Who would you pick in a greatest of all time ODI team for each country?

[Wilted]

Similar to last year, I'm going to play through a custom, World Cup-style tournament to find the greatest limited-over team of all time. It will be an ODI tournament with the top eight international teams consisting of their nations' greatest-ever ODI players. I'll be posting 15-man squads in this thread, if you have any suggestions, additions, feedback or just want to post your own teams, please leave a reply.

Team Australia
A Gilchrist (wk)
D Warner
R Ponting (c)
S Watson
M Hussey
M Bevan
A Symonds
M Starc
B Lee
S Warne
G McGrath

Rest of Squad:
M Hayden
D Jones
S Waugh
M Johnson

There are definitely some big names that are going to have to miss out on this squad. Having won half of the World Cups since the 80s, Australia has a lot of options to choose from. Gilchrist is really the only choice for the keeper and will also open the batting. His partner will be a choice between Warner and Hayden, with Warner having the edge over his predecessor. Coming it a number 3 will of course be Ponting, who will be captain of the team and is arguably Australia's greatest ODI batsman ever. Picking the rest of the middle order was a struggle. I've gone with Watson at 4 for an additional pace option if needed but he deserves the spot as one of Australia's most dominant ODI players despite his reputation in the latter part of his Test career. Hussey and Bevan come next, two of Australia's best finishers and fastest scorers. Australia needs all the bowling depth out of their all-rounders as possible and Bevan did have a habit of having a golden arm when needed. Symonds comes in next being one of Australia's most successful ODI all-rounders. His hitting power is also next to none on this team and can really push things to the next level at the end of the innings. The fast-bowling trio of Starc, Lee and McGrath are arguably Australia's best quicks and of course, there's none other than Warne to pick as the frontline spinner.

Hayden, Jones, Waugh and Johnson are stiff to miss out on being in the XI but deserve a spot in the squad. Waugh could easily come in for any player in the XI thanks to his ability to hold up an end with his medium pacers. McDermott and Lillee are unlucky not to be picked as bowlers and M Waugh and Clarke could also argue for a spot dues to the flexibility of their batting roles. There are quite a few big names that also could easily walk into this world-class squad such as Finch, O'Donnel, Chappel(s), Smith, etc.

Team England
M Trescothic
G Gooch (c)
J Trott
J Root
K Pieterson
J Bairstow (wk)
A Flintoff
I Botham
G Swann
D Gough
J Anderson

Rest of Squad:
P Collingwood
E Morgan
J Buttler
B Stokes

This was a tough one and one that could change since I'm mostly aware of English players when they played against Australia. Gooch and Trescothic are locks for opening, I honestly don't see anyone else playing those roles. Despite hitting the international scene later in his career, Trott was the best English ODI batter I had watched at the time, and get number 3. Joe Root is in at number 4 not only due to him probably being England's best-ever ODI batter but also continuing to innovate how the game is played. While Root may be one of the best, no one can deny Pieterson being the most destructive due to him being able to turn a match on its head from the moment he stepped to the crease. As for the keeper, Buttler may be the better gloveman, but I've picked Bairstow for being the better batsman. Botham and Flintoff are arguably the two greatest pace bowling all-rounders of all time so they are also obvious picks. Swann was the only spin option I could think of that would fit the team. Lastly, I picked Gough and Anderson, both of who I think are the best bowlers England has to offer.

Collingwood gets into the squad as a specialist fielder, Morgan would probably be in the XI if I were to base selection on purely the modern game and may get picked ahead of Trott. Buttler is the shakiest pick so far and may get dropped for a player that missed out. Finally, Stokes is showing he is one of the best in the world at the moment, just he hasn't really shown it on the big stage in ODIs. A few big names got missed, including Strauss, Bell, Woakes and Broad.

Team India
S Tendulkar
R Sharma
V Kohli
S Ganguly
Y Singh
MS Dhoni (wk) (c)
K Dev
R Jadeja
A Kumble
J Bumrah
J Srinanth

Rest of Squad:
V Sehwag
M Azharuddin
A Agarkar
H Singh

Having Sehwag and Sharma open together was tempting but when you have the greatest ODI batsman of all time, you want him in the middle for as long as possible. Sharma has a better ODI record than Sehwag, so he gets picked to be Tendulkar's opening partner. Speaking of Tendulkar's partners, Ganguly gets moved down the order to 3. He is probably one of the more balanced players in the lineup and likely to be the glue that keeps the team together. While Kohli's best form is likely behind him, he is guaranteed to be one of the greatest ODI batsmen of all time. It wasn't long ago that it seemed impossible to make runs whenever he stepped out to the middle. Being one of India's best finishers, Y Singh is the fifth batsman on the team with some handy bowling as well. The only other person who is a better finisher though is the captain and keeper of this team, MS Dhoni. There really is no other option for wicketkeeping. India's bowling attack is led by Dev, followed by Jadeja. Both are two of the best bowling all-rounders in Indian history. Kumble, Bumrah and Srinanth make up the rest of the bowling attack.

While explosive and game-changing, Sehwag's inconsistency means he misses out on the starting XI. Azharuddin being one of the pioneers of India becoming a limited over powerhouse sees him in the squad while Agarkar and H Singh are in the squad based on their successes with the ball.

Team New Zealand
B McCullum (wk) (c)
M Guptill
K Williamson
R Taylor
M Crowe
C Cairns
R Hadlee
D Vettori
T Boult
S Bond
E Chatfield

Rest of Squad:
N Astle
S Fleming
C Harris
K Mills

NZ has a very solid core group of legendary players that were easy to pick but their middle order consists of great but not 'all-time-great' all-rounders, which may be their downfall. McCullum, being one of those greats, is of course the opener, keeper and captain. Guptill follows as he is one of the players who has guided NZ from the bottom to the success NZ are reaping in the modern day. Williamson is arguably the best batsman has ever seen, while Taylor would be a candidate for the second. Next comes Crowe who was probably the only NZ batsman to be able to withstand the West Indian dominance of his era. Cairns is my pick from the plethora of NZ all-rounders due to being slightly more reliable with the ball. Hadlee would probably be picked in a World XI so easily makes it into the NZ team, while Vettori was the backbone of NZ cricket for years thanks to his crafty spinners. Boult is a modern-day great already and gets picked above Mills due to his ability to move the new ball a lot. Bond, the greatest fast bowler that never was, would have had a career similar to Steyn if he had the opportunity I reckon. Finally, Chatfield is probably the first NZ bowler to really shine on the world stage. Harris is in the squad but he and Cairns could arguably be replaced by Anderson or Styris. Astle, Fleming and Mills could also swap in if needed.

Team Pakistan
Z Abbas
S Anwar
B Azam
J Miandad
S Malik
S Afridi
I Khan (c)
M Khan (wk)
W Akram
W Younis
S Mushtaq

Rest of Squad:
Y Khan
I -ul Haq
S Ajmal
S Akhtar

Pakistan certainly has one of the most fearsome bowling lineups for this tournament so I'm going to start there. Wasim & Waqar are well and truly the best opening bowler combo ever without a shadow of a doubt. And if you make it through them, you have Khan and Mushtaq to deal with. Afridi and Malik also can bowl a few overs to give the main attack battery a break but with Ajmal and Akhtar in the squad, Pakistan have enough bowling options to go toe-to-toe with the best in the world. As for batting, you have Abbas, arguably Pakistan's greatest ODI batsman, and Anwar opening. Azam, the other Pakistani GOAT, comes in at three. And if that wasn't enough all-time greats to get past, Miandad comes to the creases next. Khan takes captaincy of the team for his 1992 WC leadership and his ability to bat as well as the top order make him a game changer for this team.

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I'll add more teams over the next week or so. Feel free to add comments or your own teams, especially players from pre-2000s who had most of their success away from Australia

[CrazyCaptain101]

I reckon Finch over Warner for Australia.

Also Kohli up to 3 for India and Ganguly down to 4.

[Wilted]

I reckon Finch over Warner for Australia.

Also Kohli up to 3 for India and Ganguly down to 4.

I agree that Kohli probably goes up to three. Ganguly has a rough go since he probably would open in most teams but you wouldn't put him ahead of Tendulkar or Sharma.

I originally was going to do a 'limited overs' squad and have a mix of ODI and T20 players, but decided to do separate tournaments. Finch was in that team and would be my pick in a T20 only team but I think Warner has had the better career out of them, especially that period in the late 2010's before his ban where he was arguably the best in the world for a few years.

[Wilted]

Character limit on the first post was reached.

Team South Africa
G Smith (c)
H Amla
J Kallis
AB de Villiers
F du Plessis
J Rhodes
Q de Kock (wk)
L Klusener
S Pollock
D Steyn
A Donald

Rest of Squad:
H Gibbs
M Morkel
M Ntini
I Tahir

South Africa was last year's ATG Test Championship winner and several players from that successful squad will have a chance of going back-to-back in their ATG ODI squad. I don't think there'll ever be a South African team where Smith is not the opener or captain. Amla will be his partner thanks to being one of the most consistent and prolific run scorers of the 2010s. For me, Kallis is the greatest cricketer of all time so an easy choice for number three and a major part of the bowling attack. And if having one of the best cricketers of all time wasn't enough, having arguably the greatest ODI batsman comes in next is one of the reasons South Africa is one of the favourites. Faf also is another modern player that spent the 2010s dominating bowlers around the world but let's be honest, he is in the team because he looks good wearing just a towel. Despite not having the best record, Jonty Rhodes would be great at rotating strike in death and is worth at least two in the field. While de Villiers could potentially take the gloves, de Kock is probably a bit more quicker and adaptable behind the stumps in the modern game and can bat as well as many of the best batsmen. Klusener is the big lower-order threat in this lineup and is a solid bowling option. Pollock adds to the depth as one of the best bowling all-rounders ever. Even though the likes of Morkel probably have a better record than Steyn, Steyn is a sure pick any day. Finally, Donald rounds out the XI with his White Lightning pace.

Team Sri Lanka
S Jayasuriya (c)
T Dilshan
M Jayawardene
K Sangakkara (wk)
A de Silva
M Atapattu
A Mathews
C Vaas
A Mendis
L Malinga
M Muralitharan

Rest of Squad:
A Ranatunga
U Tharanga
F Maharoof
N Kulasekara

Not the flashiest team ever and probably one of the weaker squads in the tournament... said commentators in 1996. Sri Lanka is the youngest team in the tournament due to their relatively recent introduction to international cricket but that won't stop the likes of Sangakkara, Jayawardene, Murali, Malinga and Jayasuriya from stepping up to meet the challenge of fellow greats from around the world. Jayasuriya is of course an opener and will give relief to the main bowling attack. Dilshan and Jayawardene are up next with 10k ODI runs to both of their names. Sangakkara is arguably the greatest keeper/batsman of all time and will have a huge impact on the scoring potential of this team. De Silva and Atapattu are up next and have both played huge roles in Sri Lanka's ODI cricket history. Mathews comes in next with the ability to bat and bowl. Both he and Jayasuriya will need to pick up some overs every match to allow the batting-heavy side to maximise their scoring. Vaas and Malinga are probably the only two Sri Lankan picks who warrant a spot in an ATG team and they both have shown the ability to tear through the best teams in the world. Unfortunately, Mendis had the misfortune to be a Sri Lankan offspinner who bowled in the shadow of the greatest offspinner of all time. Despite that, he backed up his talent with some of the best stats ever in his underutilised career. And with that said, Murali is of course selected with more ODI wickets than anyone in the history of the game.

West Indies XI
C Gayle
D Haynes
V Richards
B Lara
C Lloyd (c)
C Hooper
D Bravo
D Ramdin (wk)
J Garner
C Ambrose
M Holding

Rest of Squad:
G Greenidge
S Chanderpaul
C Walsh
M Marshall

If you ask Chris Gayle, he's the Home batter of all time. He isn't but still a devastating player when he has his day. His partner was a coin flip between Haynes and Greenidge, but I gave the spot to Haynes due to him having better performances against stronger bowling attacks. Sir Viv is the best batsman outside of Bradman in my opinion and anyone who disagrees often says Lara is the best Caribbean batsman. Not bad for your three and four. Lloyd comes in next to be a steady hand. He also is the captain of the side due to his dual World Cup victories thanks to his heroics. Hooper is the only spin option, though Viv could potentially roll his arm over if conditions were especially favourable. Bravo has become one of the best modern-day, limited-overs bowlers for the Windies and can be a crucial finisher as well. Ramdin is one of the few West Indies keepers who have had a lasting impact. Finally, the quickest of the quick all hail from the Caribbean. Garner, Ambrose and Holding are some of the fastest bowlers who have ever played. Walsh and Marshall (and even Bishop) miss out on this team but are still a class above some of the quicks participating in this tournament.

[Wilted]

Those are the teams and squads for the moment. I'll probably start the tournament over the Easter weekend when I have more time to sit down and get through a good chunk of the matches. If anyone is interested in following along, I'll do some commentary in a stories thread. If you have any feedback on teams, let me know.