90s England Draft - It's Richard Blakey time

[Aislabie]

1. Wayne Larkins
5. Allan Lamb
6. Ian Botham
7. Jack Russell
9. Syd Lawrence
10. Gladstone Small
11. Andy Caddick

If there was a prize for selecting the most certifiably insane team in any draft since Non-Cricketers, this side absolutely wins it. I love your work

 

[blockerdave]

Ned was absolutely one of 2 players I’m considering for my 2nd opener. I think that’s a great choice - a much better player than his test record, but because he was “good against fast bowling”, he mainly only played against the West Indies when they were the absolute best, and the Aussies when they were about to be.

 

[ahmedleo414]

I wasn't tagged but I'm pretty sure I've got the next two picks. Someone want to confirm that?

 

[blockerdave]

I wasn't tagged but I'm pretty sure I've got the next two picks. Someone want to confirm that?

yeah I think so

 

[Aislabie]

I wasn't tagged but I'm pretty sure I've got the next two picks. Someone want to confirm that?

You have

 

[Ed Smith]

If there was a prize for selecting the most certifiably insane team in any draft since Non-Cricketers, this side absolutely wins it. I love your work

Ah I've gone full 90s like. Proper balls to the wall selection policy. If I was younger I'd claim to be a 90s selector reincarnated

 

[ahmedleo414]

So, double picks for me.... My first pick Mark Ealham

Stats||Matches||Runs||HS|| Ave||100s/50s||Wkts||BBI||BBM|| Ave||Econ||5w/10w
First-Class | |281| |11,348| |153*| |31.96| |13/67| |643| |8/36| |?| |27.93| |2.80| |24/2
Test | |8| |210| |53*| |21.00| |0/2| |17| |4/21| |6/111| |28.70| |2.76| |0/0

A bit of his bio from circinfo:

"When his stocky frame chugs to the wicket, Ealham looks less than threatening. But he hits the crease with a hefty thud of the front foot, bowls miserly wicket-to-wicket wobblers, and sometimes finds late movement away from the right-hander. And a well hidden heavy ball can extract unexpected bounce. His batting is an ingenuous mixture of square nudges, legside thumps and pragmatic cover-drives, but it was effective enough to have made him England's allrounder in one-day games from 1997 until he was dumped (probably too early) in 2001. His Test career was less fulfilled, playing just eight matches, but it memorably included the 1997 Edgbaston Test against Australia. Like his father Alan, who also played for Kent, his fielding is surprisingly agile. In fact as Canterbury clans go the Ealhams are second only to the Cowdreys in the popularity stakes. However, despite his roots being firmly in Canterbury he decided for a move and joined Nottinghamshire at the start of the 2004 season. His switch paid dividends when he was part of the Championship winning side of 2005 and he continues to be a valuable player in four and one-day cricket. In 2006 he finished third in the national bowling averages and continues to add valuable experience to Nottinghamshire's side."

My second pick John Emburey

Stats||Matches||Runs||HS|| Ave||100s/50s||Wkts||BBI||BBM|| Ave||Econ||5w/10w
First-Class | |513| |12,021| |133| |23.38| |7/55| |1,608| |8/40| |?| |26.09| |2.23| |72/12
Test | |64| |1,713| |75| |22.53| |0/10| |147| |7/78| |7/105| |38.40| |2.20| |6/0

A bit of his bio from circinfo:

"In the era before Shane Warne when spin bowling was on its uppers, John Emburey was perhaps the best offspinner in the world, which did not say much. He was tall with a classically looping action, and capable of getting huge amounts of bounce and away-drift. But his qualities were submerged amid the grim battles slow bowlers faced in the 1980s: uncongenial pitches and one-day cricket, which forced him to become primarily negative and defensive. He improvised more in his batting, in which he managed to score runs while infuriating bowlers by ignoring both footwork and backlift. Always a willing talker and theorist, he was an excellent senior pro and a promising coach (though he was fired by Northamptonshire before returning home to Middlesex). Over-promoted to England captain for two Tests amid general chaos in 1988, he was fired as capriciously as he was appointed. Emburey was the only cricketer to go on both (1981-82 and 1989-90) England rebel tours to South Africa, and was instantly forgiven both times, which says much about attitudes at Lord's but something about the general esteem for his qualities."

1. ?
2. Michael Atherton
3. ?
4. Nasser Hussain
5. Andrew Flintoff
6. John Crawley
7. Mark Ealham
8. John Emburey
9. Martin Bicknell
10. ?
11. Allan Mullally

@Dale88 you go next

 

[Ed Smith]

1. Ned Larkins
4. Allan Lamb
5. Ian Botham
6. Ronnie Irani
7. Jack Russell
9. Syd Lawrence
10. Gladstone Small
11. Andy Caddick



The quintessential 90s bits and pieces cricketer. Part time world class County All Rounder. Part time Test match failure. Improves the fitness level of my team by about 50% though, and who doesn't love some military medium dibble and dobble. Can also get the crowd going...

@Aislabie

 

[Aislabie]

Okay so I feel like it's pretty unfair to go ahead without helping @Yash. out a bit, so I'm going to make three autopicks that you can change later so you're not too far behind

1. Michael Vaughan
2. Alec Stewart
3.
4. Graham Thorpe
5.
6.
7. Steve Rhodes
8. Dominic Cork
9.
10. Mark Ilott
11. Peter Such

Peter Such is probably the best pure spinner left.
Mark Ilott was a really good left-armer who should have got more Tests.
Steve Rhodes is a shit-stain of a man but a dependable keeper-batsman who lets you get the most out of Stewie

Hope these are okay

 

[Aislabie]

Nick Knight

90s Tests - 585 runs @ 27.85 (1 century, best 113) in 12 matches
Test career - 719 runs @ 23.96 (1 century, best 113) in 17 matches
First-class career - 16,172 runs @ 44.18 (40 centuries, best 303*) in 240 matches

There's this weird myth about Nick Knight that he was a great white-ball player but a terrible red-ball player. One look at his county stats should disavow you of that idea; Nick Knight's lack of Test success is just as much of a crime as Hick or Ramprakash, and is again something I would lay at the door of an England set-up that would rather drop players than nurture them. In today's setup, Knight could have been an England great. Instead, he completes a pretty great top five as my Round 8 nineties pick. Bonus points also for wearing the GOAT England one-day kit in his picture up there ^^^.

@Aislabie's XI so far:
1. Nick Knight
2. Mike Gatting
3. Mark Ramprakash
4. Graeme Hick
5. David Gower
6.
7.
8. Phillip DeFreitas
9.
10. Angus Fraser
11. Devon Malcolm

@blockerdave

 

[blockerdave]

Okay so I feel like it's pretty unfair to go ahead without helping @Yash. out a bit, so I'm going to make three autopicks that you can change later so you're not too far behind

1. Michael Vaughan
2. Alec Stewart
3.
4. Graham Thorpe
5.
6.
7. Steve Rhodes
8. Dominic Cork
9.
10. Mark Ilott
11. Peter Such

Peter Such is probably the best pure spinner left.
Mark Ilott was a really good left-armer who should have got more Tests.
Steve Rhodes is a shit-stain of a man but a dependable keeper-batsman who lets you get the most out of Stewie

Hope these are okay

I strongly disagree with your assessment of Mark illott. Forget who against but he once bowled 14 overs unchanged through a morning session - not one ball moved off the straight. I’m not sure any ball he ever bowled in test cricket did. Up there with Igglesden as a quintessential unthreatening trundler in my book.

 

[Aislabie]

I strongly disagree with your assessment of Mark illott. Forget who against but he once bowled 14 overs unchanged through a morning session - not one ball moved off the straight. I’m not sure any ball he ever bowled in test cricket did. Up there with Igglesden as a quintessential unthreatening trundler in my book.

Fair; I get the impression that I was more remembering Ilott the county bowler, who I have a vague recollection of being a pretty potent opponent whenever he came up against Northants.

Either that or all this 90s selection is rotting my brain

EDIT - Can confirm that Ilott the county bowler used to swing it back into the right hander really nicely. Have been on an old county highlights YouTube adventure

 

[blockerdave]

Rob Bailey was a very unlucky cricketer. Played against the 1988 West Indies side and was selected to India the 88/89 winter. That was then cancelled due to players who had been picked having links to South Africa, including captain Gooch (who’d been on the rebel tour and had only turned down the chance to winter with Western Province because he had the captaincy) and indeed Bailey himself, who had spent a winter in South Africa as an 18 year old.

By the time the 1989 Ashes came around Bailey was enduring a poor county season and didn’t get a look in, although he improved his form in late summer to bag a place on the 1990 tour to the West Indies. He had in the meantime refused an offer to go on the Gatting Rebel Tour.

Not picked for the first test, he came in for the 3rd due to Hussain’s injury and played the last 3 tests. He got a shocking decision in the 4th test when Viv Richards intimidated Lloyd Barker into giving him out, and a gutsy 40 in the 5th test couldn’t save England from defeat.

And despite the bans to the likes of Gatting and Maynard, the struggles of Hick and Ramprakash, and the time it took Stewart, Atherton and Hussain to establish themselves in the side, England never came calling again.

They should have, but they didn’t.

1. Graham Gooch
2. -
3. Mark Butcher
4. Robin Smith
5. Rob Bailey
6. -
7. Chris Read
8. -
9. Dean Headley
10. Darren Gough
11. Phil Tufnell
12. 
    it’s now back to @Yash.

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Fair; I get the impression that I was more remembering Ilott the county bowler, who I have a vague recollection of being a pretty potent opponent whenever he came up against Northants.

Either that or all this 90s selection is rotting my brain

I may be being harsh here, but when I put together a “England Worst 90s” XI for Cricket 19 the attack was Igglesden, McCague, Illott and Salisbury.

 

[Aislabie]

Rob Bailey is a fantastic pick

 

[blockerdave]

Rob Bailey is a fantastic pick

I honestly can’t tell you how delighted I was you picked Nick Knight, as I was certain you were gonna pick Bailey