The Lasagne Draft

[CerealKiller]

My pick is Faf du Plessis

ODI stats: 5,507 runs @ 47.47 (12 centuries, best 185) in 143 matches
List A stats: 9,483 runs @ 46.94 (21 centuries, best 185) and 54 wickets @ 37.59 (best 4/47) in 262 matches

So I'd made my decision. I knew who I wanted, right up until @Bevab picked Hussey, but it's okay because it turns out there's another overlooked and underrated player who could make a strong case for consideration as a one-day international great. Eleven of his twelve ODI centuries have come at number three, so I think I'll put him at three and shift Dravid to four; hopefully this'll not be an issue. This gives me an all-South African top three, which was never the plan but may in theory mean they work better together. Regardless, only one player left and things are looking pretty good.

@Aislabie 's XI so far:
1. Barry Richards
2. Herschelle Gibbs
3. Faf du Plessis
4. Rahul Dravid (L)
5. Ryan ten Doeschate (L)
6. Andrew Flintoff (P)
7. Mike Procter
8. Rashid Khan
9.
10. Waqar Younis (L)
11. Pommie Mbangwa (L)

@Na Maloom Afraad up next

Don’t know how I overlooked him

 

[Na Maloom Afraad]

NMA's XI
1. Sachin Tendulkar (P)
2. Ian Botham
3. Graeme Pollock
4. Ross Taylor
5. Brad Hodge
6. Abdul Razzaq
7. Lance Klusener
8. Kwame Tucker (LD)
9. Dwayne Leverock (LD)
10. Narendra Hirwani (LD)
11. Josephat Ababu (LD)

Brad Hodge will be my number five, forcing Ross Taylor and Graeme Pollock to move up a spot. Now hear me out... I had no name in mind for the number five position, so I looked up some stats and I stumbled upon his. 7 off Brad Hodge's 21 ODI innings have come at this position, where he has scored 424 runs in those 7 innings at an average of 84.80, a strike rate of 107.61 (all innings during 2007) and a high score of 123. He scored 1 century and had two unbeaten scores in the 90s.

Before him, I was going to pick Angelo Matthews, if for nothing else but this quote from ESPNCricinfo: "In limited overs cricket, Mathews' all-round skills are almost indispensable. When he pulled a quad in the World Cup semi-final in 2011, he forced three changes to the XI that played in the final, as the team strove for the balance he single-handedly delivers."

But his stats as a batsman in such a limited capacity weren't as impressive as Hodge's. I know I'm one (arguably two) all-rounders short, and I don't have a quality spinner or leading paceman so I probably should've gone with Matthews, but I've still chosen to go with Brad Hodge, a proper batsman instead.

@deleted member

 

[ahmedleo414]

just tagging @deleted member since the last post was edited and not sure if he'll get the alert

 

[Samarth27.09]

Usman Khwaja​

[DOUBLEPOST=1586514893][/DOUBLEPOST]@DalePlaysCricket

 

[ahmedleo414]

just going to tag @DalePlaysCricket since the last post was merged

 

[Samarth27.09]

just going to tag @DalePlaysCricket since I thanked that post...[DOUBLEPOST=1586516011][/DOUBLEPOST]just going to tag @DalePlaysCricket since that post was posted.[DOUBLEPOST=1586516028][/DOUBLEPOST]

 

[Ed Smith]

Could have at least tagged me guys. Come on!

 

[ahmedleo414]

just going to tag @DalePlaysCricket cause he mentioned he wasn't tagged... Here you go

 

[Ed Smith]

1. Romesh Kaluwitharana
2. Kyle Coetzer
   
3. Kevin Pietersen
4. Michael Clarke
5. Ben Stokes
6. Jos Buttler
7. Gavin Hamilton
8. Chris Simpson
9. Mushtaq Ahmed
   
10. Srinivas Venkataraghavan
11. Javagal Srinath

Mostly just because I love Mushy



Overs: 1257.1
Balls: 7543
Maidens: 51
Runs Conceded: 5361
Wickets: 161
Average: 33.30
4 Wickets in Innings: 4
5 Wickets in Innings: 1
Best: 5/36
Economy Rate: 4.26
Strike Rate: 46.85

@Bevab

 

[Bevab]

Brad Hogg, because he makes my team bat really deep and also because he was a very underrated spinner in limited overs cricket with the rare skill of being a left arm wrist spinner. With him in my side, the bowling lineup boasts all four varieties of spin. A quality wrist spinner is a necessity in the modern ODI game to take wickets and Hogg offers that along with the control that Moneeb does not.

@ahmedleo414

 

[Aislabie]

Brad Hogg, because he makes my team bat really deep and also because he was a very underrated spinner in limited overs cricket with the rare skill of being a left arm wrist spinner. With him in my side, the bowling lineup boasts all four varieties of spin. A quality wrist spinner is a necessity in the modern ODI game to take wickets and Hogg offers that along with the control that Moneeb does not.

@ahmedleo414

Nooooo he was going to be my number nine. I just figured nobody would pick him

 

[ahmedleo414]

My final pick goes to "Boom Boom" Shahid Afridi

A little bio from his wiki:

"As a successful all-rounder, Afridi was respected for his consistent bowling that relied on change of pace rather than spin, but he drew greater attention for his aggressive batting style. Afridi was the world record holder for the fastest ODI century in 37 deliveries and holds the distinction of having hit the most sixes in the history of ODI cricket.

Afridi considers himself a better bowler than batsman and has taken over 350 wickets in ODI and 48 Test wickets. As of January 2020, Afridi is 2nd on the chart of most T20I wickets, with 98 wickets from 99 matches."

I went with Afridi here because I already have a pretty strong batting line up, except for James Celestine, so having Afridi come into the lower order he's free to hit his shots, since hopefully it'll be near the end of the innings and we just that little push to put us over the top... As for bowling, say what you will but in my opinion, Afridi is one of the best spinners Pakistan has.. to be fair he's not the greatest of all time, but any time they needed wickets Afridi would always deliver..

ODI Stats:
Matches: 398
Runs: 8064
HS: 124
Ave: 23.57
Wickets: 395
5w: 9
Best: 7/12

List A Stats:
Matches: 501
Runs: 10881
HS: 124
Ave: 24.95
Wickets: 510
5w: 11
Best: 7/12

My Team

1. Graham Gooch
2. Desmond Haynes
3. Ricky Ponting (P)
4. James Celestine (L)
5. Saleem Malik
6. Imran Khan (L)
7. Shahid Afridi
8. Daniel Vettori
9. Mluleki Nkala (L)
10. Darren Gough
11. Mustafizur Rahman (L)

So that is my team.. I believe I have a very strong batting line-up, except for James Celestine, that would put on a very strong total under any conditions. Then with my opening bowlers Darren Gough and Mustafizur Rahman with Imran Khan providing support, they should be able to bring down any batsmen in their way, along side Afridi and Vettori for any spin condition... hey even Mluleki picked off Tendulkar on his debut.. so he might get the ball for an over or two. Overall quite happy with how the team came out

@CerealKiller you're next

 

[NILAYSHAH60]

I can see @El Loco and @Aislabie entering a cut throat competition here. You guys have been doing really well.
Even @Yash. was doing quite well but not too sure whether Radford is a perfect choice. Don't feel bad but honestly I never heard about him personally.
@Na Maloom Afraad mate you've messed it up big time.

It all came down to lucky dips that messed up things for most of them.

 

[CerealKiller]

To complete my lineup, a man who made batting look really easy, blocking balls to the boundary with perfect timing, but also had a great reverse sweep, Damien Martyn. He batted in 182 innings, making 5346 runs at an average of 40, but he was a much better batsman than his numbers show, as his Test record proves. He'll be a perfect number 4.

CerealKiller’s XI
1. Sam Hain
2. Martin Crowe
3. Javed Miandad
4. Damien Martyn
5. Sir Clive Lloyd
6. Chris Cairns
7. Wasim Akram
8. Tim Ambrose
9. John Bracewell
10. Makhaya Ntini
11. Chris Martin

Managed to build a just about balanced team. Obviously spin is the weakest link, with Bracewell, but we have a good pace attack, batting depth, great top five, and good finishers in Cairns and Wasim.

@El Loco

 

[Na Maloom Afraad]

@Na Maloom Afraad mate you've messed it up big time.

Yeah...

A couple of bad picks made me question my entire selection policy. The Lucky Dip didn't help at all, but a few blunders messed up everything for me.