pace attack of the eighties.

It is here that West Indian Viv Richards pips him, though just. Richards may have scored fewer centuries and achieved a lower average than the Don, but his mastery over the opposing bowlers during the eighties was quite imposing. He played pace without ever using a helmet and no spinner really troubled him. Unlike Bradman in 1948, during the eighties, he asserted his superiority over the bowlers from ball one. If he did not score as many runs as Bradman, it was only because he was often bored by the lack of competition and had no interest in accumulating runs.

During a county match against Essex in 1948, Bradman studiously scored a century as his side piled up 721 runs in less than a day. Under the same circumstances, Richards would have thrown away his wicket.

Again, the West Indians score over the other two teams in the middle order batting. The current Australian team boasts of the Waugh brothers and Ricky Ponting, with Lehmann as reserve. Mark Waugh clearly is at the end of a great career. Brother Steve is still going strong and is one of the best batsmen in the world. Ponting, on his day, is a lovely, attacking batsman, but has so far not established himself.

Don Bradman's Australians had Lindsay Hassett, Keith Miller, Neil Harvey and, to a lesser extent, Bill Brown and Sam Loxton. Hassett was of a defensive mould but played pace bowling very well. Miller, a genuine allrounder, was a bit temperamental in 1948 while the brilliant Neil Harvey had just begun his illustrious career. If Miller had concentrated a bit more, he would have made an outstanding batsman.

The West Indians, during the eighties, had a more formidable middle order comprising Kallicharan, Gomes, Lloyd and Lawrence Rowe. Kalli and Lloyd were almost as good as Richards; Gomes could adjust his game according to the situation. West Indian fast bowler Malcolm Marshall believed that but for injuries, Rowe could have been a better batsman than Richards.

Indeed, this line-up was far superior to anything the present Australians can boast of, and in my opinion slightly ahead of the Don Bradman trio.

As for a genuine allrounder, Keith Miller stood head and shoulders above the rest. Ray Lindwall came second. The West Indians, after the retirement of Sobers, lacked a genuine all rounder though Clive Lloyd's men were highly successful even without one. Steve Waugh himself is an all rounder of sorts, so is brother Mark. But the 1948 Australians top the list in this department.

Taking wicketkeepers into consideration, Adam Gilchrist has proved an aggressive batsman but we have to wait and see if he sustains his good run. His keeping is average. Don Tallon (1948) was quite brilliant but Jeff Dujon of the West Indians was outstanding and consistent over a long period and it would be safe to conclude that the Caribbean keeper was easily the best batsman of the three.

And what have we in the bowling department? In pace, the current Australian team has one great bowler in Glen McGrath, one promising quickie in Brett Lee and two average bowlers in Fleming and Kasprowciz. The Australians of 1948 had three great pacemen - Lindwall, Miller and the underrated Bill Johnstone. Lindwall, according to many followers of the game, could be listed among the all-time great pacemen, while Miller, on his day, was even more menacing. But Australia's (1948) support bowling was not good. Toshack bowled left arm medium and was a defensive bowler. The West Indians are clearly ahead in the pace department. Roberts, Holding, Croft, Garner and Marshall, individually, were great. Collectively, they did not need any spinners to support them. Each one of them had a huge haul of wickets, over 200, with Marshall claiming 376. Croft played fewer number Tests but batsmen like Boycott admitted they found him most difficult to handle.

There isn't much to say about the spin department. Because a new ball was due after every 55 overs in 1948, the Australians seldom had the need for a spinner. Off spinner Ian Johnson was in the team but had little success. The bowling was dominated by the three pacemen with Toshack sealing up one end till the next new ball was due. The West Indians during the eighties did not need a spinner at all! Their pace attack bulldozed every kind of opposition, both at home and abroad. But Steve Waugh's team has a real world beater in Shane Warne who has played a notable role in the team's success. In fact, only Warne and McGrath can be termed world beaters in the current Australian team. The earlier Australian team can boast of four, Bradman, Morris, Lindwall and Miller, based on the 1948 form.

As for Lloyd's West Indians, can anyone question the stature of Lloyd himself, Richards, Greenidge, Kallicharan and the four fast bowlers? The playing eleven had eight or more world beaters.

It would be proper to mention here that the English team of the early fifties also had an outstanding bowling attack. The selectors could choose from Bedser, Tyson, Trueman, Statham, Loader, Bailey, Laker, Lock, Wardle and Appleyard. Both pace and spin were well represented, but the batting was a bit fragile. Skipper Hutton and Denis Compton had their best years behind them. The new stars, Peter May and Colin Cowdrey, were just establishing themselves. We should also consider the South African team of 1969-71. Its batting relied on Barlow, Richards Goddard, Greame Pollock and Lindsay while the bowling was in the capable hands of Procter and Peter Pollock. Procter and Barlow were outstanding allrounders but the team lacked a genuine spinner. Sure, these two teams would have given Steve Waugh's men a run for their money.

There's no doubt that Steve Waugh's men are enjoying a purple patch, but that does not qualify them for the 'best ever cricket team' title. Based on results (both home and away) and individual performances, the West Indians during the eighties were truly the best. Then comes the Australians of 1948. But if that team had the Bradman of the thirties, the order may have been different. Bradman, in 1948, would not have coped with the West Indian pace battery of the eighties, but Viv Richards, I am sure, would have joyfully accepted the challenge and emerged the winner in his joustings with Lindwall, Miller and Bill Johnstone. It is this factor which influenced my decision.