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

[Aoun13]

Yes, I'd have taken Prasad over Sharma as well. Maybe he missed his name?

There is a long list of bowlers who for india were far better then Sharma. Another one is Irfan Pathan, though he lack that kagical touch now but I still rate him "the bowler" india ever produced even for that short period of time he was a class to watch.

 

[sifter132]

I'd have taken Sharma over Prasad, but only just. But you want to know who I'd have taken over any of them? Sreesanth Seriously - I reckon his record stacks up pretty well against those guys.

 

[Aoun13]

I'd have taken Sharma over Prasad, but only just. But you want to know who I'd have taken over any of them? Sreesanth Seriously - I reckon his record stacks up pretty well against those guys.

If I has to pick a player at that time I pick Irfan Pathan becuase I find him the best bowler for India in that short period of time. He was lethal, had good pace but he was ruined by some awful coaching...

 

[cricket_icon]

No to Prasad simply because I didn't think of him and no to Pathan because I have never rated him. He had a purple patch against Pakistan on that famous tour but his pace was always barely 80 mph, occasionally getting up to the mid 80s.

 

[Gaurav_7]

Leave that, you have picked already. Get on to Saffers.

 

[cricket_icon]

So my South Africa pick is one of the best players ever to don the whites:

Shaun Pollock:

His bowling was as incisive as the best of them and his batting could be destructive and at times crucial, as his 2 test centuries have proven over time. I still believe he is the best bowler SA has ever had...and possibly the best player? His only real competition is Jacques Kallis who I may just rate slightly higher.

Tests 108
Wickets 421
Average 23.11
5W 16
10w 1

Runs 3781
Average 32.31
100s 2
50s 16

----------

1. W Hinds
2.
3. R Ponting (C)
4. K Pietersen
5. J Ryder
6.
7. T Taibu
8. S Pollock
9. S Akhtar
10. S Mushtaq
11. I Sharma

----------

I personally believe I have the best new ball pair available

 

[Gaurav_7]

Oh!!!! I was just hoping you to pick someone else. Was hoping a bit too much though. Very hard to resist this man.

I personally believe I have the best new ball pair available

No. Shravi has, by a mile the best new ball opening pair in Bond and Steyn.

 

[cricket_icon]

I'd rate Pollock above both Steyn and Bond and I would rate Akhtar above Bond, 18 matches and less than a 100 wickets is barely enough to constitute a career. Although having said that, if I could have, I would have picked him in my NZ round.

 

[Gaurav_7]

Makhaya Ntini​

A man who you can always give the ball to and who will always run in hard at the opposition. A 'big heart' bowler is what I refer Ntini to. An ever smiling face, never say attitude of his could lift the spirits of a team in any situation. He, along with Zaheer Khan to lead my bowling attack. A solid opening pair, I've got here.

M 101, 190 Inns, 390 Wkts @ 28.82, SR 53.4, BBI 7/37

Has 19 4fers and 18 5fers.

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. Zaheer Khan
10.
11. Makhaya Ntini

 

[Aditya]

Indian round pick : MS Dhoni

I'll do the write up for Swann and Dhoni soon, have been a little busy and lazy as well.

 

[shravi]

sifter's pick is Graeme Smith.

 

[shravi]

My pick is Gary Kirsten, one of the finest openers to have ever come from South Africa. I didn't go for Amla or ABDV because that would put me in a tough spot in the Sri Lanka round where there are only really 2 openers I could have gone for. I am last in that round so it is a risk I am not willing to take. It's not as if I'm settling for Kirsten either. He was a world class batsman who came up against some of the finest bowlers you could ever hope to see. He did well wherever he went and only averaged below 40 in Sri Lanka and West Indies. He was gritty and determined. He wasn't flashy or a particularly attractive stroke player but he could score runs and stay at the crease for long periods of time. His best of 275, lasted over 14 and a half hours as South Africa followed on against England at Kingsmead in 1999-00, still stands as the second-longest innings (in terms of duration) in Test history.

His average may not be as high as Sehwag or Gambhir but there's a reason for that. Just look at all the South Africans' averages over history. They aren't worse players, they just play in tougher conditions (when at home). Look at Sachin and Dravid. Two of the greatest modern players don't have very good records in South Africa. Hence, it is a huge accomplishment to average as high as Kirsten did. In fact, he averaged 42 at home and 48 away. He scored 5 more centuries and 2 more fifties away (than home) in the same number of innings. Overall, In 101 matches (176 innings) he scored 7289 runs at an average of 45.27 with 21 centuries and 34 fifties.

Gary Kirsten
Tamim Iqbal
Ian Bell
Brian Lara
VVS Laxman
6
+Ridley Jacobs
8
Mushtaq Ahmed
Dale Steyn
Shane Bond

 

[mohit_dude10]

Darn it, was looking for an opener this round and both have been picked.

--

Anyways my pick is,

AB De Villiers

Debut v England at Port Elizabeth , 2004

Mat: 66 | Runs: 4741 | Ave: 47.41 | HS: 278* | 50's: 23 | 100's: 12 | Ct/St: 93/1​

AB De Villiers is one of the most prolific South African batsman of current era. A batsman with great technique, flamboyance , an excellent fielder and a wicket keeper too. Coming in at middle order he not only provides stability but also can score quick runs if needed. Like he showed in the 1st test against India last year, scored 100 of just 75 deliveries (fastest by a South African).

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


Dave Houghton now moves to opening slot and AB fits in middle order. Messed up quite a bit as I didn't pick an opener early but still the team looks strong on both fronts now. Strong middle order and an attacking bowling unit.

 

[sifter132]

I'd rate Pollock above both Steyn and Bond and I would rate Akhtar above Bond, 18 matches and less than a 100 wickets is barely enough to constitute a career. Although having said that, if I could have, I would have picked him in my NZ round.

I think I agree with you Just looking at averages doesn't tell the whole story sometimes, you've got to look at who they played against and where. In that regard, Bond had a relatively easy career. About half his Tests were against Zimbabwe, Bangladesh, West Indies and Pakistan - and you can see that if you take that half away he averages about 30 against the other 5 teams. But that also means he averages about 15 against those 4 I mentioned, so he was really good at exploiting lesser batsmen and that shouldn't be discounted too quickly.

Shoaib's career on the other hand featured far more matches against better batting sides. Just looking him up...and he had to play 34 of his 46 Tests against the best 5 batting teams: Aus, Eng, Ind, SL and SA. Look at his average against them and it's about the same as Bond's - 30ish. So the difference in averages really just comes from Bond's demolishing of Bangladesh and Zimbabwe, which makes up a decent percentage of his Test wickets. It's a shame Bond never had the chance to play more against the best sides to prove that he might have been a better bowler, but we'll never know. So if I had to say who's had the better career, I vote Shoaib.

Steyn vs Pollock is a bit closer though. Steyn has had to play a higher percentage of tougher series than Pollock did, but Steyn's average is also deflated by the way he's destroyed Bangladesh, New Zealand and West Indies which make up a larger percentage of his career wickets. Against the top 5 sides, their averages are about the same. Gun to my head I pick Pollock because he had a longer career, but Steyn can certainly go on to be one of the greats.

All that said, the new ball pairing that I'd rate very close to yours: Donald and Asif

 

[shravi]

I'd say Steyn edges Pollock, just. It's just a personal preference and both are luxuries.

As for Akhtar vs Bond, it's not as if I had the chance to pick Akhtar. I had first pick in the NZ round, I needed a good fast bowler and Bond was pretty much the only choice. I'd say my bowling attack is about equal with cricket icon's. I rate Bond so highly. He was top class and the thing that strikes me about him is that New Zealand struggled without him. I don't know if I could say the same about Akhtar, although I guess that's a testament to how strong Pakistan's pace bowling is/was. Also, Akhtar blew hot and cold. He really touched both ends of the scale far too frequently for my liking. Mediocre one day and world class the next.

I have already disounted mohit and send2yaari's teams in my head. I have no time for cheaters (not you mohit/aun , Amir & Asif), no matter how good they were. It's just a moral code of mine. I don't expect any of you to agree with it.