The Block(er)Chain Draft

[Aislabie]

I reckon if you have Pollock and Marshall - both very handy batsmen - you didn’t need to compromise on the keeper and could have gone for a pure gloveman

And Kumble too

 

[Yash.]

I had thought that too initially, and would have gone with Allan Knott then. However, he was batting one spot higher to his preference.

 

[Aislabie]

I think in your position the obvious pick was Leslie Ames, though there were lots of other options of course

 

[Yash.]

I think in your position the obvious pick was Leslie Ames, though there were lots of other options of course

Obviously he was my first choice pick. Too bad he didn’t play in a first class match with Dennis Amiss

 

[ahmedleo414]

I struggled with my lineup till the end. Maybe i should've made Herbert open with Zaheer and had Dravid come down at 4 with Lara following him... But even thinking about it now, i still can't decide on what lineup to use.

 

[Aislabie]

Obviously he was my first choice pick. Too bad he didn’t play in a first class match with Dennis Amiss

Forgot you'd used your chain break - Barnes was worth it though. In that case I guess Lee Irvine or maybe Denis Lindsay

 

[blockerdave]

Forgot you'd used your chain break - Barnes was worth it though. In that case I guess Lee Irvine or maybe Denis Lindsay

Geoff Humpage would have been a decent left-field pick joined with Amiss

 

[Yash.]

Geoff Humpage would have been a decent left-field pick joined with Amiss

Was on my list too. Might have rejected him because he didn’t actually play Test Cricket

 

[blockerdave]

@ahmedleo414

@blockerdave
1. Barry Richards
2. Graham Gooch
3. Marnus Labuschagne
4. Mark Waugh
5. Wally Hammond
6. Steve Waugh
7. BJ Watling
8. Imran Khan
9. Bart King
10. Joel Garner
11. Mushtaq Ahmed

Your batting line-up goes on for days; BJ Watling, Imran Khan and Bart King could go in any order at seven, eight and nine. That's genuinely ridiculous.
That pace trio is also outstanding - Imran, King and Garner are all express-pace, and elite-skill, merchants. They're also backed up by a surprising stock of part-time seamers.
Mushy was a good spinner, but not a great spinner - and he's the only full-time spin bowler in this side. This was always the risk though if you ended up in a corner with the chain.

Yep, spin is the only possible "weak" link here, but with Richards, Labuschagne and Waugh the back up spin is pretty good. And Mushy had his day... I think with Imran's reverse and Mushy's leggies we'd still do ok with the old ball. I'm not sure who else I could have chose at that time for spin, given who'd already gone.

 

[qpeedore]

With my team, I suppose I was focusing on my fast bowlers more than anything after I got enough great batsmen. Vettori and Sobers can hold their own, though. And yes, Johnny Douglas was a poor pick, but I couldn't resist having an Olympic champion in my squad. Walcott only kept in a fraction of the matches he played in, but I'll still take him as a keeper. I do suppose on a flat pitch, Vettori would have to be a workhorse, but he was used to that. However it's not exactly a proper spin option, and even Sobers won't take me out of that spin spot. I do think holding my block for Hadlee was worth it, but there could have been others more spinny than Vettori. Thing is, I probably should have broken the chain with Hadlee one or two picks before and it may not have affected things.

Still, at a thousand for 6 declared, you'd probably not want to face Ambrose and Starc, knowing there was Hadlee yet to bowl.