THE TITANS OF THE TIMES

The great West Indies team of the 1970s and the 80s played with their skills and did not resort to cheap gamesmanship for they had talent enough to decimate the opposition by virtue of it. But Steve Waugh's Aussies played with both skill and nastiness which the skipper termed 'mental disintegration'. This clearly shows the West Indies team in a superior light apart from the fact that it was arguably the greatest team in history. Even Lillee and his compatriots of Ian and Greg Chappell's team were nasty competitors who resorted to ugly on-field behaviour and foul language not expected in a game fabled to the gentleman's game. A fantasy series between these three teams must be played to determine which team, after all, was the best. Of course, the result would be purely based on my personal perception of their relative strengths as a team.

WEST INDIES OF LLOYD
1. Gordon Greenidge
2. Desmond Haynes
3. Vivian Richards (Vice-captain) *
4. Alvin Kallicharan
5. Larry Gomes
6. Clive Lloyd (Captain) **
7. Deryck Murray (Wicket-keeper) ///
8. Malcolm Marshall
9. Andy Roberts
10. Joel Garner
11. Michael Holding

AUSTRALIA OF IAN CHAPPELL
1. Ian Redpath
2. Rick McCosker
3. Ian Chappell (Captain) **
4. Greg Chappell (Vice-captain) *
5. Ross Edwards
6. Doug Walters
7. Rodney Marsh (Wicket-keeper) ///
8. Max Walker
9. Dennis Lillee
10. Ashley Mallett
11. Jeff Thomson

AUSTRALIA OF STEVE WAUGH
1. Justin Langer
2. Mathew Hayden
3. Ricky Ponting
4. Mark Waugh
5. Damien Martyn
6. Steve Waugh (Captain) **
7. Adam Gilchrist (Wicket-keeper) ///
8. Shane Warne
9. Bret Lee
10. Jason Gillespie
11. Glen McGrath

Written by Sugata Bose