Random Country Test Draft -- DONE. Time for comments/discussion

[ZoraxDoom]

Two very contrasting openers there

As I said, I like your 4 man pace attack, and Grimmett is a good pick for spinner. Lengthy tail, but quite solid batting throughout, very good mix of styles.

 

[Dare]

Two very contrasting openers there

It would be hard for many to keep up with Hayden. Boycott offers a much different style and ensures that if things start going south he can stick around as his 23 not outs suggest.

As I said, I like your 4 man pace attack, and Grimmett is a good pick for spinner. Lengthy tail, but quite solid batting throughout, very good mix of styles.

Having Hadlee who averaged 32 at that position means that there is someone there to stick around with middle order. I was thinking of taking Benaud over Grimmett just for that reason to strengthen the lower order but I figured if these guys cant score runs then there is nobody that can and with the bowling that I have 250 should be enough to defend

 

[ZoraxDoom]

We're talking about All-time XIs though, so the greatest bowlers ever are on par here. I'm still not a fan of 4 pure bowlers when the opposing teams all have bowling attacks very capable of scything through any batting order on a good day. Hence my decision to pick 3 pure bowlers and use allrounders to fill in the remaining overs.

 

[Dare]

We're talking about All-time XIs though, so the greatest bowlers ever are on par here. I'm still not a fan of 4 pure bowlers when the opposing teams all have bowling attacks very capable of scything through any batting order on a good day. Hence my decision to pick 3 pure bowlers and use allrounders to fill in the remaining overs.

Thats why opposing teams have the best batting too. You look at teams like the ones that Mark and Dan have and they bat all the way down to #8 and having bowlers where there is never a let of would help get that team out quicker.
You got a guy that averaged 36 with the bat in at #5, Archie who played less then 10 tests (unfortunately) at #6, Dev who averaged 31 in at #7 and then Prasanna in at #8 who is a great keeper but not much of a batsman. For a bowling attack like mine that would be easy work.

 

[Cricketman]

Can I just finish off my team? I'm going for a keeper and everyone else has one soooooo....

 

[shravi]

People will say that I should have gone for Willis, Tyson, Snow, Statham or Bedser. But no. I am going for Harold Larwood as anyone should.

Never mind his average. Everybody who knows anything about cricket knows that Harold Larwood was a far better bowler than his average suggest and that he would definitely gone onto have better average if career weren't unfairly ended. All he did what his captain asked. What people don't realize when they moan about how Bodyline was unfair is how incredibly difficult it is to pull off. Larwood bowled at searing pace and possessed a lethal bouncer and is one of the few bowlers in the history of the game to genuinely send a chill down batsmen's spines. Frank Tyson recalls that attempts to measure his speed were highly variable "Larwood, for instance, was measured by high speed photography at between 90 and 130mph!" However, what separates Larwood from the rest is his ability to maintain accuracy at such high speeds. He was without doubt, the most dangerous bowler of his time, if not of all time. When he was banned from International cricket, he took 82 cheap wickets for Notts that summer, and over 100 in 1935 and 1936, topping the national bowling averages in 1936 for the fifth time in his life, a deed unmatched by any other fast bowler. In 21 tests, he took 78 wickets at an average of 28 and at a strike rate of 63.7. This included 3 four-fors, 4 five-fors and took 10 wickets in a match on one occasion. However, as I said earlier, it is quite evident that he would have had a much more successful career if he wasn't so unfairly treated. His first class record paints a far prettier picture and is a much more accurate reflection of his ability. In 361 matches Larwood took 1427 wickets at an average of 17.51 and at a strike rate of 40.6. He took 98 five-fors and took 10 wickets in a match on 20 occasions.

On a side note, he was no mug with the bat. He averaged 19 with 2 fifties in 28 innings with a highest of 98.

Barnes, Lillee and Larwood is such a lethal combination it's not even funny.

Sunil Gavaskar
Gordon Greenidge
Sir Vivian Richards
Graeme Pollock
Javed Miandad
Allan Border
+ Brendon McCullum
Harold Larwood
Dennis Lillee
Muttiah Muralitharan
Sydney Barnes

 

[Dare]

Barnes, Lillee and Larwood is such a lethal combination it's not even funny.

Average at best . 4 is better then 3.

 

[shravi]

Average at best . 4 is better then 3.

I do have Murali, you know . He isn't too bad, from what I hear .

 

[pcfan123]

I wanted larwood as he is my favorite bowler of all time but with Trueman unpicked I was basically forced to take him, not complaining though.

The only pick I am sad for missing is Donald , instead I have Steyn

 

[Cricketman]

Pollock, Wasim, Bond, Warne. I'd say that's about the best bowling line up you're going to get IMO. Bond is a questionable pick considering the number of matches he has played but we have all seen his talent, and effectiveness, when he is in full swing.

 

[pcfan123]

After taking part in this draft I understand and am starting to like having a 25-50 match minimum. Lots of unknown and obscure players in some of the teams who are being called "greats and legends" for a few innings. Going by that logic, Phil Hughes could have been a legend if he retired after the SA series.

 

[sifter132]

^I'd agree with that. Zorax picking Archie Jackson is a perfect example. It's a pick based on speculation really. He COULD have been one of the best. People have said that about Graeme Hick or Vinod Kambli or now Phil Hughes - guys who were the next big thing, but never really turned out that way. There are plenty of guys who started out big in Tests too: Bob Massie took 16 wickets on debut or Narendra Hirwani took a stack too. Matthew Sinclair scored a double century on debut. Brendan Kuruppu also made a double on debut, then only played 3 more Tests! None of those guys have amounted to even 'good' Test match players, just flashes in the pan.

Oh and I've enjoyed reading the thread guys, and since I know Cricketman's gonna pick an English keeper and I won't be spoiling anything, I just thought I'd leave you with a team of guys who haven't been picked - The Rejects:
1 Gary Kirsten (SA)
2 Virender Sehwag (Ind)
3 Stephen Fleming (c) (NZ)
4 Inzamam-ul-Haq/Mohammad Yousuf (Pak)
5 Shiv Chanderpaul (WI)
6 Tony Greig (vc) (Eng)
7 Romesh Kaluwitharana (wk) (SL)
8 Alan Davidson (Aus)
9 Michael Holding (WI)
10 Bill O'Reilly (Aus)
11 Bob Willis (Eng)

I like that bowling attack, and the batsmen are all proven modern players.
Picked the weakest player (Kalu) for the position I'll rely on least. Plan B to strengthen the batting would be to pick a better batting English keeper, but then I'd have to swap Bob Willis out. Bruce Taylor of NZ is better than any potential SL bowlers and he'd come in at #9, and then I'd bring Samaraweera in for Stephen Fleming.

 

[Cricketman]

Alan Knott​

Alan Knott is, by many, considered to be the greatest wicketkeeper batsman of all time. He was nimble, elegant behind the wickets and had the ability to make the toughest of saves possible with his perfect footwork and amazing hand-eye coordination. His abilities behind the wickets have been unmatched in all of cricket's history. An example would be his performances with Kent, on damp pitches against Underwood, where he grasped impossible takes by gliding all over the place behind the stumps. Raymond Illingsworth, England's captain in their historic Ashes victory in 1970/71, claimed that it 'was simply not possible to keep better than Knott did' during that series. Illingsworth later stated that the Ashes could not have been won without Knott's keeping skills.

He was a good test batsman as well, with 5 tons to his name. He could attack or defend, depending on the match situation, and was good enough to score a century against Lillee and Thompson at their fastest. Along with his 5 centuries, Knott scored 30 fifties at an average of 33 in 95 matches (89 of them which were played on the trot, an English record), making him a genuine allrounder and a fine wicket keeper to have in my XI.

1. Sir Jack Hobbs (ENGLAND)
2. Vinoo Mankad (INDIA)
3. Brian Lara (WEST INDIES)
4. Rohan Kanhai (WEST INDIES)
5. Steve Waugh* (AUSTRALIA)
6. Aravinda De Silva (SRI LANKA)
7. Alan Knott (+) (ENGLAND)
8. Shaun Pollock (SOUTH AFRICA)
9. Shane Warne (AUSTRALIA)
10. Wasim Akram (PAKISTAN)
11. Shane Bond (NEW ZEALAND)

Knott's inclusion completes my team for this draft. I have an awesome opening combination which features Jack Hobbs, the greatest opening batsman who ever played the game, along with India's first and arguable finest allrounder, Vinoo Mankad. Mankad averaged 48 while opening for India and was involved in a historic opening stand of 413 with Pankaj Roy. He also adds to the team with the ball, his probing left arm spin bagged him over 160 test wickets.

A middle order of Lara, Kanhai, Steve Waugh, and Aravinda De Silva would send tingles down any opposition's spine. With a whopping 101 centuries in all, and every member of the middle order averaging over 42, this lineup is guaranteed of piling on the runs. Added to that is the keeper Alan Knott, who also was a fine scorer of the ball. His glovework is also the best the world has ever seen.

The team also features a deadly bowling attack. Shaun Pollock and Wasim Akram with the new ball is an opening combination of dreams. Both compliment each other so well - they both have the accuracy of a trained assassin and send down deliveries into the 'corridor of uncertainty' without error. Pollock has the ability to get the ball to talk off the pitch while Akram specializes in doing that in the air. They both weren't the fastest bowlers ever, but could certainly touch 150kmph consistently.
If you wanted raw pace, you had Shane Bond. He is in my opinion the best pure fast bowler of this generation. True, injury plagued his career, but during his short time it was clear that he was leaps and bounds better than the Akthar's and Lee's of the cricketing world.
For spin, we have the greatest spinner ever in Shane Warne. He needs no explanation.
In total, the 5 member bowling attack of Akram, Pollock, Bond, Warne and Mankad had in total a whopping 1792 wickets.


Very, very happy with my team! Tell me what you think.

 

[shravi]

^I'd agree with that. Zorax picking Archie Jackson is a perfect example. It's a pick based on speculation really. He COULD have been one of the best. People have said that about Graeme Hick or Vinod Kambli or now Phil Hughes - guys who were the next big thing, but never really turned out that way. There are plenty of guys who started out big in Tests too: Bob Massie took 16 wickets on debut or Narendra Hirwani took a stack too. Matthew Sinclair scored a double century on debut. Brendan Kuruppu also made a double on debut, then only played 3 more Tests! None of those guys have amounted to even 'good' Test match players, just flashes in the pan.

Oh and I've enjoyed reading the thread guys, and since I know Cricketman's gonna pick an English keeper and I won't be spoiling anything, I just thought I'd leave you with a team of guys who haven't been picked - The Rejects:
1 Gary Kirsten (SA)
2 Virender Sehwag (Ind)
3 Stephen Fleming (c) (NZ)
4 Inzamam-ul-Haq/Mohammad Yousuf (Pak)
5 Shiv Chanderpaul (WI)
6 Tony Greig (vc) (Eng)
7 Romesh Kaluwitharana (wk) (SL)
8 Alan Davidson (Aus)
9 Michael Holding (WI)
10 Bill O'Reilly (Aus)
11 Bob Willis (Eng)

I like that bowling attack, and the batsmen are all proven modern players.
Picked the weakest player (Kalu) for the position I'll rely on least. Plan B to strengthen the batting would be to pick a better batting English keeper, but then I'd have to swap Bob Willis out. Bruce Taylor of NZ is better than any potential SL bowlers and he'd come in at #9, and then I'd bring Samaraweera in for Stephen Fleming.

No room for Ray Lindwall!?

India- Vijay Merchant, Vijay Hazare, BS Chandrasekhar, Erapalli Prasanna, Bishan Singh Bedi, Virender Sehwag, VVS Laxman
England- well, there are so many choices really...
Australia- Ray Lindwall, Victor Trumper, Arthur Morris, Bill O'Reilly, Fred Spofforth, Charlie Turner, Alan Davidson,
New Zealand- John Reid, Glenn Turner, Chris Cairns, Bert Sutcliffe, Andrew Jones, Stephen Fleming
South Africa- Aubrey Faulkner, Dudley Nourse, Hugh Tayfield, Mike Procter, Neil Adcock
Sri Lanka- Romesh Kaluwitharana, Thilan Samaraweera, Tilakaratne Dilshan, Marvan Atapattu
Pakistan- Inzamam Ul Haq, Mohammad Yousuf, Abdul Qadir
West Indies- Colin Croft, Michael Holding, Conrad Hunte, Clive Lloyd, Shivnarine Chanderpaul

There might be more but these are the picks people missed out on or could have made.

 

[Dutch]

@ Sharavi; excellent team, very strong all-round. I would have gone for Alan Knott if I hadn't picked Marsh. Excellent keeper and a bloody decent bloke.

@ Harmy; thanks for putting Fred in there. Such a good bowler and a very, very funny man.

Just looking over all the teams: aren't we cricket fans just blessed with such quality players and people?