My favourites in the Baggy Green

Wine of the Week:
Balnaves Cabernet Sauvignon 2008 - While I do not profess to be an expert (far from it), there are two things that I know to be true. First is that you can very rarely go wrong with a Cab Sav from the Coonawarra. Second is that if you can, the perfect accompaniment to a Coonawarra Cab Sav is a steak cooked perfectly to how you desire it (for me that's medium rare). 

Trish and I were out in Melbourne last week and had the Balnaves along with some beautifully cooked steak. The Balnaves 2008 is still quite young so it doesn't have the big strong Cab kick that I usually look for in a Cab Sav. However, it is not that far away. It also has a great fruity bouquet which adds to it's enjoyment and befits it's age. The Balnaves is good drinking now, would be even better in a two to three years but if someone puts it in front of you with a nice piece of steak...don't argue. http://www.balnaves.com.au

The weather is getting warmer, the days longer and I can smell jasmine in the air. For me that means that cricket season is upon us. For some, competitions around the country have already started but for me, this season will be purely watching and supporting as Australia continues it's rebuilding, the Sydney Thunder makes their debut in the Big Bash League and NSW dread the day that Michael Clarke and Simon Katich share the Blues dressing room again.

This week, the Fairfax press have previewed an upcoming book where the living Australian cricketers were asked to vote on who they thought was the greatest Australian cricketer. While it is no surprise that Sir Donald Bradman was number one, the make up of the top 25 will certainly make for many a conversation this coming summer. http://www.smh.com.au/sport/cricket/players-decide-the-greatest-to-wear-the-baggy-green-20111024-1mge6.html 

Of course, it got me thinking...not so much my opinion on who were the best but who were the five that at some point would have been my answer to the perennial question when you are growing up - "Who is your favourite player?" So, at risk of being controversial (Skull???)...here they are:

1. Allan Border:

In short for anyone who grew up in the 1980's, Allan Border epitomises Australian Cricket. The man who was given the Captaincy reluctantly and then started to rebuild the Australian Cricket team and set the foundations for their ascendancy to the number one spot in world cricket; starting in 1989 when he became the first captain to regain the Ashes in England since 1934. For me, meeting the great man on his 2002 charity walk from Sydney to Brisbane and getting to walk with him on his way to the Gabba was both memorable and inspirational...especially when he put his arm on my shoulder and asked if we (I) was ok to get to the Gabba. At that point, I could have been walking over broken glass, barefoot and it being fifty degrees in the shade - if Allan Border asked me to do it, I would have. And I'm just a nuffy - imagine the effect he had on his players???

2. Mark Taylor:

Mark Taylor was the cricketer I wanted to be apart from one thing - he was left handed. He opened the batting and captained NSW and Australia with distinction and took the baton from Allan Border and raised Australian Cricket to the next level; culminating in beating the West Indies in their backyard in 1995. While many would say his finest hour was his 334 in Pakistan, the Ashes century in 1997 to get him out of a form slump was one of the gustiest innings I have seen. While I haven't met him, I do remember my mate Jeff and I walking behind Taylor as he walked through the Members pavilion at the SCG to the NSW dressing room; not uttering a word - both of us in awe of 'the Captain'. We were both 24 years of age at the time...

3. Shane Warne:

Looking at this from purely a cricketing perspective, I couldn't go past S.K. Warne. He is a freak and truly a once in a lifetime cricketer. He had the ability to win games for Australia and while for many "the ball of the century" in 1993 marked his arrival on the scene, for me it was the return Ashes series at the Gabba where for the first time he had to bowl Australia to a win - and he delivered. His setup of Alec Stewart to get him out with the flipper still sticks in my memory. Look at the other end of his career and the final day of the Adelaide Test in 2006 where he took the ball at the start of play and was not giving it up until England were all out epitomised Warne's impact on Australian cricket. He bowled England out with both his talent and his aura. I have no doubt that he is the greatest Australian bowler that I will see in my lifetime. Off the field...one word comes to mind - suspect!

4. Ricky Ponting:

When Ricky Ponting started in the Australian team, I found him to be a smart alec - always chipping at the opposition. Then of course you tend to forget that he made his debut at nineteen and still yet to grow up. Ponting, while not a captain of the ilk of Ian Chappell and Mark Taylor he was certainly a better captain than his predecessor Steve Waugh - and a job he did with a less talented side. I did meet Ricky Ponting after the 2006/07 Ashes series...but enough said about that encounter the better. 

5. Michael Whitney:
The Whit - Michael Roy Whitney was a legend in my eyes. He gave his all; whether he played for Randwick, NSW or Australia. The sight of Whitney walking back to his mark, tugging at the knee brace he always wore. Then at the start of his mark, the slight skip and stutter as he ran in to deliver the ball and hit the deck hard. While Australia won the Ashes in 1989, it was a travesty that he wasn't selected on the tour - a decision that still remains unexplained. I still remember the ball he bowled Brian Lara during a one dayer in Sydney which took the top of Lara's off stump. The Hill (and I) went nuts! I also remember the night Jeff and I met the Whit at a Calypso night for the West Indies team of 1992...he may have been taken back by our enthusiasm but it WAS Michael Whitney!

So...who are your favourite Australian cricketers? Feel free to join the conversation.