Blast from the Past: World Series Cup 94/95

[Great Birtannia]

http://aus.cricinfo.com/link_to_database/ARCHIVE/1994-95/OD_TOURNEYS/WSC/

Competing Countries: Australia, Australia A, England, Zimbabwe

Final standings:

http://aus.cricinfo.com/link_to_database/ARCHIVE/1994-95/OD_TOURNEYS/WSC/WSC_TABLE_12JAN95.html

Australia squad: Slater, Taylor, M.Waugh, Boon, S.Waugh, Law, +Healy, Warne, McDermott, Fleming, McGrath, Reiffel.

Australia A squad: Damien Martyn, +Phil Emery, Matthew Hayden, Darren Lehmann, Justin Langer, Ricky Ponting, Michael Bevan, Merv Hughes, Paul Reiffel, Gavin Robertson, Greg Rowell, Jo Angel, Tom Moody. (Greg Blewett, Peter McIntyre, SP George)

First Final:

http://aus.cricinfo.com/link_to_dat...YS/WSC/AUS_AUS-A_WSC_OD-FINAL1_15JAN1995.html

Australia defeated Australia "A" by 5 wickets.

Going into the 50th over, Australia needed 3 runs to win. Two singles were scrambled, and the winning runs came off a four by Healy off the last ball of the over.


Second Final:

http://aus.cricinfo.com/link_to_dat...YS/WSC/AUS_AUS-A_WSC_OD-FINAL2_17JAN1995.html

Umpires: DB Hair and SG Randell

Australia defeated Australia "A" by 6 wickets with 6 balls to spare.

-------------------------------------------

I remember watching this series as a kid. I recall a big fuss being made after the pool matches when Australia called Reiffel up from the A squad to be 12th man in the final series. Looking back at the scorecards it looks like Hughes, Lehmann and Moody were also rested from the "A" team for the finals. With the results between the two Australian sides so even a lot of egos were dented and that was the last time an A team featured in the ODI tournament.

On reflection the Australian A squad had some fairly handy youngsters! Although I must say I have never heard of Rowell or George, who the hell were they and where did they end up? Also, it would be hard to find a more hated pairing of umpires than the two that stood in the second final

 

[FaaipDeOiad]

I just remember everyone finding it hilarious that Australia A finished ahead of England. Really is a remarkable A squad though.

 

[Xuhaib]

Picked up from the First Final Match Report

Spectators were reluctant to take sides,
the Barmy Army was conspicuously absent and personal pride was
involved more than patriotic fervour, so that the mid-pitch
pouting and pushing by the big men McGrath and Hayden was almost
welcome relief.

 

[Xuhaib]

I just remember everyone finding it hilarious that Australia A finished ahead of England. Really is a remarkable A squad though.

Looking at this A side its no surprise that Aus dominated world cricket throughout the late 90's and early-mid 00's

 

[Goughy]

Anyone have the scorecards from when England lost (2 games IIRC) against the Australian Academy a number of years ago.

I think Rod Marsh's boy scored a big score in 1 game.

It would be interesting to see how many of those 'kids' made it.

Regarding the above, that really is a hell of a strong A team.

EDIT- Done it myself.
A couple of guys made it but not that many. Again illustrates the strength of Aus cricket in the 90s.

http://www5.cricinfo.com/db/ARCHIVE/1994-95/ENG_IN_AUS/ENG_AUS-ACAD_10DEC1994.html

http://www5.cricinfo.com/db/ARCHIVE/1994-95/ENG_IN_AUS/ENG_AUS-ACAD_11DEC1994.html

 

[Great Birtannia]

EDIT- Done it myself.
A couple of guys made it but not that many. Again illustrates the strength of Aus cricket in the 90s.

http://www5.cricinfo.com/db/ARCHIVE/1994-95/ENG_IN_AUS/ENG_AUS-ACAD_10DEC1994.html

http://www5.cricinfo.com/db/ARCHIVE/1994-95/ENG_IN_AUS/ENG_AUS-ACAD_11DEC1994.html

Hodge, Harvey, Campbell played for Australia and Marsh has had a pretty decent domestic career, captains Tasmania in Ponting's absence.

I did have a quick look and found a couple more from the 98/99 England tour to Australia.

http://aus.cricinfo.com/link_to_dat...N_AUS/SCORECARDS/ENG_AUS-XI_19-22DEC1998.html

Decent run rate in the second innings there, I don' think England would have expected that result when they declared

http://aus.cricinfo.com/link_to_dat..._AUS/SCORECARDS/ENG_BRADMAN-XI_01JAN1999.html

Hussey and Lee cameos for the Bradman XI.

I think South Africa lost a tour match to the WA 2nd XI last year. Infact I think they may have even been rolled on day two of a three day match. Tour games in Australia catch most countries out.

 

[FRAZ]

It sure was a great series . Australian cricket might was quite visible.
Irrelevant to say but I still remember that once Pakistan defeated Australia in a home series (where Inzamam made that last wicket thriller) at that time a friend of mine and I were taunting an Aussie friend of ours and he was saying that it's just one odd test match that you guys are talking about . The next decade or two are gonna be dominated by Australia and no team will touch their might because their domestic infrastructure is developing so fast and becoming technically advanced . And I as per usual was thinking that Wasim Waqar and bunch of youngsters are going to dominate the world but was wrong .....Anyways !!!

 

[Jungle Jumbo]

For a time between 1995 and say 2002, the Australian A side was probably the second best side in the world, playing in non-Asian conditions at least.

 

[Xuhaib]

For a time between 1995 and say 2002, the Australian A side was probably the second best side in the world, playing in non-Asian conditions at least.

Nah, Pak and SA would have smoked Aus A.

 

[Magrat Garlick]

I just remember everyone finding it hilarious that Australia A finished ahead of England. Really is a remarkable A squad though.

Hehe, noticed Blewett was the reserve batsman. A little more bare in the bowling department tho, although Hughes, Reiffel and Angel were all quite capable international bowlers.

There's something similar going on right now, tho...in July Aus fielded this as an A side...

Watson = Langer
Haddin = Emery
Cosgrove = Lehmann
Birt = Ponting
Marsh = Martyn
Jaques = Hayden

I'm not saying they're equal yet, but in, say, five years' time, would we look back and say "what a remarkable A squad" (in batting anyway; Johnson, Dorey, Cullen, Hilfenhaus isn't enough to scare me...). It's lacking a Bevan, in fairness, but he graduated only a year ago.

 

[tooextracool]

Hehe, noticed Blewett was the reserve batsman. A little more bare in the bowling department tho, although Hughes, Reiffel and Angel were all quite capable international bowlers.

There's something similar going on right now, tho...in July Aus fielded this as an A side...

Watson = Langer
Haddin = Emery
Cosgrove = Lehmann
Birt = Ponting
Marsh = Martyn
Jaques = Hayden

I'm not saying they're equal yet, but in, say, five years' time, would we look back and say "what a remarkable A squad" (in batting anyway; Johnson, Dorey, Cullen, Hilfenhaus isn't enough to scare me...). It's lacking a Bevan, in fairness, but he graduated only a year ago.

i dont know about you, but which bowler from that A side strikes you as having has a very distinguished test or domestic career? I think id take Johnson and the rest over Mcintyre, Rowell, George and Robertson that graced the A side back then. The batting strength is obviously very strong though, but to be honest if you put Bevan and Lehmann in a zimbabwe A side it would still look pretty good.

 

[Magrat Garlick]

i dont know about you, but which bowler from that A side strikes you as having has a very distinguished test or domestic career? I think id take Johnson and the rest over Mcintyre, Rowell, George and Robertson that graced the A side back then. The batting strength is obviously very strong though, but to be honest if you put Bevan and Lehmann in a zimbabwe A side it would still look pretty good.

Merv Hughes and Paul Reiffel didn't have too awful careers. Was only looking at the squads posted, mind.

 

[tooextracool]

Merv Hughes and Paul Reiffel didn't have too awful careers. Was only looking at the squads posted, mind.

Merv Hughes was at the very end of his career, there was certainly no future to look forward to in his case. There was Paul Reiffel and the rest was garbage if you look at their FC records, or in Robertson's case, at his test performance

 

[vic_orthdox]

I went to the 2nd Final. Tom Moody was injured, that's why he didn't play. Greg Champion sang some song with the "Aussie Aussie Aussie, Oi Oi Oi" in it, and then everyone went round chanting it from then on. So blame him.