The 40/30 Draft

[Sherlock Holmes]

I can still go right till he comes online?

 

[CerealKiller]

I can still go right till he comes online?

 

[Aislabie]

Keith Stackpole

Test stats - 2,807 runs @ 37.42 (7 centuries, best 207) in 43 matches
First-class stats - 10,100 runs @ 39.29 (22 centuries, best 207) in 167 matches

Batting VARP (opener) - 26.97%

Not many players have been top of the ICC's Test and ODI batting rankings at the same time, but opening batsman Keith Stackpole was one of them. He averaged over 40 as an opener and over 50 in The Ashes, the main metric by which Australian and English cricketers are measured. Also, I don't know what it is about Australian batsmen of a certain vintage, but they all seemed to have gorgeous square cuts - see also: Ross Edwards.

@Aislabie's XI so far:
1. Keith Stackpole
2. Alec Stewart
3. Billy Murdoch
4.
5.
6. Brendon McCullum
7. Colin de Grandhomme
8. David Allen
9. Sarfraz Nawaz
10. Corey Collymore
11. Dilip Doshi

@CerealKiller

(@Parth D also has a late pick)

 

[Sherlock Holmes]

Irfan Pathan for me

 

[CerealKiller]

Peter Siddle

CerealKiller’s XI
1. Victor Trumper
2. John Wright
3.
4. Tom Hayward
5. Ben Stokes
6. Warwick Armstrong
7. Alan Knott
8. Yasir Shah
9. Peter Siddle
10. Geoff Lawson
11.

@Yash.

 

[Aislabie]

@Bevab has a double pick

 

[Bevab]

My first pick will be the man who often flies under the radar for any sort of discussion over wicket-keeping greats. And yet, has there been a better keeper in this decade? He has scored the most runs for a keeper since his debut and has a very healthy average of 40 when he is the man with the gloves. Most crucial is his ability to take his side away from trouble when they need him or to just provide a solid platform for the others to play around. Most importantly, he is not too shabby behind the stumps either with two dismissals per innings and a personal record of nine catches in a match.

BJ Watling will be my team's designated keeper and the anchor who will prevent collapses and ensure that the tail wags on most days.

Will make my next pick shortly.

 

[Akshay.]

Actually i was going to pick someone else, but remembered de Kock and picked him up quickly

BJ Watling

Exactly the one I was talking about
I was confused between the two of them

 

[Aislabie]

Exactly the one I was talking about
I was confused between the two of them

Couldn't decide between getting BJ or grabbing de Kock

 

[Akshay.]

Couldn't decide between getting BJ or grabbing de Kock

not exactly

 

[Bevab]

My second pick will have to be the South African opener Dean Elgar. To average close to 40 over the last six years despite playing at home in arguably one of the toughest conditions to be an opener is something extraordinary and Elgar has done it without much of a fuss. There have been some rocky challenges thrown in his path along the way, such as a recent apparent susceptibility to off-spin but just how much of it is more down to the complete lack of a reliable opening partner alongside the general lack of quality further down the order? A lean 2019 is the only year of disappointment in his career but that he still managed to face more than sixty deliveries in five out of six innings this year along with an eighty and his intelligently crafted century on Indian soil versus his nemesis Ashwin (and his record versus the Indian has markedly improved in recent showings to be fair) shows that there still is a quality player amidst the global opener slump in Elgar that might work better in a less dysfunctional team on and off the field.

With Atapattu who can handle spin well alongside him and with a more capable number three and four to follow Elgar can play cricket in his own style, blunting the new ball and then catching up later with a big score.

1. Marvan Atapattu
   
2. Dean Elgar
   
3. Clem Hill
4. Roy Dias
   
5. Keith Fletcher
   
6. Shakib Al Hasan
   
7. BJ Watling
   
8. Amar Singh
   
9. ?
10. Matthew Hoggard
    
11. Erapalli Prasanna

@Yash. with two picks if he's free to make them.

 

[ahmedleo414]

@Yash. Missed his pick @CerealKiller is next

 

[Yash.]

I'll pick John Reid

An all rounder who could also keep wickets. Will be my keeper for now, until I find someone better.

 

[Yash.]

The other pick for me would be Dimuth Karunaratne

Like Dean Elgar, he has been one of the best opening batsmen in Test cricket in the past few years. In an utterly unpredictable team like Sri Lanka, he has been the only dependable guy since so long, so will be opening for me, alongside Mankad.

1. Dimuth Karunaratne
2. Vinoo Mankad
3. Lala Amarnath
4. Charles Fry
   
5. John Reid
6. Frank Wooley
   
7. ?
8. Jack Gregory
9. Steve Harmison
10. Ewen Chatfield
11. Sid Pegler

 

[Aislabie]

I'll pick John Reid

An all rounder who could also keep wickets. Will be my keeper for now, until I find someone better.

I mean, I don't think anyone's picked Rod Marsh or Godfrey Evans or Jeff Dujon or Farokh Engineer or Prasanna Jayawardene so there should be keepers available