Draft: All-Time England ODI XI

[blockerdave]

I was 50-50 between Robin Smith and James Taylor when I picked Taylor. Taylor's list A record was too good to pass on him ans hence I went ahead. I will pick Chris Woakes now. A solid lower order bat and a brilliant bowler. A perfect number 7/8.

1. Nick Knight
2. Alec Stewart
3. Joe Root
4. James Taylor
5.
6. Ben Stokes
7.
8. Chris Woakes
9.
10. Derek Underwood
11. James Anderson

I must admit I thought Woakes had gone already or I’d have thought long and hard between him and Lewis!

 

[blockerdave]

Overall Pick #46: Steven Finn

Profile
He may have only just turned thirty, but Steven Finn is already something of a has-been. Constant tinkering and over-coaching of his bowling action rendered him "unselectable" in the words of former England limited-overs coach and prize bellend Ashley Giles. It is a crying shame that he has come to be remembered for this as opposed to a two-year period in which he was one of the best and most hostile ODI fast bowlers in the world. Finn first broke into the world's top-ten bowlers on the 21st February 2012 on the back of six excellent months in which he terrorised India and Pakistan's batsmen on benign pitches. Although he faded out of the top ten 20 months later, his contributions during that time are hard to overstate. In 31 One-Day Internationals during his purple patch, he took 51 wickets at an exemplary average of 24.25 whilst conceding only 4.5 runs per over. Without Finn shouldering responsibility for an entire bowling attack at this time, England's lethargic batting order would absolutely not have been enough to make them the number one ranked team in the world.

Statistics

| | Right-handed batsman | Right-arm fast bowler |
England ODIs|69 matches|136 runs @ 8.00, SR: 60.98 (best 38)|102 wickets @ 29.37, econ. 5.06 (2 5WI, best: 5/33)|15 catches
List A|144 matches|411 runs @ 12.08, SR: 67/48 (best 42*)|201 wickets @ 29.08, econ. 5.14 (3 5WI, best: 5/33)|33 catches

Finest Performances

(Finn took 13 wickets @ 10.30 in this series; unfortunately, the only highlights available are hour-long PTV Sports videos)

Aislabie's XI so far:
1. Craig Kieswetter (Pick #22)
2. Dennis Amiss (Pick #9)
3.
4. Eoin Morgan (Pick #15)
5. Allan Lamb (Pick #33)
6. Andrew Flintoff (Pick #4)
7. Moeen Ali (Pick #28)
8. Mark Ealham (Pick #39)
9.
10.
11. Steven Finn (Pick #46)

Next pick:
@Rebel2k19

Absolute travesty what between them Strauss, Saker and Flower did to Finn.

 

[Aislabie]

Absolute travesty what between them Strauss, Saker and Flower did to Finn.

I completely agree. Five years ago, I'd have said he was absolutely the future of English quick bowling, but now I doubt he'd even be in the first dozen choices for a quick bowler in any format.

 

[Gaurav_7]

I must admit I thought Woakes had gone already or I’d have thought long and hard between him and Lewis!

I was surprised he was still available and cross checked multiple times just to be sure.

 

[CerealKiller]

Alastair Cook

CerealKiller's XI
1. Ian Bell
2. Alastair Cook
3.
4. Paul Collingwood
5. Jos Buttler
6.
7. Tim Bresnan
8. Stuart Broad
9. Graeme Swann
10. Darren Gough
11.

@Aislabie

 

[Aislabie]

Overall Pick #49: Vic Marks

Profile
According to many, "at any time, somewhere in the world, someone was hitting Vic Marks for six" such was the innocuousness of his off-breaks. However, this long-held belief in his mediocrity led many of the batsmen he faced into a false sense of security for which they would pay with the loss of their wickets. A master of subtle variations of pace and flight, Marks' lack of ego allowed him to flourish with the philosophy that a wicket caught at deep mid-wicket was equally as valuable as one bowled between bat and pad. He has latterly become known as an aggressively inoffensive commentator and cricket writer who has become such a staple of the TMS team that it is easy to forget that he once had an appreciably successful England career.

Statistics

| | Right-handed batsman | Right-arm off-breaks |
England ODIs|34 matches|285 runs @ 13.57, SR: 65.66 (best 44)|44 wickets @ 25.79, econ. 3.70 (2 5WI, best: 5/20)|8 catches
List A|304 matches|4,175 runs @ 22.56, SR: n/a (best 81*)|286 wickets @ 27.85, econ. 3.66(3 5WI, best: 5/20)|75 catches

Finest Performances

Aislabie's XI so far:
1. Craig Kieswetter (Pick #22)
2. Dennis Amiss (Pick #9)
3.
4. Eoin Morgan (Pick #15)
5. Allan Lamb (Pick #33)
6. Andrew Flintoff (Pick #4)
7. Moeen Ali (Pick #28)
8. Mark Ealham (Pick #39)
9. Vic Marks (Pick #49)
10.
11. Steven Finn (Pick #46)

Next pick:
@NilayShah60

 

[NILAYSHAH60]

Phillip DeFreitas
​

Born in the Carribean this 6 feet tall right hand fast bowler played his first ODI for England in 1987 against the Australian side at the W.A.C.A which was considered as one of the fastest pitch in the world at that time. He got 3 wickets in that match. He had the potent to become a very intimidating bowler with his short stuffs. He usually like to bowl short of the length and trouble the batsman with his pace and bounce. Later in his career he also developed varieties like leg-cutters and off-spinners. He was one of the most consistent England bowlers of all time. At the very least he was very economical and always kept the runs down for his side. He was equally capable with the bat and usually liked to play the cut shot against the pacers and a down-town heave against the spinners. He always made use of his physical advantage of being tall. He played 103 ODIs and was one of the elite bowlers to join the 100 wicket list taking 115 wickets at an average of 32.82 and economy of 3.96 and a best of 4/35. He also took more than 500 wickets in his List-A career with best of 5/13.

 

[Gaurav_7]

1. Nick Knight
2. Alec Stewart
3. Joe Root
4. James Taylor
5. David Gower
6. Ben Stokes
7.
8. Chris Woakes
9.
10. Derek Underwood
11. James Anderson

 

[blockerdave]

1. Nick Knight
2. Alec Stewart
3. Joe Root
4. James Taylor
5. David Gower
6. Ben Stokes
7.
8. Chris Woakes
9.
10. Derek Underwood
11. James Anderson

Gower was one of 3 players I was considering for my number 4 slot!

 

[Aislabie]

@Sinister One - You're up!

 

[Master Bates]

Chris Broad
@blockerdave

 

[blockerdave]

This is the hardest choice I’ve had to make... need a number 4 batsman. I had 3 choices, one was Gower. Of the other 2, 1 is 1 of my favourite ever England players, the other is one of those batsmen I always liked, though he never fulfilled his talent: albeit his ODI record is decent...

Need to ponder and recheck their records!

 

[blockerdave]

OK... I'm going with Graham Thorpe. His ODI record isn't super impressive - 2380 runs at 37.18 with a strike rate of 71.17 but he was a world class batsman, played in a poor team in an era of great bowlers. And I'd simply never forgive myself for not picking him.

He and Fairbrother have dashers before and after, so they can let the others bat around them. We can always send Beefy or Lewis up the order if we want to separate them...

1) Tres
2) Hales
3) Hick
4) Thorpe
5) Fairbrother
6) Botham
7) Lewis
8)
9)Plunkett
10)
11)Mulally

Your turn @CerealKiller

 

[CerealKiller]

Mike Gatting and Mike Hendrick

CerealKiller's XI
1. Ian Bell
2. Alastair Cook
3. Mike Gatting
4. Paul Collingwood
5. Jos Buttler
6.
7. Tim Bresnan
8. Stuart Broad
9. Graeme Swann
10. Darren Gough
11. Mike Hendrick

@blockerdave

 

[blockerdave]

ok. with a strong strike pace quartet i'm looking for a containing spinner, capable of a few down the order if needed.

Step forward John Emburey... He's in for his economy rate of 4.10 but taking his wickets at 30.86 with a strike rate of 45 is handy enough too. Batting his strike rate is 75.45 and he had good hands - another one to take the chances my main strike bowlers will create.

As the only player to go on both English rebel tours, and then coaching an ICL team too, Emburey complements the taste for controversy running through my side.

@Sinister One - you're next