A Leftie's draft
- Thread starter sifter132
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mattfb
Chairman of Selectors
Yeah I was tempted to get him earlier but needed my 2nd opener.
No excuse!
But I like Shakib a lot - he would have fit into my team very well unfortunately...
Cricketman
ICC Chairman
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A bit premature to include Sakib in any all time list imo...there are some better guys out there.
Cricketman
ICC Chairman
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Anyways on to my pick. I was debating whether to fill the opener slot or the vacancy at number 6 and decided to go with the middle order player -
Ashwell Prince
In the last round or so, my middle order list had quickly shrunk with Ganguly, Kallicharan, and Fleming being picked. But Ashwell Prince is still a fine inclusion in my team. Prince is a stylish left hander who bats in the lower middle order for South Africa, and has tasted international success. In 57 matches, Prince averages a healthy 44, with 11 tons to his name. His stylish strokeplay makes him an elegant player to watch, and an effective one to boot with his fantastic conversion rate.
1. Roy Fredericks (WI)
2.
3. Kumar Sangakkara (wk) (SRL)
4. Graeme Pollock (RSA)
5. Michael Hussey (AUS)
6. Ashwell Prince (RSA)
7. Wilfred Rhodes (ENG)
8.
9. Zaheer Khan (IND)
10. Bill Whitty (AUS)
11. BS Bedi (IND)
Next few picks will be critical. But I am really happy with that middle order
. Sanga to Rhodes, they are all excellent batsman.
Ashwell Prince
In the last round or so, my middle order list had quickly shrunk with Ganguly, Kallicharan, and Fleming being picked. But Ashwell Prince is still a fine inclusion in my team. Prince is a stylish left hander who bats in the lower middle order for South Africa, and has tasted international success. In 57 matches, Prince averages a healthy 44, with 11 tons to his name. His stylish strokeplay makes him an elegant player to watch, and an effective one to boot with his fantastic conversion rate.
1. Roy Fredericks (WI)
2.
3. Kumar Sangakkara (wk) (SRL)
4. Graeme Pollock (RSA)
5. Michael Hussey (AUS)
6. Ashwell Prince (RSA)
7. Wilfred Rhodes (ENG)
8.
9. Zaheer Khan (IND)
10. Bill Whitty (AUS)
11. BS Bedi (IND)
Next few picks will be critical. But I am really happy with that middle order
. Sanga to Rhodes, they are all excellent batsman.Well he's young but he's done well so far in Test cricket and there aren't many awesome spinners or all-rounders left to be had. At least I don't know of any
Also consider Shakib's plight. As a Bangladesh spinner I bet he hardly ever gets to bowl at fresh batsmen and the Tests would rarely last long enough for him to take advantage of 4th and 5th day pitches. And while you'd think Bangladesh might be helpful for spinners, he's actually done better outside Bangladesh.And Prince is OK I guess, but he's a fairly average batsmen by today's international standards. Averaging mid 40s these days is kinda expected. Take out Bangladesh and Zimbabwe and he's probably about 40.
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drainpipe32
Chairman of Selectors
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Sorry mate, I mentioned about on page 3 (possibly
Ah, I didn't see that.
I'll go Darren Lehmann then.
May not have made it at test level completely but was a fine player that averaged 45 for his 27 tests. There were other playrs with better test records but Lehmann averaged 58 in FC cricket. 58! And that's over 284 games with 82 hundreds, a century every 6 innings. He also bowled.
Matthew Hayden
Justin Langer
Gary Sobers*
Alvin Kallicharan
Simon Katich
Darren Lehmann
Parthiv Patel+
Hedley Verity
Bill Voce
Tony Lock
11.
And what's the point in picking guys with high averages if no one has heard of them?
I'm going to give up my final round pick for Parthiv Patel. Dear god.
That's why my team is so modern. Either I've never heard of many of the older players being picked or the ones I do know are already taken.
Mmm, Parthiv Patel. Nice.
drainpipe32
Chairman of Selectors
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Ah well :laugh
I've done well for my picks, and really had no choice with Patel haha. And I got Sobers
I've done well for my picks, and really had no choice with Patel haha. And I got Sobers
Cricketman
ICC Chairman
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EDIT: Nevermind.
shravi
National Board President
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- India
Some of you may deem this a bad pick, but I certainly wouldn't. He's been on my radar for a while now. Eddie Paynter was a stylish left handed batsman who averaged a staggering 84.42 vs Australia (7 tests, 11 innings), something which no other Englishman even comes close to. He also averaged 81.62 against South Africa (5 tests, 8 innings, 3 centuries, 2 fifties) Paynter was an attacking batsman who was effective against spin, but also a fine hooker and cutter who was particularly at ease against short pitched bowling. Although the second world war brought his promising career to an abrupt end, his record over 20 tests is enough for him to warrant a place in my team. In 31 innings, he scored 1540 runs at an average of 59.23 with four centuries and seven fifties. This is the second highest average for a left handed batsman to have played more than 10 tests!
He had an excellent pair of hands as he could field in the outfield as well as in the covers and is known as one of the best fielders of his day. Considering that he had lost the top joints of two fingers in an accident, it makes it an even more impressive feat. He was a true team player as well. At Lord's in 1938, Les Ames broke his finger. Paynter put his hand up and kept through the entire Australian innings of 204, having little or no previous experience of keeping, and gave away only 5 byes and even held onto a catch!
Graeme Smith
Bill Lawry
Phil Mead
Eddie Paynter
5.
Frank Wooley
+ Rodney Marsh
Wasim Akram
Chaminda Vaas
Bill Johnston
11.
I'm not one to toot my own horn but I really like that team!
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Nice pick mate. He was a bit lower on my list, but his numbers are impressive.
Anyway, time for my 'old time', well researched pick I've been sitting on him for a couple of rounds, hoping he wouldn't get nabbed.
George Hirst
Look up all-rounder in a cricket dictionary and it will have a picture of this man. His record in Test cricket was reasonable, but combine that with his legendary first class record and you have a great player. Hirst was a right hand batsman but was best known for his left arm medium fast bowling. In fact Wisden described him as "the father of modern seam and swing bowling" since he actually used the seam and shine of the new ball where previously bowlers had rubbed it in the dirt. So he was basically the Wasim Akram of the 1900s making the ball move and do things no one had discovered yet, as Aussie Test cricketer Sammy Woods said at the time : "How the devil can you play a ball that comes in at you like a hard throw-in from over point?"
OK and on to his records. In 1906 he had a stupendous season of county cricket for Yorkshire. 2000 runs and 200 wickets in a season is a double that's never been matched, Hirst is the only one to do it despite many a legend trying. He's also the only man to make 2 centuries and take 2 5-fers in the one match - against Somerset, yet another unmatched achievement. His Test average with bat and ball was 22 and 30, while in first class cricket his batting average nearly doubled his bowling average: 34.13 with bat and 18.73 with ball.
On top of that he was described by Wisden as being the best mid-off in England (mid-off being the most important position in those days) and almost worthy of a Test spot by fielding alone! And he was a good humoured and well regarded teammate by all reports too. A worthy inclusion in a sifter XI
1 Gautam Gambhir
2
3 Neil Harvey
4 David Gower
5 Andy Flower (wk)
6 Graham Thorpe
7 George Hirst
8 Alan Davidson
9 Mitchell Johnson
10 Johnny Wardle
11
Anyway, time for my 'old time', well researched pick
I've been sitting on him for a couple of rounds, hoping he wouldn't get nabbed.George Hirst
Look up all-rounder in a cricket dictionary and it will have a picture of this man. His record in Test cricket was reasonable, but combine that with his legendary first class record and you have a great player. Hirst was a right hand batsman but was best known for his left arm medium fast bowling. In fact Wisden described him as "the father of modern seam and swing bowling" since he actually used the seam and shine of the new ball where previously bowlers had rubbed it in the dirt. So he was basically the Wasim Akram of the 1900s making the ball move and do things no one had discovered yet, as Aussie Test cricketer Sammy Woods said at the time : "How the devil can you play a ball that comes in at you like a hard throw-in from over point?"
OK and on to his records. In 1906 he had a stupendous season of county cricket for Yorkshire. 2000 runs and 200 wickets in a season is a double that's never been matched, Hirst is the only one to do it despite many a legend trying. He's also the only man to make 2 centuries and take 2 5-fers in the one match - against Somerset, yet another unmatched achievement. His Test average with bat and ball was 22 and 30, while in first class cricket his batting average nearly doubled his bowling average: 34.13 with bat and 18.73 with ball.
On top of that he was described by Wisden as being the best mid-off in England (mid-off being the most important position in those days) and almost worthy of a Test spot by fielding alone! And he was a good humoured and well regarded teammate by all reports too. A worthy inclusion in a sifter XI
1 Gautam Gambhir
2
3 Neil Harvey
4 David Gower
5 Andy Flower (wk)
6 Graham Thorpe
7 George Hirst
8 Alan Davidson
9 Mitchell Johnson
10 Johnny Wardle
11
Well shravi's pick has put a real spanner in my works. Got to resort to the backup backup list.
Irfan Pathan
In his 29 Tests he has taken 100 wickets with 7 5fers. He is also a very useful batsmen, sometimes being pushed up the order to bat or even to open. Despite all this talk about his batting, he hasn't really delivered, his solitary Test century coming against Pakistan. Good potential and useful allrounder to have.
Jacob Oram
Just like Shane Bond, Jacob Oram has had an injury plagued career. He played just 33 matches before retiring as his body couldn't hold up to the rigors of the 5-day game. A tall, powerful and aggressive batsmen, Oram scored 5 Test centuries in his 1780 runs at average of a tad over 36. He also chipped in with his useful fast bowling.
Arthur Morris
Andrew Strauss
Trevor Goddard
Shiv Chanderpaul
Sourav Ganguly
Jacob Oram
+Adam Gilchrist
Irfan Pathan
Daniel Vettori
Ryan Sidebottom
11.
I pretty happy with my batting department. Not so with the bowling. Really need a fast bowler now but all the good ones are gone. We'll have to see who's left.
Irfan Pathan
In his 29 Tests he has taken 100 wickets with 7 5fers. He is also a very useful batsmen, sometimes being pushed up the order to bat or even to open. Despite all this talk about his batting, he hasn't really delivered, his solitary Test century coming against Pakistan. Good potential and useful allrounder to have.
Jacob Oram
Just like Shane Bond, Jacob Oram has had an injury plagued career. He played just 33 matches before retiring as his body couldn't hold up to the rigors of the 5-day game. A tall, powerful and aggressive batsmen, Oram scored 5 Test centuries in his 1780 runs at average of a tad over 36. He also chipped in with his useful fast bowling.
Arthur Morris
Andrew Strauss
Trevor Goddard
Shiv Chanderpaul
Sourav Ganguly
Jacob Oram
+Adam Gilchrist
Irfan Pathan
Daniel Vettori
Ryan Sidebottom
11.
I pretty happy with my batting department. Not so with the bowling. Really need a fast bowler now but all the good ones are gone. We'll have to see who's left.
Ernie Toshack
My 4th and final Australian, Toshack bowled left arm medium pacers to great effect for a few years after WWII. He had seemingly limitless stamina and was extremely accurate and economical making him an ideal foil for the fire and brimstone of Lindwall and Miller on the 1948 Invincibles tour. He usually bowled to a 4-5 or 3-6 leg side field and his unique attack of leg stump made him hard for batsmen to play. On sticky wickets he would slow his pace down a bit and bowl cutters and legbreaks in a style like Derek Underwood would use so successfully 20 years later. But unfortuneately for Ernie, his knees were fragile and he was forced to retire after only 2 years of Test cricket. Bradman, his captain, said he would have "turned in fine figures had not his cartilage given way". Toshack finished with 47 Test wickets at an excellent average of 21.04.
So my 5 man attack is complete. Davidson and Hurst will open the bowling with copious swing and accuracy. Then Johnson to come charging downwind to look for more wickets, with Toshack as a stiffling 2nd change option and Johnny Wardle the strike spinner. And Toshack can transform into a 2nd spinner in the 2nd innings or on slow pitches.
1 Gautam Gambhir
2
3 Neil Harvey
4 David Gower
5 Andy Flower (wk)
6 Graham Thorpe
7 George Hurst
8 Alan Davidson
9 Mitchell Johnson
10 Johnny Wardle
11 Ernie Toshack
My 4th and final Australian, Toshack bowled left arm medium pacers to great effect for a few years after WWII. He had seemingly limitless stamina and was extremely accurate and economical making him an ideal foil for the fire and brimstone of Lindwall and Miller on the 1948 Invincibles tour. He usually bowled to a 4-5 or 3-6 leg side field and his unique attack of leg stump made him hard for batsmen to play. On sticky wickets he would slow his pace down a bit and bowl cutters and legbreaks in a style like Derek Underwood would use so successfully 20 years later. But unfortuneately for Ernie, his knees were fragile and he was forced to retire after only 2 years of Test cricket. Bradman, his captain, said he would have "turned in fine figures had not his cartilage given way". Toshack finished with 47 Test wickets at an excellent average of 21.04.
So my 5 man attack is complete. Davidson and Hurst will open the bowling with copious swing and accuracy. Then Johnson to come charging downwind to look for more wickets, with Toshack as a stiffling 2nd change option and Johnny Wardle the strike spinner. And Toshack can transform into a 2nd spinner in the 2nd innings or on slow pitches.
1 Gautam Gambhir
2
3 Neil Harvey
4 David Gower
5 Andy Flower (wk)
6 Graham Thorpe
7 George Hurst
8 Alan Davidson
9 Mitchell Johnson
10 Johnny Wardle
11 Ernie Toshack
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shravi
National Board President
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- Jun 20, 2005
- Profile Flag
- India
It would seem rather convenient to say this in round 10 but Colin Blythe was my second choice spinner. Colin Blythe was slow left arm orthodox who was blessed with rare elegance and a classical action. He could outfox batsmen with his accuracy and his control of spin. He had great variation which made him just as deadly on dry pitches as on sticky or crumbled pitches. In fact, on sticky and crumbled pitches, Blythe is described as "near unplayable". Blythe announced himself on the international stage by taking 26 wickets in three Tests against South Africa, including 15 for 99 in the second Test at Headingley- not bettered in England until 1956. Till this day, he holds the record for most wickets taken in a day with 17/48 (10/30 and 7/18) against Northamptonshire. In 19 tests (47 innings) he took 100 wickets at an average of 18.63 with 2 four-fors and 9 five-fors. He took 10 wickets in a match on 4 occasions. What makes him an even more impressive player is that he did this at a staggering strike rate of 45.4.
I now have 4 potential seamers (Akram, Johnston, Vaas, Wooley) and 3 potential spinning options (Blythe, Wooley, Johntson) which gives my bowling attack supreme levels of variation and flexibility.
Graeme Smith
Bill Lawry
Phil Mead
Eddie Paynter
5.
Frank Wooley
+ Rodney Marsh
Wasim Akram
Chaminda Vaas
Bill Johnston
Colin Blythe
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