Draft: EARN ME BACK MY MONEY PLEASE (The First Class RNG Draft)

[ddrap14]

@Yash. @pillowprocter (you're also up for Aislabie's draft)

 

[ddrap14]

@Yash. if you do not select by tomorrow morning you will receive an auto

 

[ddrap14]

Ahmed's game: Leicestershire vs Kent, 2021
Ahmed's player... Colin Ackermann

A very solid middle order option, with handy spin. Ackermann is unlikely to bowl here, but he's the best batting option of this lot.
Others available: Zak Crawley, Joe Denly, Sam Billings

Aislabie's game: Sussex vs Kent, 1926
Aislabie's player... Duleepsinhji

With Frank Woolley gone, Duleepsinhji is the best overall option, and is duly picked.
Others available: Maurice Tate, Father Marriott, (Woolley)

Aravind's game: Worcestershire vs Leicestershire, 1983
Aravind's player... Les Taylor

A reliable quick for County teams, Les Taylor tasted Tests.
Others available: Nick Cook, Dipak Patel, Richard Illingworth

CerealKiller's game: Essex vs Leicestershire, 2016
CerealKiller's player... Clint McKay

Not the best first class bowler, and a little bit of a surprise pick here - there's at least one other player I'd have taken tbh.
Others available: Ryan ten Doeschate, Jesse Ryder, Mark Cosgrove

My game: Lions vs Dolphins, 2020/21
My player... Ryan Rickelton

Rickelton is an aggressive keeper-batsman stuck in a logjam of good aggressive keeper-batsmen.
Others available: Wiaan Mulder, Rassie van der Dussen, Keshav Maharaj

Icyman's game: Sussex vs Yorkshire, 1895
Icyman's player... Ranjitsinhji

A premier batsman around the turn of the 20th century, averaging 56 in that time is absolutely insane.
Others available: Stanley Jackson, Billy Murdoch

Mohsin's game: England vs Australia, 2002/03
Mohsin's player... Adam Gilchrist

Even with Warne injured and Haydos not available to be selected, Mohsin had plenty of options and he went with the best keeper-batsman in a while tbh.
Others available: Glenn McGrath, Steve Waugh, Ricky Ponting

Na Maloom Afraad's game: Gloucestershire vs Yorkshire, 1889
NMA's player... Edward Grace

Good news for NMA: WG Grace was in this game. Bad news for NMA: already selected. His worse younger bro then.
Others available: George Ulyett, Bobby Peel, (WG)

Neptune's game: Essex vs Surrey, 1969
Neptune's player... Lee Irvine

Another of the best wicketkeeper-batsmen goes this round. To a team with a WK already...
Others available: Geoff Arnold, Pat Pocock, Keith Boyce

Paranoid Kendroid's game: Kent vs Middlesex, 2003
Kendroid's player... Andrew Strauss

One of the most likeable English captains in a long time, I always found it hard to root against him even if it was easy to root against his England.
Others available: Greg Blewett, Imran Tahir, Rob Key Selection Bonus

Perfect Square's game: India vs New Zealand, 1995/96
Perfect Square's player... Martin Crowe

Dare I say, New Zealand's fourth ever world class batsman? With Sachin gone, it was him or Kumble.
Others available: Anil Kumble, Javagal Srinath, Stephen Fleming

Pillowprocter's game: Victoria vs South Australia, 1997/98
Procter's player... Mike Hussey

As ever, a stacked Shield pool. Mike Hussey is an understandable pick from it though - few players have had the career he has.
Others available: Brad Hodge, Justin Langer, Damien Fleming

Sherlock Holmes' game: Sussex vs Gloucestershire, 1921
Sherlock's player... Maurice Tate

With 20000 FC runs and 2000 wickets, it's a shock Maurice Tate lasted this long.
Others available: Vallance Jupp

Supreme's game: Nottinghamshire vs Leicestershire, 1998
Supreme's player... Alan Mullally

Supreme was devastated he already had a keeper so couldn't take Chris Read here. Alan Mullally was a nice consolation though.
Others available: Chris Read, Phil Simmons

Till Valhalla's game: Essex vs Somerset, 1999
TV's player... Marcus Trescothick

Trescothick is one of very few modern County players with records like in the 50s and 60s (Ramprakash is another).
Others available: Nasser Hussain, Stuart Law, Andy Caddick

Viper's game: Lancashire vs Warwickshire, 1928
Viper's player... Ernest Tyldesley

Viper needed middle order strength and in Tyldesley he got it.
Others available: Dick Tyldesley, Bob Wyatt

Welwyn's game: Somerset vs Hampshire, 1899
Welwyn's player... Harry Baldwin

A weird choice but it is a thin pool, this. I believe my only OA was the only Test player here.
Others available: Teddy Wynyard

Yash's game: Northern Districts vs Auckland, 1991/92
Yash's player... Matthew Maynard

In a matchup filled with crap Kiwi medium pacers, of course Maynard is the pick.
Others available: Dipak Patel, Adam Parore, Stephen Doull

 

[CerealKiller]

Not the best first class bowler

Averaged 28 in Shield and County cricket

 

[ddrap14]

Averaged 28 in Shield and County cricket

Definitely "good" - but there were probably 10-12 better quicks for Test matches at his time. With that said, he was a very good limited overs bowler (espeially ODI), that's what I remember him for

 

[CerealKiller]

Definitely "good" - but there were probably 10-12 better quicks for Test matches at his time. With that said, he was a very good limited overs bowler (espeially ODI), that's what I remember him for

Yeah i picked him because the risk of having to pick crap bowlers after stacking my batting was high (as proven by my pick in the current round)

 

[ddrap14]

@Yash.

 

[ddrap14]

Expect this tmrw

 

[ddrap14]

Ahmed's game: Durham vs Middlesex, 2012
Ahmed's player... Ben Stokes

England's captain provides plenty of value with bat and ball, which is beginning to look like a theme for Ahmed.
Others available: Eoin Morgan, Paul Collingwood, Chris Rogers

Aislabie's game: Ireland vs Scotland, 1993
Aislabie's player... Gavin Hamilton

He's not very good, but these are two 1993 associates, so who is?

Aravind's game: Lancashire vs Nottinghamshire, 1985
Aravind's player... Clive Rice

An allround great lost to Test cricket, the South African ban made Rice a gain of County cricket, and that's exactly where Aravind gets him from.
Others available: Derek Randall, Chris Broad

CerealKiller's game: Peshawar vs Multan, 2011/12
CK's player... Riaz Afridi

Not the best cricketer of his own family but he made it to Tests, which is a credit to him.
Others available: um

My game: Faisalabad Wolves vs State Bank of Pakistan, 2014/15
My player... Usman Salahuddin

Another fairly weak Pakistan domestic game, but Salahuddin was one of two bats who averaged 40+.
Others available: Abid Ali, Faheem Ashraf

Icyman's game: Bengal vs Bihar, 1958/59
Icyman's player... Premangsu Chatterjee
(no image)
A dominant bowler of the time but not one that ever played a test, I think Chatterjee's 7/17 in this game played a role in his selection.

Mohsin's game: Matabeleland vs Mashonaland U24, 1993/94
Mohsin's player... Heath Streak

This game was weird - why was there a junior team and why was GRANT FLOWER in it? Streak also unusually took no wickets. Weird.
Others available: Grant Flower, Guy Whittall

NMA's game: Tamil Nadu vs Goa, 1993/94
NMA's player... Woorkeri Raman

A surprisingly lacking game in terms of star power, Raman ends up being a pretty simple choice - especially for a side with no opener.
Others available: Robin Singh

Neptune's game: Goa vs Hyderabad, 1997/98
Neptune's player... VVS Laxman

LOOK AT THIS SCORECARD

Others available: Mohammad Azharuddin, Venkatapathy Raju

Paranoid Kendroid's game: M. C. C. vs Australians, 1975
Kendroid's player... Dennis Lillee

An absolutely insane pool featuring 18 Test players, and Lillee the best of them all.
Others available: Greg Chappell, Graham Gooch, Rod Marsh

Perfect Square's game: West Indies B vs Jamaica, 2003/04
Perfect Square's player... Jerome Taylor

What is it with B teams today? Anyway, this B team WAS trash, so Jerome Taylor is picked from the other side.
Others available: Richard Austin

Pillowprocter's game: Leicestershire vs New Zealanders, 1931
Procter's player... Stewie Dempster

The greatest Kiwi pre-Glenn Turner and arguably pre-Hadlee.
Others available: Ewart Astill, George Geary

Sherlock Holmes' game: Warwickshire vs Sussex, 1954
Sherlock's player... John Langridge

35000 runs. No Tests.
Others available: Jim Parks (Eric Hollies taken)

Supreme's game: Saurashtra vs Gujarat, 1969/70
Supreme's player... Nari Contractor

Contractor gets signed up from this pool. Sorry.

Till Valhalla's game: Yorkshire vs Middlesex, 1959
TV's player... Ray Illingworth

An all-time great captain and a good all-around cricketer. Crap selector though.
Others available: Fred Titmus, Brian Close (Fred Trueman taken)

Viper's game: Derbyshire vs Leicestershire, 1977
Viper's player... David Gower

Gower was a bit mental sometimes - he went on a plane joyride mid-Ashes once - but a truly great batsman.
Others available: Ray Illingworth, lol, Eddie Barlow, Bob Taylor

Welwyn's game: Windward Islands vs Guyana, 2009/10
Welwyn's player... Ramnaresh Sarwan

Perhaps the last great long-form West Indian as of 2024?
Others available: Many good FC spinners, many, many crap batsmen

Yash's game: West Indies vs Lord Brackley's XI, 1904
Yash's player... Ernie Hayes

"because everyone else seems shite"
Others available: Yash is right

 

[Viper.]

Why does Riaz Afridi look like Shaheen

 

[ddrap14]

Why does Riaz Afridi look like Shaheen

Brothers.

Also @Sherlock Holmes and @pillowprocter please pick in the next 36 hours

 

[Till Valhalla]

Why does Riaz Afridi look like Shaheen

Reincarnation.

 

[Viper.]

Brothers.

Also @Sherlock Holmes and @pillowprocter please pick in the next 36 hours

he looks like Shahid Afridi too tho

 

[ddrap14]

Ahmed's game: Sialkot vs Bahawalpur, 2014/15
Ahmed's player... Hasan Ali

The first of a LOT of Pakistan domestic games this round nets Ahmed a solid paceman. Nothing too special but also not a liability.
Others available: Bilal Asif

Aislabie's game: Yorkshire vs Warwickshire, 1931
Aislabie's player... Herbert Sutcliffe

This is the right Sutcliffe, and he adds to a very strong batting lineup for Aislabie. I'd have done something different though.
Others available: Maurice Leyland, Bill Bowes, not Hedley Verity as he was taken

Aravind's game: Punjab vs Himachal Pradesh, 2009/10
Aravind's player... Pankaj Dharmani

In a weak pool, a solid keeper-batsman in Dharmani is a very clever selection - especially considering that before this pick over half of teams didn't have a WK yet.
Others available: Kohli (Taruwar), Dhawan (Rishi), Thakur (AK)

CerealKiller's game: Somerset vs Derbyshire, 1925
CK's player... Leslie Townsend
(When I googled him, all I got was a Christian comedian lol)
Townsend was a leading inter-war allrounder who will likely bat six or seven for CK depending on his keeper.
Others available: Harry Elliott

My game: Hampshire vs Essex, 1895
My player... Ledger Hill

A capable bowler, but Hill is mainly in my team because he was a leading County batsman of his day. Also a Test average of 62 suggests he deserved more.
Others available: Teddy Wynyard, Bunny Lucas

Icyman's game: South West District vs Western Province, 2010/11
Icyman's player... Dane Paterson

Second tier South African cricket isn't the luckiest pull, but there were two Test bowlers for Icyman to choose from at least. He picked Paterson.
Others available: "Dane Piedt", Sybrand Engelbrecht

Mohsin's game: Habib Bank Ltd vs House Building Finance, 1989/90
Mohsin's player... Aamer Sohail

Surprisingly, Aamer didn't average 40 at First Class level. He does have a good resume though including a Test double ton.
Others available: Naved Anjum, Akram Raza

Na Maloom Afraad's game: Nottinghamshire vs Middlesex, 1950
NMA's player... Bill Edrich

Edrich was a batsman of the highest order, scoring 37000 first class runs in his career, and also a handy bowler. Not that that will be needed in this team...
Others available: Joe Hardstaff jr, Fred Titmus

Neptune's game: Lancashire vs South Africans, 1951
Neptune's player... Hugh Tayfield

Tayfield, Barnes, Trueman. Quite alright attack.
Others available: Jack Cheetham, Jackie McGlew

Paranoid Kendroid's game: Bengal vs Orissa, 1972
Kendroid's player... Dilip Doshi

Doshi was the only real choice here - but it does leave PK in an odd place where his top and bottom four are presumably filled.
Others available: Ambar Roy

Perfect Square's game: Cambridge vs Nottinghamshire, 1975/76
Perfect Square's player... Derek Randall

With Clive Rice going the prior round, Randall was an obvious pick here.
Others available: not Rice

Pillowprocter's game: Hampshire vs Glamorgan, 1951
Procter's player... Don Shepherd

Shepherd has the most wickets of any bowler never to play Tests, which was a huge shame. He adds to this lineup though.
Others available: Derek Shackleton, Wilf Wooller

Sherlock Holmes' game: Held until next round due to lack of valid response. Sherlock owes me two selections now, and if he fails to make his again next round, I will finish his team for him.

Supreme's game: Andhra vs Maharashtra, 2010/11
Supreme's player... Kedar Jadhav

A solid batsman who would absolutely have played Tests if he was anywhere else in the world other than India.
Others available: Venogupal Rao

till Valhalla's game: FATA vs Khan Research Labs, 2015/16
Till Valhalla's player... Imam-ul-Haq

Imam is three letters and a bit of talent short of his uncle, but still a valuable selection here.
Others available: Noman Ali, Mohammad Abbas

Viper's game: Karachi vs Railways, 1982/83
Viper's player... Mohammad Nazir

This pick definitely has nothing to do with Nazir taking 9 of Railways' 15 wickets in this game.
Others available: Naved Anjum again, Zulqarnain

Welwyn's game: Victoria vs Queensland, 1926/27
Welwyn's player... Bill Ponsford

Unfortunately for Welwyn, Don Bradman wasn't in this game as NSW wasn't. However, he had his choice of the two Aussie openers of that day, and took Ponsford - who averaged 65 at FC and scored two 400s - over Bill Woodfull.
Others available: Bill Woodfull, Jack Ryder

Yash's game: United Bank vs Water and Power Development, 2014/15
Yash's player... Iftikhar Ahmed


Others available: Bismillah Khan, Rumman Raees, Mohammad Irfan

 

[ddrap14]

Sherlock's makeup game: Otago vs Hawke's Bay, 1901/02
Sherlock's pick... Albert Trott

IDK what Trott was doing here but this was a slam dunk selection.