Bevab
Staff Member
I'm a bit lucky in that I get to choose my first choice here as the 12th man. Definitely went under the radar I suppose.
William Porterfield served as the Irish captain with distinction and grace for years as one of it's most consistent batsmen with vital contributions in two World Cups and he also happened to be a scintillating fielder with his electric energy and skill. Porterfield was widely considered to be one of the best, if not the best fielder in the 2011 World Cup after his performances and he will be an excellent addition as the 12th man to this side of mine. Oh and he's also already in Ireland's setup as a fielding consultant for multiple Irish sides alongside being an active cricketer, showing how prized his fielding ability is.
That completes my playing XI and here is the line-up with each of their roles listed according to @Aislabie's ideal ODI team.
The 12th Man - William Porterfield | Fielding specialist
There's plenty to like about this side, with each fulfilling specific roles and it being good enough to score 350+ on the modern ODI road as well as 200-250 on the dodgy ODI surfaces of the past, ensuring that no condition is too challenging. There's also the bowlers who are very adaptable and malleable to the conditions and game situation with all of the pacers well versed with bowling at the death, two of whom have new-ball expertise. That's not counting Garry Sobers who was also an opening fast-medium pacer on the days he fancied it and he also offers the option of a wrist-spinner should the situation demand it. My initial fear was that I might end up with a weaker side than usual due to the sheer number of participants but I genuinely believe this is one of the most balanced XIs I've built and I'm extremely happy with it. It also has some real star players, something that I've frequently missed out on in preference for team balance.
William Porterfield served as the Irish captain with distinction and grace for years as one of it's most consistent batsmen with vital contributions in two World Cups and he also happened to be a scintillating fielder with his electric energy and skill. Porterfield was widely considered to be one of the best, if not the best fielder in the 2011 World Cup after his performances and he will be an excellent addition as the 12th man to this side of mine. Oh and he's also already in Ireland's setup as a fielding consultant for multiple Irish sides alongside being an active cricketer, showing how prized his fielding ability is.That completes my playing XI and here is the line-up with each of their roles listed according to @Aislabie's ideal ODI team.
- Quinton de Kock | Top-order hitter
- Barry Richards | Top-order hitter
- Dean Jones | Anchor accumulator
- Garry Sobers | Dynamic accumulator, stock spin bowler
- Clyde Walcott | Middle-order hitter
- Colin Bland | Firefighter
- Andrew Flintoff | Middle-order hitter, express pace bowler
- Franklyn Stephenson | Middle-order hitter, attacking pace bowler
- Sarfraz Nawaz | Lower-order hitter, stock pace bowler
- Saqlain Mushtaq | Lower-order anchor, attacking spin bowler
- Mustafizur Rahman | Chris Martin, death bowler
The 12th Man -
William Porterfield | Fielding specialist There's plenty to like about this side, with each fulfilling specific roles and it being good enough to score 350+ on the modern ODI road as well as 200-250 on the dodgy ODI surfaces of the past, ensuring that no condition is too challenging. There's also the bowlers who are very adaptable and malleable to the conditions and game situation with all of the pacers well versed with bowling at the death, two of whom have new-ball expertise. That's not counting Garry Sobers who was also an opening fast-medium pacer on the days he fancied it and he also offers the option of a wrist-spinner should the situation demand it. My initial fear was that I might end up with a weaker side than usual due to the sheer number of participants but I genuinely believe this is one of the most balanced XIs I've built and I'm extremely happy with it. It also has some real star players, something that I've frequently missed out on in preference for team balance.
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This is a really resourcefully selected team: picking up Andy Flower as an Associate pick is outstanding, and Hedley Verity as a pre-List A pick is a huge win, giving you a top-quality spin bowler who can also serve as a back-up firefighter with bat in hand in a more gung-ho line-up.
For me, the biggest weakness is the lack of genuinely fast scorers in the top- and middle-order. Greg Chappell and Andy Flower are both players who you can build an innings around, while Misbah and Bevan showed time and again that they can be the rock in a run-chase. What's missing here are big hitters to play around them. Of those four, Misbah is the best six-hitter, but he scored at comfortably less than five runs per over throughout his career.
