Draft: The Baz-Ball Draft
- Thread starter ddrap14
- Start date
Aislabie
Test Cricket is Best Cricket
1. 
Matthew Hayden
2.
3. Ricky Ponting
4.
5. Andrew Symonds
6. Ben Stokes
7. Brendon McCullum
8. Gilbert Jessop
9. Wasim Akram
10. Sydney Barnes
11. Shoaib Akhtar
Obviously cricket at the turn of the 20th century was a very different game to the one we play now, but Sydney Barnes stands head and shoulders above the rest as the bowler whose skills would undoubtedly stand the test of time and find a place in the present day. Bowling briskly (probably about a Collingwood or de Grandhomme pace, which in his day would have seemed far quicker), he could swing the new ball both ways, before switching to off- and leg-breaks spun from his fingers with no noticeable dip in pace. The closest analogue in the present day would be someone like Mustafizur Rahman, and before that Bob Appleyard. This kind of bowler really doesn't come along very often, and when they do they only usually have a small number of overs in them before their bodies give out on them.
Sydney Barnes remained the best bowler in England until at least his mid-fifties. Playing for Staffordshire in what was then a combined county second XI and minor counties level, he took 76 wickets at 8.21 apiece - again, I stress, he was in his mid-fifties - older than Merv Hughes in this photo and the equivalent of Jimmy Anderson rocking up and ruining everyone in 2035. When the West Indian tourists faced him, they are alleged to have said that he was the best bowler they faced all tour.
His presence should certainly help us get 20 wickets.
@Naman7 again
Matthew Hayden2.
3.
Ricky Ponting4.
5.
Andrew Symonds6.
Ben Stokes7.
Brendon McCullum 8.
Gilbert Jessop9.
Wasim Akram10.
Sydney Barnes11.
Shoaib AkhtarObviously cricket at the turn of the 20th century was a very different game to the one we play now, but Sydney Barnes stands head and shoulders above the rest as the bowler whose skills would undoubtedly stand the test of time and find a place in the present day. Bowling briskly (probably about a Collingwood or de Grandhomme pace, which in his day would have seemed far quicker), he could swing the new ball both ways, before switching to off- and leg-breaks spun from his fingers with no noticeable dip in pace. The closest analogue in the present day would be someone like Mustafizur Rahman, and before that Bob Appleyard. This kind of bowler really doesn't come along very often, and when they do they only usually have a small number of overs in them before their bodies give out on them.
Sydney Barnes remained the best bowler in England until at least his mid-fifties. Playing for Staffordshire in what was then a combined county second XI and minor counties level, he took 76 wickets at 8.21 apiece - again, I stress, he was in his mid-fifties - older than Merv Hughes in this photo and the equivalent of Jimmy Anderson rocking up and ruining everyone in 2035. When the West Indian tourists faced him, they are alleged to have said that he was the best bowler they faced all tour.
His presence should certainly help us get 20 wickets.
@Naman7 again
Aravind.
ICC Board Member
- Joined
- Feb 11, 2011
24 hours up @liveinasociety your turn
Paranoid Kendroid
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01. Graeme Smith
02. David Warner
03. Brian Lara
04. Sachin Tendulkar
05. Mohammad Azharuddin
06. Adam Gilchrist
07. Colin de Grandhomme
08. Ravichandran Ashwin
09. Dale Steyn
Now, Azhar isn't the most successful middle-order batsman I could have picked among the available players but if cricinfo's info about his Test SR being 57.80 (approx.) is to be believed, then he would perfectly fit for this draft. On top of that, he has hit 77+ sixes in ODIs so he can definitely go the aggressive route when required.
Graeme Smith 02.
David Warner03.
Brian Lara04.
Sachin Tendulkar05.
Mohammad Azharuddin06.
Adam Gilchrist07.
Colin de Grandhomme08.
Ravichandran Ashwin09.
Dale SteynNow, Azhar isn't the most successful middle-order batsman I could have picked among the available players but if cricinfo's info about his Test SR being 57.80 (approx.) is to be believed, then he would perfectly fit for this draft. On top of that, he has hit 77+ sixes in ODIs so he can definitely go the aggressive route when required.
Sherlock Holmes
PlanetCricket's Sherlock Holmes
- Joined
- Mar 27, 2014
- Don Bradman
- Steve Smith
- Michael Clarke
- Shakib al Hasan
- Jos Buttler
- Imran Khan
- Mitchell Johnson
- Brett Lee
- Anil Kumble
I'm going to take George Headley to play 3. It's for similar reasons to the Smith pick Parth made, I assume - a great player will succeed in any team. And Headley was great - one of a very select few to average over 60 in Tests, and only just under 70 in FC.
@Disharies if he's here, but @Aravind. is on the clock
@Disharies if he's here, but @Aravind. is on the clock
Aravind.
ICC Board Member
- Joined
- Feb 11, 2011
Pat Cummins the current Aussie captain with bowling average of 21 and bowling strike rate of 46. Plus he is handy with bat, thus he will bat at 9. This guy is ideal for us to win matches, he can help the team to get 20 wickets with his pace and swing at the same time can hang around at the end to contribute with the bat.
| Test | 47 | 88 | 10045 | 4548 | 214 | 6/23 | 10/62 | 21.25 | 2.71 | 46.9 |
@Supreme General is up next. A reminder to everyone to tag the next person for convenience
Aravind.
ICC Board Member
- Joined
- Feb 11, 2011
Was sleeping man it's 4.50am here sorry
It's all good, it's more a general reminder bc I think 3 of the last 6 picks haven't included a tagWas sleeping man it's 4.50am here sorry
Supreme General
Associate Captain
- Joined
- Dec 10, 2022
Aravind.
ICC Board Member
- Joined
- Feb 11, 2011
@Aislabie to pick next merged post tags won't work @Supreme General
Aislabie
Test Cricket is Best Cricket
1. Matthew Hayden
2.
3. Ricky Ponting
4. Aubrey Faulkner
5. Andrew Symonds
6. Ben Stokes
7. Brendon McCullum
8. Gilbert Jessop
9. Wasim Akram
10. Sydney Barnes
11. Shoaib Akhtar
Aubrey Faulkner maintained a Test batting average of over 40 across his 25 Test matches, with a highest score of 204 against Australia in Melbourne. His estimated career strike rate of 58.28 (not all games have surviving records of balls faced) matches up very well to a player like Ricky Ponting, and this too in an era of tiny bats and slower scoring. Certainly his approach will fit in well to this team.
But anyway, his batting was his weaker suit. He was also one of the game's greatest leg-spinners: his 82 Test wickets came at 26.58 despite the pressure of already carrying a weak Test team on his shoulders; his remaining 367 first-class wickets came at a ludicrous 15.38 apiece. This is who I had in mind when I said that Jessop "might have to bowl a bit". I am intrigued how someone like Faulkner would have gone if T20 cricket had existed 100 years earlier than in real life. There's probably a draft idea in that. Or a league.
Just to re-cap though, my bowling attack consists of: Shoaib and Wasim taking the new ball, then coming back later when it starts to reverse; Barnes as first change, swinging it then spinning it once that stops; Stokes and Jessop banging it into the middle of the pitch to rough it up ready for reverse swing; Faulkner as a world-class leg-spinner, and Andrew Symonds if anyone gets tired or injured or anything.
@Naman7 again
Matthew Hayden2.
3.
Ricky Ponting4.
Aubrey Faulkner5.
Andrew Symonds6.
Ben Stokes7.
Brendon McCullum 8.
Gilbert Jessop9.
Wasim Akram10.
Sydney Barnes11.
Shoaib AkhtarAubrey Faulkner maintained a Test batting average of over 40 across his 25 Test matches, with a highest score of 204 against Australia in Melbourne. His estimated career strike rate of 58.28 (not all games have surviving records of balls faced) matches up very well to a player like Ricky Ponting, and this too in an era of tiny bats and slower scoring. Certainly his approach will fit in well to this team.
But anyway, his batting was his weaker suit. He was also one of the game's greatest leg-spinners: his 82 Test wickets came at 26.58 despite the pressure of already carrying a weak Test team on his shoulders; his remaining 367 first-class wickets came at a ludicrous 15.38 apiece. This is who I had in mind when I said that Jessop "might have to bowl a bit". I am intrigued how someone like Faulkner would have gone if T20 cricket had existed 100 years earlier than in real life. There's probably a draft idea in that. Or a league.
Just to re-cap though, my bowling attack consists of: Shoaib and Wasim taking the new ball, then coming back later when it starts to reverse; Barnes as first change, swinging it then spinning it once that stops; Stokes and Jessop banging it into the middle of the pitch to rough it up ready for reverse swing; Faulkner as a world-class leg-spinner, and Andrew Symonds if anyone gets tired or injured or anything.
@Naman7 again
