Draft: The 40/30 Draft

[Sherlock Holmes]

Doshi was going to be a part of the Bengal All Time XI that I was putting together... which reminds me that I should get back to work on it!

The fact that he made it into a side that heavily favours its seamers and faced off competition from several outstanding domestic players should speak volumes of his ability to perform on non friendly pitches. Had it not been for good old politics and some fierce competition from Bedi in his younger days, the bespectacled man would have played a lot more games for India.

You're from bengal?

 

[Bevab]

You're from bengal?

Not really, from what I've read Eden Gardens used to be very conducive to swing in the older days though and they have a very good pace program now that has unearthed gems like Akashdeep, Porel and Mukesh Kumar.

 

[CerealKiller]

I'll pick the great Australian captain Warwick Armstrong, who led Australia to 8 consecutive Ashes wins against England, followed by two draws, during his captaincy stint after WWI. A huge man, he was forced to switch from medium pace to legbreaks due to his increase in size.

Test stats - 2863 runs @ 38.68, 87 wickets @ 33.59

CerealKiller’s XI
1. Victor Trumper
2.
3.
4.
5. Ben Stokes
6. Warwick Armstrong
7.
8.
9.
10.
11.

@Yash.

 

[Yash.]

I'll pick two all rounders...

Frank Wooley and Jack Gregory

1. ?
2. Vinoo Mankad
3. ?
4. Frank Wooley
5. ?
6. ?
7. ?
8. ?
9. Jack Gregory
10. ?
11. ?

[DOUBLEPOST=1594832043][/DOUBLEPOST]@Bevab

 

[Bevab]

​

​

"There is no better bowler in the world today than Amar Singh'' - Len Hutton, 1970.

"As dangerous an opening bowler as I have ever seen, coming off the pitch like the crack of doom" - Wally Hammond.​

The legendary cricketer Amar Singh received India's first ever test cap and was also the first bowler to take 100 wickets in Ranji Trophy and the first Indian to play in the Lancashire League where he was a famous rival to a certain West Indian superstar. Besides such rarefied feats, Amar Singh was also a star player for his country and still remains one of India's best ever pacers. A test bowling average of 30.64 may not flatter him much, but this was in a team that was barely competent and celebrated a draw as a victory. In addition, his games versus Jack Ryder's Australians (a team of domestic players and former stars) and Lord Tennyson's XI (which was a lot more formidable with only two members failing to play test cricket) are counted as unofficial tests (for now, until the BCCI takes over ICC ) which when included in his record reduces his average down to 22 which is a far more accurate reflection of the skill he possessed. Singh was a real threat with the new ball capable of swinging the ball in both directions and could also bowl effective cutters when the ball became old. He did not have the sheer frightening pace of his partner Nissar but Singh was tall and could extract bounce well in addition to bowling long and accurate spells. This is shown by him bowling the most overs in the Indian team across his seven tests which includes a frankly incredible 54 overs in the first innings of India's first draw.

Amar Singh would also bowl once versus Australia having being recruited from his league to play for an English XI. He would end the game with a six wicket haul that included illustrious names such as Stan McCabe, Lindsay Hassett and Bill Brown. This was a world class pacer who was rated as the best bowler to visit England in 1930s, no mean feat given the competition for that spot. His most famous spell for India was in Madras where in the absence of Nissar he would solely carry the bowling workload and deliver a spell of 7 wickets for 86 runs, a record that stood for eighteen years until Mankad bettered it against the same opposition at the same venue. It would take 46 years for another Indian pacer to better it, also incidentally in Madras.

It is tempting to forget his skill with the bat and in the field when he was so good with the ball, but Amar Singh was also good enough to be considered an all-rounder who struck India's first half-century on debut. He would often be used as a pinch-hitter due to his naturally aggressive style (the man batted for India in all positions except the five and as the opener) and he did his role to perfection as shown by a record of five first-class centuries. He operated as a slip fielder and has 77 catches to his name and as remarked by Rusi Modi, was as good a slip fielder as Hammond and Bob Simpson. There is no doubt that he could have picked up more wickets if the others were as good in the field as him.

With the draft restrictions in place, nabbing a pacer considered among the best in the world during his time and a bowler who should be an easy choice for an all-time great Indian XI will be a coup for my team.

1. ?
2. ?
3. Clem Hill
4. ?
5. ?
6. Shakib Al Hasan
   
7. ?
8. Amar Singh
   
9. ?
10. ?
11. ?

@Akshay. to pick next.

 

[Akshay.]

​

1. ?
2. ?
3. Clem Hill
4. ?
5. ?
6. Shakib Al Hasan
   
7. ?
8. Amar Singh
   
9. ?
10. ?
11. ?

@Akshay. to pick next.

He literally was my next pick

 

[Bevab]

He literally was my next pick

Was wondering myself I should leave him later given how unfortunately he tends to be forgotten in conversations over India's best pacer but I was worried he would be picked soon. Glad to see that I was right.

 

[Akshay.]

Learie Constantine

Statistics
Tests:- 635 runs @ 19.24 (4 50s) and 58 wickets @ 30.10 (2 5WI BBI 5/75) in 18 tests
First Class:- 4475 runs @ 24.05 (5 100s, Best 133) and 439 wickets @ 20.48 (25 5WI, BBI 8/38) in 119 matches

As @Bevab picked up Amar Singh, i am picking a like for like player.
One of the finest fieldsman and one of the most exciting all-rounders the game of cricket has known, he took the West Indies' first wicket in Test cricket. He also played in the Lancashire League. He was chosen as one of the Wisden Cricketers of the Year in 1939. Later, he was awarded the Trinity cross, Trinidad's highest honour.

where he was a famous rival to a certain West Indian superstar.

referring to him ^ ?

1. ?
2. ?
3. ?
4. ?
5. ?
6. Andrew Flintoff
   
7. ?
8. Learie Constantine
   
9. ?
   
10. Ishant Sharma
    
11. ?

@ahmedleo414 next

 

[Bevab]

Learie Constantine

Statistics
Tests:- 635 runs @ 19.24 (4 50s) and 58 wickets @ 30.10 (2 5WI BBI 5/75) in 18 tests
First Class:- 4475 runs @ 24.05 (5 100s, Best 133) and 439 wickets @ 20.48 (25 5WI, BBI 8/38) in 119 matches

As @Bevab picked up Amar Singh, i am picking a like for like player.
One of the finest fieldsman and one of the most exciting all-rounders the game of cricket has known, he took the West Indies' first wicket in Test cricket. He also played in the Lancashire League. He was chosen as one of the Wisden Cricketers of the Year in 1939. Later, he was awarded the Trinity cross, Trinidad's highest honour.



referring to him ^ ?

1. ?
2. ?
3. ?
4. ?
5. ?
6. Andrew Flintoff
   
7. ?
8. Learie Constantine
   
9. ?
   
10. Ishant Sharma
    
11. ?

@ahmedleo414 next

Yes, that was a good spot.

Slightly off-topic, but it does sadden me that Amar Singh isn't held as highly as Constantine is by his countrymen. Of course Learie was a giant off the field and Singh's life was tragically cut short by illness but for a country deprived of good pacers let alone pace all-rounders, he isn't even considered in any conversation for the greats along with his partner Nissar (Cricinfo for example doesn't even mention him in their all-time XI!).

 

[ahmedleo414]

I will continue with the "Majestic" Majid Khan

Stats|Matches|Runs|HS| Ave|100s/50s
First-Class |410|27,444|241|43.01|73/128
Test |63|3,931|167|38.92|8/19

My playing XI:

1. Majid Khan
2. ?
3. ?
4. ?
5. Faf du Plessis
6. ?
7. ?
8. Daniel Vettori
9. ?
10. ?
11. ?

@Parth D you have the next pick

 

[Sherlock Holmes]

- The Nawab of Pataudi -
Mansur Ali Khan Pataudi

___________________________________

@Parth D's Team So Far​

1. ?
2. ?
3. ?
4. MAK Pataudi
5. ?
6. MS Dhoni
7. ?
8. Harbhajan Singh
9. ?
10. ?
11. ?

___________________________________
@Aislabie next two with out any further ado

 

[Aislabie]

Brendon McCullum
Test stats - 6,453 runs @ 38.64 (12 centuries, best 302) and 209 dismissals (198 catches, 11 stumpings) in 101 matches
First-class stats - 9,210 runs @ 37.13 (17 centuries, best 302) and 327 dismissals (309 catches, 18 stumpings) in 150 matches

Batting VARP (middle order) - +63.21%

Brendon McCullum's average always stayed just short of 40, but that belied just how valuable of a middle-order batsman and wicket-keeper he was for New Zealand. Scoring at comfortably over four runs per over and averaging 39 in the role, even recording one of Test cricket's two second-innings triple centuries, he was irrepressible. His keeping, especially stood back from the stumps, was among the very best in the world before back trouble forced him to repurpose into one of the world's elite outfielders. He will also be my team's captain.



David Allen
Test stats - 918 runs @ 25.50 (best 88) and 122 wickets @ 30.97 (4 5WI, best 5/30) in 39 matches
First-class stats - 9,291 runs @ 18.80 (1 century, best 121*) and 1,209 wickets @ 23.61 (56 5WI, best 8/34) in 456 matches

Batting VARP (lower order) - +2.91%
Bowling VARP (spin) - +52.05%

Another of the game's elite spinners: despite an average of a shade over 30, Allen ranks 14th all-time for VARP and above such spinning legends as Laker, Kumble and Benaud. There are a few reasons for this: Allen's career economy rate of exactly two runs per over meant that he gave his captain complete control over one end. He also played 26 of his 39 Tests in so-called "SENA" countries, at a time when they provided profoundly unsuitable conditions for spinners who weren't Lance Gibbs.

@Aislabie's XI so far:
1.
2. Alec Stewart
3.
4.
5.
6. Brendon McCullum
7.
8. David Allen
9.
10.
11. Dilip Doshi

@Parth D

 

[Sherlock Holmes]

Zaheer Khan

___________________________________

@Parth D's Team So Far

1. ?
2. ?
3. ?
4. MAK Pataudi
5. ?
6. MS Dhoni
7. ?
8. Harbhajan Singh
9. ?
10. Zaheer Khan
11. ?

___________________________________
@ahmedleo414 quick quick, make a pick.

 

[Bevab]

Damn it, McCullum was going to be my next pick.

And I wasn't going to burden him with keeping either...

 

[Aislabie]

Damn it, McCullum was going to be my next pick.

And I wasn't going to burden him with keeping either...

For the balance of my team, he somewhat has to take on that role. Plus, he waa a top class keeper