Draft: The Budget Draft: Project 200

[blockerdave]

My second opener is Aussie Ken Meuleman, who, despite averaging 47 in 117 FC matches, only played 1 Test against New Zealand, making a duck in his only innings. He was an influential coach in Western Australia, playing a role in the development of Justin Langer, among other good players.

CerealKiller’s XI
1. Ken Meuleman (Cost: 0)
2. Tim Curtis (Cost: 15)
3.
4. Rob Bailey (Cost: 14)
5.
6. Mike Procter (Cost: 25)
7. Prasanna Jayawardena (Cost: 29)
8. Waqar Younis (Cost: 10)
9. Allan Donald (Cost: 10)
10. Glenn McGrath (Cost: 7)
11. Bert Ironmonger (Cost: 2)

Budget remaining : 88

nice pick. as I'd taken my double pick before you posted this it's straight back to you.

 

[Aislabie]

1. Jimmy Cook (cost 17)
2. Andy Lloyd (cost 0)
3. Alec Stewart (cost 39)
   
4. Brian Lara (cost 52)
5. Viv Richards (cost 50)
6. Stuart Law (cost 0)
7. Learie Constantine (cost 19)
8. -
9. George Lohmann (cost 8)
10. Sydney Barnes (cost 8)
11. Wayne Daniel (cost 6)

The draft is lost. You have gone and won it.

 

[CerealKiller]

At no. 3, Victor Trumper, the greatest Australian cricketer before Bradman showed up, and one of the greatest of all time. His record is outstanding considering the poor conditions be mostly played in, and he was no slow scorer either. His peak came in 1902 in England, when he scored 2570 runs in 35 matches at an average of 48, in a very wet summer.

CerealKiller’s XI
1. Ken Meuleman (Cost: 0)
2. Tim Curtis (Cost: 15)
3. Victor Trumper (Cost: 39)
4. Rob Bailey (Cost: 14)
5.
6. Mike Procter (Cost: 25)
7. Prasanna Jayawardena (Cost: 29)
8. Waqar Younis (Cost: 10)
9. Allan Donald (Cost: 10)
10. Glenn McGrath (Cost: 7)
11. Bert Ironmonger (Cost: 2)

Budget remaining : 49

@ahmedleo414

 

[Aislabie]

At no. 3, Victor Trumper, the greatest Australian cricketer before Bradman showed up, and one of the greatest of all time. His record is outstanding considering the poor conditions be mostly played in, and he was no slow scorer either. His peak came in 1902 in England, when he scored 2570 runs in 35 matches at an average of 48, in a very wet summer.

CerealKiller’s XI
1. Ken Meuleman (Cost: 0)
2. Tim Curtis (Cost: 15)
3. Victor Trumper (Cost: 39)
4. Rob Bailey (Cost: 14)
5.
6. Mike Procter (Cost: 25)
7. Prasanna Jayawardena (Cost: 29)
8. Waqar Younis (Cost: 10)
9. Allan Donald (Cost: 10)
10. Glenn McGrath (Cost: 7)
11. Bert Ironmonger (Cost: 2)

Budget remaining : 49

@ahmedleo414

Trumper was one of the greats who I considered for my side, but I decided on WG instead, and to save the budget for somebody else I have in mind and plan to pick in the coming hours

 

[ahmedleo414]

As pointed out by @Aislabie I am making a little change to the batting order, and moving Ricky Ponting down to 3, I have also moved Neil Fairbrother up to 4. Who will I get to replace Ricky as an opener you ask?

Sri Lanka's Marvan Atapattu. Not the most dynamic starter, however once he gets going it's quite difficult to get out. He's scored 6 double-hundreds in Test, second only to the great Sir Don himself

This leaves me with 2 points left... I believe I have found someone perfect to fit that spot.... assuming he's still available since I am the last pick....

5502 runs @ 39.02 (best 249)

1. Marvan Atapattu (Cost: 39)
2. Wasim Bari (Cost: 15)
3. Ricky Ponting (Cost: 51)
4. Neil Fairbrother (Cost: 15)
5.
6. Wasim Akram (Cost: 22)
7. Fred Titmus (Cost: 22)
8. Ian Bishop (Cost: 12)
9. Danish Kaneria (Cost: 7)
10. Courtney Walsh (Cost: 8)
11. Lance Gibbs (Cost: 7)

Budget Remaining: 2

@Aislabie you are up next

 

[Master Bates]

I like how this draft is going so smoothly and quickly. On the other hand, with just 4 members, my drafts have taken a bit too long. Is it just me or is it luck?

 

[ahmedleo414]

i also love the fact that all teams have been looking great...

 

[Aislabie]

Throughout the draft I've been working hard to keep the budget for a certain huge player. Richie Benaud might be the engine room all-rounder, but the totem around which the side is built will be Jacques Kallis. As in his career, we're using him as a batsman first: with 45 Test centuries to his name and an average of 55, he would be in the conversation for second-greatest Test batsman of all time had he not also been a central figure in his team's bowling attack with his muscular right-arm seamers. In this team, he probably won't have to bowl more than around ten overs an innings, which is good because we want him to stay fit in order to do his thing as our legendary number three batsman.

Also, I'm genuinely shocked that the only change I've had to make so far to the original eleven I had in mind is to bring in Fred Spofforth for George Lohmann.

Test Stats (166 matches)
13,289 runs @ 55.37 (45 centuries, best 224)
292 wickets @ 32.65 (5 5WI, best 6/54)

1. WG Grace (Cost: 32)
2. Javed Omar Belim (Cost: 22)
3. Jacques Kallis (Cost: 55)
4.
5. Syd Gregory (Cost: 24)
6. Richie Benaud (Cost: 24)
7. Godfrey Evans (Cost: 20)
8. Fred Spofforth (Cost: 9)
9. Jasprit Bumrah (Cost: 2)
10. Jack Iverson (Cost: 0)
11. Brett Schultz (Cost: 1)

Budget remaining: 11

@DalePlaysCricket

 

[blockerdave]

Throughout the draft I've been working hard to keep the budget for a certain huge player. Richie Benaud might be the engine room all-rounder, but the totem around which the side is built will be Jacques Kallis. As in his career, we're using him as a batsman first: with 45 Test centuries to his name and an average of 55, he would be in the conversation for second-greatest Test batsman of all time had he not also been a central figure in his team's bowling attack with his muscular right-arm seamers. In this team, he probably won't have to bowl more than around ten overs an innings, which is good because we want him to stay fit in order to do his thing as our legendary number three batsman.

Also, I'm genuinely shocked that the only change I've had to make so far to the original eleven I had in mind is to bring in Fred Spofforth for George Lohmann.

Test Stats (166 matches)
13,289 runs @ 55.37 (45 centuries, best 224)
292 wickets @ 32.65 (5 5WI, best 6/54)

1. WG Grace (Cost: 32)
2. Javed Omar Belim (Cost: 22)
3. Jacques Kallis (Cost: 55)
4.
5. Syd Gregory (Cost: 24)
6. Richie Benaud (Cost: 24)
7. Godfrey Evans (Cost: 20)
8. Fred Spofforth (Cost: 9)
9. Jasprit Bumrah (Cost: 2)
10. Jack Iverson (Cost: 0)
11. Brett Schultz (Cost: 1)

Budget remaining: 11

@DalePlaysCricket

Fantastic pick. Was definitely someone I'd been considering.

Like you, I've been surprised at how few players I missed out on. The main real changes to original XI I plotted are ones I've made myself, and weirdly so far even the other players I had in my XI that I've subsequently swapped out haven't been picked up.

Oddly, the only person I wish I had got, even though he wasn't in my original XI, was Brett Schultz, because as I started to play around and re-configure my side, a super-fast left-armer that only cost 1 would have been uber-useful.

I'm very intrigued as to who is your 11 (or lower) average number 4.

 

[Aislabie]

I'm very intrigued as to who is your 11 (or lower) average number 4.

He was actually a class batsman. I don't think I'll miss out on him either though because no-one else is really targetting that kind of player - two of you looking for high-cost batsmen, and two of you with less than 11 left in your budgets.

 

[Ed Smith]

Peter Kirsten. Needed a bit of grit up top, and Pete fits that role perfectly. A guy who's better days were behind him when it came to test cricket, but his 1st class average of 44 with 57 100s shows he could go. Also means can drop Nas down the order

1. Eric Tindill (9)
2. Moeen Ali (29)
3. Peter Kirsten (31)
4. Nasser Hussain (38)
5.
6. Andrew Flintoff (32)
7. Arthur McIntyre (3)
8. Terry Alderman (7)
9. Chris Martin (2)
10. Muttiah Muralitharan (12)
11. James Anderson (10)


Budget: 173/200

@blockerdave

 

[blockerdave]

Peter Kirsten. Needed a bit of grit up top, and Pete fits that role perfectly. A guy who's better days were behind him when it came to test cricket, but his 1st class average of 44 with 57 100s shows he could go. Also means can drop Nas down the order

1. Eric Tindill (9)
2. Moeen Ali (29)
3. Peter Kirsten (31)
4. Nasser Hussain (38)
5.
6. Andrew Flintoff (32)
7. Arthur McIntyre (3)
8. Terry Alderman (7)
9. Chris Martin (2)
10. Muttiah Muralitharan (12)
11. James Anderson (10)


Budget: 173/200

@blockerdave

This was one of the guys I swapped out. As soon as this draft opened I thought "Peter Kirsten, number 3".

As I have one point left, and am looking for a keeper to free up Stewie and keep Lara at 4 rather than 3, I am picking a man who has absolutely no business sharing a dressing room with players of the class of Lara, Richards, Lohmann and Barnes, and will be made to change in his car and shower out back under a hosepipe.

In 1993 Richard Blakey was controversially chosen to tour India ahead of Jack Russell. The reasoning of course, was Blakey's superior batsmanship.

Blakey scored 7 runs in 4 inns for an average of 1.75. Fairly sure R.C. Russell would have done a bit better.

Blakey was a decent keeper though - when India scored 560/6 in 165 overs on his debut, he didn't concede a bye: and the bowling attack included Malcolm, Jarvis, Lewis and Salisbury so we can assume he had to be on his toes! He was actually also - when anyone other than Anil Kumble was bowling - not a bad batsman. He has over 14,500 First Class runs at 31, with 13 hundreds.

But he was shocking in his only 2 tests, and for that I'm grateful as his 1 cost rounds out my 200 nicely and will get the best out of both Stewart and Lara, which will be worth far more runs to me than Dicky will ever contribute.

So there we have it:

1. Jimmy Cook (cost 17)
2. Andy Lloyd (cost 0)
3. Alec Stewart (cost 39)
   
4. Brian Lara (cost 52)
5. Viv Richards (cost 50) - CAPTAIN
6. Stuart Law (cost 0)
7. Learie Constantine (cost 19)
8. Richard Blakey (cost 1) - WICKETKEEPER
9. George Lohmann (cost 8)
10. Sydney Barnes (cost 8)
11. Wayne Daniel (cost 6)

200 /200. Team Complete.

Back to @DalePlaysCricket

 

[Master Bates]

Would love @Aislabie to make the best possible xi with the 200 caps' budget and to see which team's players found their place in the xi!

 

[blockerdave]

Would love @Aislabie to make the best possible xi with the 200 caps' budget and to see which team's players found their place in the xi!

It wouldn't look very different to this...

1. Jimmy Cook (cost 17)
2. Andy Lloyd (cost 0)
3. Alec Stewart (cost 39)
   
4. Brian Lara (cost 52)
5. Viv Richards (cost 50) - CAPTAIN
6. Stuart Law (cost 0)
7. Learie Constantine (cost 19)
8. Richard Blakey (cost 1) - WICKETKEEPER
9. George Lohmann (cost 8)
10. Sydney Barnes (cost 8)
11. Wayne Daniel (cost 6)

 

[Aislabie]

Would love @Aislabie to make the best possible xi with the 200 caps' budget and to see which team's players found their place in the xi!

That was already something I'd pencilled in