Another draft!-Test players of the 90s and later - FINISHED!

[Gaurav_7]

Don't tell me you picked McCullum based on his batting, lol.

 

[Aoun13]

Don't tell me you picked McCullum based on his batting, lol.

No not for his batting but there wasn't any kiwi which I want in my middle order. i want Brendon to be my keeper but since he wasn't keeping against Pakistan so I feel that has left keeping in the tests.

 

[Gaurav_7]

I think he has left keeping. But, that doesn't matter.

Batting records | Test matches | Cricinfo Statsguru | ESPN Cricinfo

51 tests as a keeper with an avg. of 34.77. That's what counts.

 

[sifter132]

No not for his batting but there wasn't any kiwi which I want in my middle order. i want Brendon to be my keeper but since he wasn't keeping against Pakistan so I feel that has left keeping in the tests.

Ross Taylor? Or even better, Nathan Astle? Or maybe if you were thinking about just having McCullum as a batsman, I might have gone for Jacob Oram - at least he can bowl and to me he's just as good a bat as McCullum. There aren't going to be many better keepers than McCullum out there, I'd give him the gloves.

One question, only 2 left handed players compulsory? Or we can have more?

2 at least. If you want 6 go ahead But it's not going to be an issue anyway, because as far as I can see we ALL have 2 left handers in our teams at the moment. And good to see Mark Richardson get picked He had a really golden period of a couple of years in the early 00s.


Anyway, let's kick off the England round with one of my favourite non-Australian players

Andrew 'Freddie' Flintoff

A fine example of where career stats don't do a man justice. That's because there were 3 phases to Flintoff's career, and while he was only great in one of them, that is the one that he'll be remembered for. Phase 1 was from his debut in 1998 as a pudgy 20 year old, up until 2003, a period where he was raw, immature, unfit and picked basically on potential and occasional moments of success. Then came 3 golden years from 2004-2006 with amazing numbers: 33 Tests, 1918 runs @ 39.95 and 134 wickets @ 25.80, the peak of course being England's brilliant 2005 Ashes victory where Super Fred was man of the series with 402 runs and 24 wickets in the 5 Tests (first man to do 400 runs and 20 wickets in a series since Tony Greig, 1974). But scoring 60 runs and 4 wickets per Test for 3 years was too hard to sustain for Freddie and his body gave way in phase 3, from the 06/07 Ashes onwards. He struggled with various injuries, only able to play 17 Tests in his last 3 years (out of a possible 43 Tests England played in that time). Although even at the end of his career on a dodgy knee the talent was still on show at Lord's 2009 where he bowled a long, probing spell on the last day to give England a win, finishing with 5/92 and the Man of the Match.

But more than stats, Flintoff was a man who got ordinary Englishmen interested in Test cricket again. The Barmy Army loved him, the 2005 Ashes made him a national hero and he was a great character on and off the field. Those attributes made him a great inspiration to his teammates as well, due to the atmosphere and aura that Flintoff helped to build. Flintoff is one of the most talented players I've seen. If you don't know what the fuss is about, find yourself a copy of the 2005 Ashes and have a look.

Debut: vs SA, Nottingham, 1998
Tests: 79
Runs: 3845
Average: 31.77
Wickets: 226
Average: 32.78

1
2
3 Younis Khan
4
5 Andy Flower (wk)
6 Murray Goodwin
7 Freddie Flintoff
8 Daniel Vettori
9 Shane Warne (c)
10 Merv Dillon
11

I picked Flower over Flintoff in round 2 hoping that Flintoff would still be there in the England round. He gives me the ideal balance at #7 - able to come in and hit quick runs with the bat and a fast bowler who will be as good as a lot of the specialist bowlers selected in this draft.

 

[mohit_dude10]

James Anderson

Mat: 61 | Wkts: 231 | Ave: 30.65 | BBI: 7/43 | BBM: 11/71 | S/R: 56.7 | 5w: 11 | 10w: 1
​

One of the best pacers currently, also ranked 2nd on ICC's ranking for bowlers in test. Started as a bowler who sprayed it around but in recent times he has matured a lot and has come off a long way. He played a big part in England's Ashes triumph down under.

Rahul Dravid

Mat: 155 | Runs: 12576 | Ave: 52.84 | HS: 270 | 50's: 60 | 100's: 34 | Ct: 200
​

Rightly known as the wall, Dravid is one of the finest players to have played. Coming in at no.3 he has provided India resistance umpteen number of times. He also has the record of facing most balls in test cricket even after playing 30 tests lesser than Tendulkar. A wonderful slip catcher, one of the safest's in that region.

1.
2.
3. Rahul Dravid
4. Ramnaresh Sarwan
5. Dave Houghton
6. Craig McMillan
7. Adam Gilchrist
8. Mohammed Amir
9. Muttiah Muralitharan
10. James Anderson
11.

The middle order looks pretty strong now after Dravid's inclusion and bowling lineup is just awesome

 

[AbhishekS]

Round 6: Bangladesh/Zimbabwe

Mashrafe Mortaza

Debut: On 8th November, 2001 against Zimbabwe at Dhaka

Young, quick and aggressive, Mashrafe Mortaza has emerged as the leader of Bangladesh's pack of upcoming young pacemen. He excelled in the second Test against England in 2003-04, taking 4 for 60 in the first innings to keep Bangladesh in touch, but suffered a twisted knee towards the end of the game that kept him out of Tests for over a year. He was recalled towards the end of 2004, and subsequently enhanced his reputation on the inaugural tour of England, standing head and shoulders above his team-mates in a torrid series.

Copied some part of his description from Cricinfo as I haven't seen him play much tbh. Picking him on the basis of his stats and some reputation. IIRC correctly, he has also led Bangladesh in the past and was one of the top buys in the IPL auctions.

Stats

M: 36 | I: 51 | Wickets: 78 | BBI: 4/60 | Average: 41.52 | ER: 3.24 | 4w: 4​

Round 1: Virender Sehwag
Round 2: Kumar Sangakkara
Round 3 (Pakistan): Danish Kaneria
Round 4 (West Indies): Jimmy Adams
Round 5 (New Zealand): Stephen Fleming
Round 6 (Bangladesh/Zimbabwe): Mashrafe Mortaza
Round 7 (England):
Round 8 (India):
Round 9 (South Africa):
Round 10 (Sri Lanka):
Round 11 (Australia):

 

[CG123]

Don't tell me you picked McCullum based on his batting, lol.

You know he averages 63 when he opens and 55 when he doesn't keep right?

 

[sifter132]

^It's hardly a large sample you're drawing from though is it?? It's only been a handful of Tests where he hasn't kept right? I remember fans going on about it after he made that 200 vs India when he wasn't keeping, but has he done anything outside that innings?

The middle order looks pretty strong now after Dravid's inclusion and bowling lineup is just awesome

You're a good salesman Definitely needed a Dravid to spruce up the middle a bit.

Is that where Houghton used to bat, #5? I can't remember hearing much about him in Tests. The last time I read up on him was for the World Cup draft earlier in the year, I think he was a #3 and if I remember he kept wickets occasionally too. Don't know much about him though TBH


And just a status update:
*User has a pick to make in the Bangladesh & Zimbabwe round - but that can be done anytime really, it's not holding anyone up
*send2yaari has an England pick to make
*Yudi has an India pick to make

 

[Aditya]

Great pick there Sifter. Flintoff, surely one of the finest England players ever and someone I would have loved to have in my side.

 

[CG123]

^It's hardly a large sample you're drawing from though is it?? It's only been a handful of Tests where he hasn't kept right? I remember fans going on about it after he made that 200 vs India when he wasn't keeping, but has he done anything outside that innings?

Yeah I know, it was more in response to the "tone" of what User's post seemed to be written in.

In terms of not keeping he has actually passed 50 five times in six matches though.

 

[AbhishekS]

Javagal Srinath is my pick. Write-up later.

 

[Gaurav_7]

Mohammad Rafique​

One of those bowlers who doesn't spin it much but, has a deadly accuracy. Combine that with rhythm and he can be lethal on his day. First ever Bangladeshi bowler to take 100 wickets in test matches. Plus, he can bat a bit. A test hundred and 4 fifties prove that. Has over 1000 runs in this format. Coming in at 8 or lower, a good value player for the team.

M 33, 48 Inns, 100 wickets @ 40.76, SR 87.4, BBI 6/77

Has 3 4fers and 7 5fers.

Bangladesh's Cricketer for the year 2004-05

XI

1. Saeed Anwar
2. Mark Richardson
3. Jacques Kallis
4.
5. Mohammad Yousuf
6.
7. Dwayne Bravo
8. Mohammad Rafique
9.
10.
11.

 

[Aoun13]

I want to pick two players from England but as rules say just one pick so I will pick Graham Thorpe, one the most complete batsman of England ever.

 

[Gaurav_7]

Matt Prior​

Yes, this is my wicket keeper. A very thoughtful pick too. Yes, it is. I saw sifter and Mohit already picked their keepers very early and they were ahead of me in this round. Only other person was send2yaari. I wished he didn't spoil my party and picked his wicket keeper earlier too. He didn't until the NZ round. And, then too he was not sure whether to let McCullum keep. Hence, those posts of mine trying to convince him. Callum, now understand the tone? Moving onto Prior...

Best wicket keeper batsman in test cricket currently without a doubt. Very consistent recently and a part of reason for England's success in this format. He started his test career in an amazing fashion scoring a ton on his debut. First English wicket keeper to do that. An aggressive batsman, comes in at number 7 mostly and knows how to bat and bat well there. A very good glove man too. Perfect for the team. Also, Dwayne Bravo moves to number 6 as Prior will come in at 7.

M 45, 68 Inns, 2526 @ 45.10, HS 131*, 136 Cts, 5 Sts

Has 6 test centuries to his name.

NBC Denis Compton Award 2001, 2002, 2003
Wisden Cricketer of the Year 2010

XI

1. Saeed Anwar
2. Mark Richardson
3. Jacques Kallis
4.
5. Mohammad Yousuf
6. Dwayne Bravo
7. Matt Prior (wk)
8. Mohammad Rafique
9.
10.
11.

 

[cricket_icon]

Surprised some players haven't been picked yet...please don't let aditya do what I think he will and pick...