The Worst of ODI Cricket

[Bevab]

Nayan Mongia, who played an incredible 140 matches for India with a batting average of 20.19 which is handily boosted by being not out in 34% of innings he batted. In addition, he has a strike rate that is almost equal to the other batsmen in the side who would all average more than him significantly. And he was picked as a ‘pinch-hitter’ in the mould of Kaluwitharana, to bat way down at seven or sometimes even eight. Only a couple of 50s in his career show how ineffectual he was as a batsman. For large parts of his career, he was picked simply due to the lack of alternative keepers in India. Probably the most incompetent player to play so many games for a top side.

His keeping was good to be fair, but with the bowling attack that will be selected I doubt he would have a chance to prove his worthiness as a keeper.

@DalePlaysSports you’re up next.

 

[Ed Smith]

Aasif Karim. Kenya.



An "All rounder" and captain with a batting average of 12 and a bowling average in the 40s. Has himself a firm 34 caps over 10 years. The paltry return of 228 runs and 27 wickets make him an ideal candidate for the captaincy here.[DOUBLEPOST=1572852839][/DOUBLEPOST]@Sinister One you're up

 

[Aislabie]

Oh wow, those are a couple of players who weren't terrible; certainly not anyone I'd have expected any of you to grab

 

[Bevab]

Oh wow, those are a couple of players who weren't terrible; certainly not anyone I'd have expected any of you to grab

I disagree. Mongia was marginally worse at best compared to the rest of the Indian batting lineup in terms of aggression and he was almost exclusively played as the pinch-hitter of the side. To put into perspective, the most famous pinch-hitter of those times in Kaluwitharana (partly overrated in my opinion) had a strike rate that was nearly 10 higher. In addition, he was barely any good with the bat either in terms of scoring big, with his poor average of 20 being heavily boosted by the number of not outs. He was almost exclusively employed as a pure wicket-keeper, something that would be complete anathema to an ODI side.

Is he terrible? Most probably not, he would be a very bad player at worst, a victim of simply being the best among a bad bunch who would have been picked in the later rounds because of a lack of well known alternatives with those numbers. But the sheer number of matches he played (140!) is the biggest factor in him being selected right upfront. Selecting 10 truly terrible players with just sixty caps left to fulfil is a lot easier. To put things into perspective, Kapugedara who we both rate badly has a better batting record and is an outstanding fielder too but has played 40 games lesser than Mongia.

And have I mentioned how there has always been suspicions of him having indulged in match fixing in one of the easier run chases versus West Indies?

 

[Aislabie]

I disagree. Mongia was marginally worse at best compared to the rest of the Indian batting lineup in terms of aggression and he was almost exclusively played as the pinch-hitter of the side. To put into perspective, the most famous pinch-hitter of those times in Kaluwitharana (partly overrated in my opinion) had a strike rate that was nearly 10 higher. In addition, he was barely any good with the bat either in terms of scoring big, with his poor average of 20 being heavily boosted by the number of not outs. He was almost exclusively employed as a pure wicket-keeper, something that would be complete anathema to an ODI side.

Is he terrible? Most probably not, he would be a very bad player at worst, a victim of simply being the best among a bad bunch who would have been picked in the later rounds because of a lack of well known alternatives with those numbers. But the sheer number of matches he played (140!) is the biggest factor in him being selected right upfront. Selecting 10 truly terrible players with just sixty caps left to fulfil is a lot easier. To put things into perspective, Kapugedara who we both rate badly has a better batting record and is an outstanding fielder too but has played 40 games lesser than Mongia.

And have I mentioned how there has always been suspicions of him having indulged in match fixing in one of the easier run chases versus West Indies?

You see, I don't disagree that he was pretty bad, and the whole probably-did-the-fixing part of his career is an interesting extra layer to his inclusion, but there are some far worse players to stick behind the stumps than Mongia.

But then I can't criticise so much after picking up Khaled Mashud in the Test draft

 

[Aislabie]

@Sinister One you now have a late pick

@CerealKiller go ahead and make yours

 

[Ed Smith]

@DalePlaysSports you now have a late pick

@Sinister One go ahead and make yours

Come again? I picked yesterday

 

[Aislabie]

Come again? I picked yesterday

My bad. That'll teach me to do anything early in the morning

 

[Aislabie]

@Sinister One you now have a late pick

@CerealKiller go ahead and make yours

Fixed this for @CerealKiller in particular

 

[Ed Smith]

Tick tock Clarice

 

[CerealKiller]

Fixed this for @CerealKiller in particular

@Sinister One picked Khaled Mahmud and then deleted the post for some reason

My pick is Mohammad Ashraful. Played 177 matches for an average of 22. In between consistent mediocrity, he showed signs of brilliance, with his 100 against Australia in Cardiff in 2005 coming to mind. However, all things considered, it is clear that, when his international career ended due to an admission of match-fixing and spot-fixing in 2013, he was very far from the player he could've been.

CerealKiller's XI
1.
2.
3.
4. Mohammad Ashraful
5.
6.
7.
8.
9.
10.
11.

@Bigby Wolf double pick

 

[Bigby Wolf]

Shaun Udal

Stats : M - 11 ,W - 9, Avg - 44.4 SR - 68 BB - 2/37

England may have the best ODI team right now but they have a history of producing some mediocre players over the years especially in the mid 90s to late mid 2000s.

Shaun Udal made his debut against New Zealand in 1994 in the Texaco Trophy but struggled to perform well and keep his place in the squad however got his 2nd chance in England's tour of Pakistan in 2005 where Udal was picked was for both Tests & ODIs however he was played only in the last ODI which turned out to be his last One day match too.

Bigby's XI
10. Shaun Udal

2nd pick coming up soon....

 

[Master Bates]

Sorry for the late pick. @CerealKiller you are right. I deleted the post because I made the pick in a hurry. I didn't properly check Khaled Mahmud . @Aislabie

If eligible then my pick will be

11. Pommie Mbangwa

He will bat at 11 for now. He was a good test match bowler in his short career but had really bad stats in ODIs with an average of 103.63 in 29 ODIs. He couldn't even bat as his average was just 4.85. His best figures are 2/24. Even his list a average (54.39) was not respectful for a bowler.

@Bigby Wolf

 

[Bigby Wolf]

Carlton Baugh

Cartlon Baugh and Denesh Ramdin batted for a spt in the WI wicketkeper position in the 2000s and a bit early 10s with Ramdin winning the battle.Carlton Baugh played 47 matches for WI scoring just 482 runs with an average of 20 and not even a single fifty to his name.


Bigby's XI
7.Carlton Baugh
10. Shaun Udal

Caps used - 58/200.

@CerealKiller up again.

 

[Aislabie]

@CerealKiller is late

@Sinister One is up