ICC Super Series 2005

Infobox cricket tournament main
name = ICC Super Series


imagesize = 220px
caption = The official logo of the "Johnnie Walker Super Series"
administrator = ICC
cricket format = Test and ODI
tournament format = Series
first = 2005
last = 2005
participants = 2
champions = cr|AUS (both Test and ODI)
most successful = cr|AUS (2 titles (Test and ODI))
most runs = flagicon|AUS Matthew Hayden (188)
most wickets = flagicon|AUS Stuart MacGill (9)

The ICC Super Series 2005 was a cricket series played in Australia in October 2005 and featuring some of the world's best cricketers. There were two teams playing: Australia, the world's ranked number one side, and an ICC World XI made up of some of the best non-Australian cricketers. The major sponsor of the series was Johnnie Walker whisky.

While the matches themselves attracted reasonable interest and television viewing, small crowds and a poor performance by the World XI has led to the entire Super Series concept being taken back to the drawing board by the ICC. [ [http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/cricket/4349434.stm Super Series snore?] ] Many believe that the Super Series cannot work due to lack of cooperation and coordination between the Rest of the World players.

Fixtures

*Warm-up match: Junction Oval, Melbourne, VIC
** World XI vs. Victoria - 2nd October
*One Day Internationals: Telstra Dome, Melbourne, VIC
**Game 1 - 5th October
**Game 2 - 7th October
**Game 3 - 9th October
*Super Test: Sydney Cricket Ground, Sydney, NSW
**14th to 19th October

Teams

elections

The World squads were announced on August 23, with additions on September 23 due to injuries to two players. Of the players in the final squads, five were from South Africa, three each from England and Pakistan, two each from India, Sri Lanka and The West Indies, and one from New Zealand. Zimbabwe and Bangladesh were unrepresented. The players chosen for the rest of the world team were selected by a panel of former test players. They were Sunil Gavaskar, Mike Atherton, Jonty Rhodes, Aravinda de Silva, Clive Lloyd and Richard Hadlee. [ [http://www.iht.com/articles/2005/08/23/sports/cricket.php Cricket: Best in the world? The team is picked] ] The colour of the World XI's uniform was predominantly blue and black. The coach of the team was India's former coach John Wright.

The Australian squads were announced on September 20, and the axe fell on the lacklustre performers on the team during the recent Ashes series, with Damien Martyn dropped from the Test side in favour of Brad Hodge but retaining his one-day spot. Stuart MacGill and Shane Watson, who toured England but did not play in any of the Ashes Tests, were included in the lineup. Jason Gillespie and Michael Kasprowicz were not found worthy for a place in the Test squad nor the ODI squad, while youngster James Hopes getting a surprise call-up for the ODI side following his 146 in a first class game for Australia A on their tour of Pakistan in September 2005.

Test Squads

In a practice match preceding the first one-day international, a fifty over game was arranged against a strong Victorian side. The game was thirteen-a-side, but with only eleven players allowed to bat and eleven to field. Andrew Flintoff was allowed to rest, with the other World players all playing. By agreement the World batted first, but they fared badly as they collapsed from 63 for no loss to 131 for 6, with Shane Harwood taking 4 for 37. Rahul Dravid's patient knock of 66 off 113 balls and Shaun Pollock's cameo of 54 not out off only 43 balls rescued the innings, which finished on a competitive 281 for 8. Victoria came close in reply, with Brad Hodge top-scoring with 92 before succumbing to Muttiah Muralitharan.

[http://uk.cricinfo.com/db/ARCHIVE/2005-06/SUPERS/SCORECARDS/ICC-XI_VIC_02OCT2005.html Scorecard]

First ODI: Australia v World XI (5 October)

uper Test: Australia v World XI (14-19 October)

ee also

*Rest of the World cricket team in England in 1970
*List of World XI Test cricketers

References

* [http://www.icc-cricket.com/icc/events/superseries/ ICC Super Series home page]
* [http://aus.cricinfo.com/db/ARCHIVE/2005-06/SUPERS/ News about the ICC Super Series] from Cricinfo
* [http://acscricket.com/Articles/2/2349.html Association of Cricket Statisticians and Historians Representation to the ICC]
* [http://content-uk.cricinfo.com/superseries/content/story/220686.html Cricinfo bulletin on Victoria v World XI]

External links

* [http://www.johnniewalkersuperseries.com Official site]