Battle of the giants

Battle of the giants

By Martin Gough
BBC Sport in Johannesburg

When Australia downed World Cup minnows England on Thursday they surpassed the record for consecutive one-day international victories.

Unsurprisingly, the previous mark of 11 was held by the West Indies team that dominated cricket in the 1970s and '80s.

That star-studded Windies team enjoyed their most consistent one-day success in a run from June 1984 to February 1985.

It included a single win in England and five each against Sri Lanka and Australia during the annual triangular series down under.

Who would come out on top if the two sides were to come face-to-face? BBC Sport compares the likely combatants.

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Captains
Clive Lloyd v Ricky Ponting

In charge of the side for just a year, Ponting could learn much from a skipper who won the first two World Cups and led a dominant Test side to boot.

His match-winning century in the 1975 final aside, though, Lloyd's batting was generally under-used, partly because of the talent ahead of him in the order.

Winner: Lloyd

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Opening batsmen
Desmond Haynes v Matthew Hayden

Haynes (pictured) holds an edge over Hayden

Both brutal beaters of the ball, Haynes gains an edge over his Australian counterpart because of his talents of accumulation.

Although accomplished, Hayden has yet to master that with the same consistency in the one-day game.

Haynes' 17 ODI centuries was a record until passed by Sachin Tendulkar in 1998.

Winner: Haynes

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Batsmen
Gordon Greenidge v Damien Martyn

As Australia line their wicket-keeper up as an opener and their captain at three it is unfair to compare these two as like-for-like.

While Greenidge would gain the nod in a Test comparison, Martyn's speed of scoring might gain him an extra yard in the one-day game.

Verdict: Dead heat

Richie Richardson v Michael Bevan

For a while in the early '90s Richardson was considered one of the world's best, but at 23 he was just making his way into the side.

Bevan is the ultimate middle-order pragmatist, and has long been considered one of the world's best one-day run-makers, although the advent of the one-bouncer-per-over rule may have slowed him slightly.

Winner: Bevan

Viv Richards v Darren Lehmann

The Master Blaster versus "Boof" Lehmann. There might be a need for helmets among the crowd if these two got going in the same match.

Lehmann has the ability to reign himself in to deal with any situation, but Richards' oozed class in everything he did at the crease, backed by a strike rate of 90.20, is difficult to match.

Winner: Richards

Gus Logie v Andrew Symonds

Logie appeared almost as an afterthought in the order, much as Symonds has done for much of his time in the Australia side.

But the Birmingham-born all-rounder gave a hint of his immense potential in smashing a century against Pakistan at the beginning of this tournament - Logie managed just a single ODI ton during his career.

Winner: Symonds

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Wicket-keepers
Jeff Dujon v Adam Gilchrist

Gilchrist would have the lion's share over Dujon

Partly because of West Indies' upper-order strength, and partly because the world game had only begun to spot the differences with Test cricket, all Dujon had to do in the side was keep wicket.

Gilchrist is worth his place as a batsman alone - and one of the world's most explosive at that.

The fact that he takes a spot behind the stumps only adds to Australia's firepower.

Winner: Gilchrist

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Spinners
Roger Harper v Brad Hogg

The current West Indies coach, an off-spinner, shared time in the side with pace bowlers Winston Davis and Eldine Baptiste, depending on conditions.

Hogg barely saw action at international level before Shane Warne's shoulder injury, but he is now a regular in the side.

His brand of left-arm wrist-spin has proved a solid weapon, if less economical than Warne's, on any surface.

Winner: Hogg

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Fast bowlers
Malcolm Marshall v Brett Lee

Lee has the edge in the speed stakes, but Marshall's depth of experience offered an ability to adapt in a way that the Australian firebrand is only just learning to do.

Winner: Marshall

Michael Holding v Jason Gillespie

Holding was never as distracted as Gillespie can be

Gillespie is under-rated in Australia's attack, often providing a perfect counter-point to Glenn McGrath in sharing the new ball.

But the South Australian can be inconsistent - he was driven to distraction by Zimbabwe's lower-order on Monday.

Whispering Death would soon put an end to such lower-order bravado.

Winner: Holding

Joel Garner v Glenn McGrath

Big Bird versus Pigeon. McGrath is a strangling presence for opposing batsmen in the same manner as the giant Garner used to be.

In the early days of one-day international cricket, batsmen were more likely to look to build an innings, making Garner's figures look good.

McGrath still manages to keep the explosive efforts of modern-day openers under a tight reign, but how can you compete with Garner's career average of 18.84 runs per wicket?

Winner: Garner

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Overall winners West Indies 6-4 (1 tie)

Although the one-day game has evolved massively over the last 18 years, and Australia's batting order is far longer, the class of Clive Lloyd's West Indies must be enough to come out on top.