Which Is Cricket's Fiercest Rivalry ?

The game of cricket has had some great players playing for some great sides. Teams have repeatedly faced each other and rivalries have developed, however there is no clear-cut answer when someone asks the all-important question: which is cricket's greatest rivalry?

Lets have a look at the nominees.

West Indies vs. Australia.

In the early days of the game, England were the best cricketing nation, with Australia taking up that no.1 spot many-a-time.

Cricket saw its first great team of the late 20th century in the form of the West Indies, who were juggernauts in every sense of the word. However, the Australians were tough rivals and 'whitewashed' them 5-1 in the 1975-76 series.

Better times were to follow as the Windies had the better of the coming exchanges. However, this rivalry has died down after the decline of West Indian Cricket in the '90s and into the new millennium.

Australia vs. New Zealand.

The two teams from down under have had several scuffles in the past. The most famous of them was the 'underarm' incident. Ian Chappell, fearing a loss to the Kiwis, asked Trevor Chappell to bowl underarm.

So despised was this incident in cricket, people still call it the black day in the history of the sport. The two slug it out in Chappell-Hadlee series nowadays.

India vs. Pakistan.

When the Indian subcontinent was divided in two in 1947, the split immediately echoed in South-Asian cricket.

The early exchanges saw India victorious. However, Pakistan struck back.

 High-profile scuffles famously include Bishen Singh Bedi recalling his batsmen after feeling cheated. There were also reports that Pakistani umpires were biased when Indian batsmen were given out for absolutely ridiculous appeals.

India have won most of the recent matches against Pakistan, also having never lost a World Cup encounter with Pakistan. Outstanding performances were seen when Javed Miandad hit a six of Chetan Sharma's last ball. Also, Anil Kumble took all ten wickets of the Pakistani team in an encounter in 1999.

Sachin Tendulkar's heroics with a strained back can also be never forgotten.

The Ashes. England vs. Australia.

The game's oldest rivalry dating back to 1882 has seen many famous encounters in the past.

From the famous obituary citing English Cricket's death to the infamous Bodyline Series, the Ashes has seen it all. Brilliant individual performances by the likes of Sir Don Bradman, Sir Ian Botham, Andrew Flintoff and Shane Warne have all enthralled the viewers.

The Australians have dominated most of the Ashes from the 1980s onwards. When England recently triumphed in the captivating series of 2005, Australia came back with a 5-0 win in 07/08 to ensure bragging rights and the Ashes urn for the next two years.

The next show is in 2009.

India vs. Australia.

In recent years of cricket, all dominated by Australia, India have been the only team to have consistently challenged the Aussies.

Since the magical series of 2001, where Harbhajan Singh and VVS Laxman came to the party, India have constantly forced Australia to the brink. In 2003 in Australia, India retained the Border-Gavaskar Trophy, with Rahul Dravid being the chief performer.

The Aussies won it back in 2004 in India. Anil Kumble captained India in 2007 when Australia retained the trophy, thanks to some dubious umpiring by Steve Bucknor. The Aussies used questionable tactics.

The Harbhajan-Symonds racism row also added to the bitterness. In the following ODI Series a Dhoni-led India beat Australia 2-0 to restore pride. This rivalry is fast eclipsing all the others.

So which do you think is the greatest and most fiercest rivalry in cricket? Take your pick.