A Leftie's draft

[pcfan123]

Yay! I was going to be shocked if he did not go in the 1st few picks

 

[StinkyBoHoon]

whenever there are articles on cricinfo about akram they always say stuff like "perhaps the greatest left armer of them all." or "among the greatest ever left arm bowlers."

perhaps? among? who the hell is even close?

(you can't answer that cause it would ruin the draft)

 

[pcfan123]

The only other "modern" left arm seamer I can think of that has a plethora of Test wickets is no way near close to Akram.

Too bad Wasim underachieved with the bat, he would have given Imran Khan a run for his money as one of the best bowling allrounders.

 

[Dare]

Cant believe send2yaari took Lloyd over Akram. With him being the only great left arm fast bowler he is easily ahead of Lloyd in the picking order.

 

[Aoun13]

I took Lloyd before Akram only because I was thinking of a left hand batsman at time of posting nevertheless no doubt about Akram greatness.

 

[sifter132]

^Well guys I'm gonna pick the man who you could argue as being the greatest left armer ever - he just he didn't play in the era of TV or media hype. Ohh controversial statement I know

Alan Davidson

Davo, as he was known played in the late 50s and early 60s and has the best average of any left arm paceman in history - 20.53. In fact it's even better when you consider than after a fairly slow start to his career he averaged 19.25 during his last 6 or 7 years Alan Davidson 1956-1963. He was great in all conditions too, England, SA, India, Pakistan, West Indies - all averaging below 25 and most below 20 in that amazing period. Davidson had exceptional control allowing an economy rate of just under 2 RPO for his career! He wasn't of express pace, but was sharp enough and was renowned for his late swing well before the Wasim/Waqar show got fired up. On top of all that, he could bat quite well, often coming in at #7 for Australia and he was a good catcher too taking almost 1 catch per Test close to the wicket. In short, a fantastic all-round cricketer who has been very underrated by history. Personally I think he and Wasim are almost inseparable when arguing who might be the greatest left arm bowler ever. Cue the arguments

 

[pcfan123]

Wasim did not have the privellege of playing on uncovered pitches, also by the time Wasim was playing the bats were better and there was much better protective equipment.

 

[StinkyBoHoon]

I had never heard of alan davidson :/

I don't really know much about the 50s and 60s, and who I do is most batsmen and english players.

fair do's though, he has great stats.

 

[shravi]

Good pick. If anything, he's the second greatest left arm quick so he would've gone soon enough anyways. Fingers crossed that I get at least 1 of the 2 players I have in mind, but I really doubt it.

 

[sifter132]

Wasim did not have the privellege of playing on uncovered pitches, also by the time Wasim was playing the bats were better and there was much better protective equipment.

Yah that's true but the 50s and 60s weren't the dark ages of cricket with low scores and dodgy conditions. Plenty of guys averaged over 50 with the bat: Weekes, Walcott, Hutton, Sobers, Barrington, Dexter. Did a statguru search at cricinfo and found the average for a top 6 batsman over Davidson's career from 1953-1963 was 34.95. To compare with Wasim Akram, the average of a top 6 player from 1985-2002 was 36.75. Not much difference really.

You can only do what you can against your peers in the conditions you have and Davidson had one the of the best averages of his era only behind guys who took a lot less wickets. And while it's all well and good to have great stats you need some testimony of greatness too. That's why I say Wasim has the advantage in that department because of media and TV. You can SEE the great balls he bowled and there are quotes everywhere about how unplayable he could be. In comparison, some people haven't even heard of Davidson, but from what I've read he could also produce some fantastic deliveries and was tough to play too. And listening to Richie Benaud talking about Alan Davidson is pretty good testimony. They made a fine duo themselves for Australia. Anyway, I'm glad I've got him

Oh and just wanted to add: Clive Lloyd - excellent player, don't let popular opinion get you down mate Plus his captaincy of those legendary Windies teams makes him even more valuable to have.

 

[Iridium]

C'mon where are you Cricketman?! I wanna make my pick. Somebody has already taken Wasim Akram. And Sobers.

 

[pcfan123]

Cricketman is in transit to India from the USA.

 

[Iridium]

Oh I see. How long would that flight be?

 

[shravi]

Oh I see. How long would that flight be?

Don't get your hopes up is all I'll say. I doubt he'll be able to make his pick within the 24 hour limit.

 

[Dare]

Oh and just wanted to add: Clive Lloyd - excellent player, don't let popular opinion get you down mate Plus his captaincy of those legendary Windies teams makes him even more valuable to have.

Lloyd was an excellent batsman that rescued the West Indies plenty of times with some big partnerships with the tail and he was a great catcher in the slips but there are allot more good left handed batsman then bowlers. First you grab the rarest commodity and then you get the one that there is plenty of.