Draft: The Mashrafe Mortaza Simulation Draft

[Aislabie]

Spoiler: Brace Yourselves

I put the most successful ODI Captain Ricky Ponting in lottery.

That is a big tactical move - making a top player unavailable to the rest of us trying to put the finishing touches to our sides. Rate that

 

[Sherlock Holmes]

@qpeedore next

 

[qpeedore]

I'll have to move everyone up by one and put Shah down after Ambrose. I don't mind getting him even though his ODI stats don't match his Test stats.

Kane Williamson at three in that case. Nice, breezy strokeplay with runs coming at a very good pace.

1. David Obuya
2. Shivnarine Chanderpaul
3. Kane Williamson
4. Scott Styris
5. Sanwar Hossain
6. Lance Klusener
7. Aijaz Ali
8. Heath Streak
9. Curtly Ambrose
10. Yasir Shah
11. Dwayne Leverock

I don't know if everyone has a keeper yet but it would be funny if Sangakarra carried the drinks for once. He goes into the lottery.

@ddrap14

 

[Sherlock Holmes]

@ddrap14 next followed by @Aislabie 's climax

 

[ddrap14]

1. Sanath Jayasuriya
3. Virat Kohli
4. Rohan Gavaskar
5. Courtney Kruger
6. Michael Bevan
7. Adnan Akmal
8. Naimur Rahman
9. Chaminda Vaas
10. Saqlain Mushtaq
11. Josephat Ababu

To complete my 11 I need an opener who can also bowl. So Shane Watson is the perfect player. 45 batting, 31 bowling. Lovely, lovely, lovely

I considered a tactical twelfth man too but in the end, solely because of the meme factor, Rudi van Vuuren. World Cup Cricketer? Yes. World Cup Rugby..ist? Yes. Conservationist? Yes. Physician? Yes. Five-for against England? Yes. Can he bat? No...

@Aislabie

 

[Aislabie]

Jonny Bairstow

ODI stats - 3,426 runs @ 48.25 (SR: 104.64, 11 centuries, best 141*) and 42 dismissals (40 ct, 2 st) in 86 matches
List A stats - 5,348 runs @ 42.11 (SR: 103.68, 14 centuries, best 174) and 99 dismissals (91 ct, 8 st) in 154 matches

This is the pick I was keeping in my back pocket, although I got a bit worried when people started putting in their tactical 12th Man nominations. Simply the most consistently destructive ODI opening batsman of all time and a better keeper than either Fletcher or Tucker to boot, he takes on both roles and makes my team look a good deal stronger. Allingham moves down to number three, a role he did fulfil for Scotland. All in all I am happy with my team: it's pretty well balanced, and I would back at least two of Bairstow, Symonds, Flintoff and Sobers to propel me to a decent score more often than not.

Aislabie's XI so far:
1. Andre Fletcher (top-order hitter)
2. Jonny Bairstow (top-order hitter/gloveman)
3. Mike Allingham (anchor I guess)
4. Andrew Symonds (middle-order hitter/stock bowler)
5. Andrew Flintoff (middle-order hitter/attacking bowler)
6. Garfield Sobers (middle-order hitter/attacking bowler)
7. Khaled Mahmud (firefighter/stock bowler)
8. Mluleki Nkala (stock bowler)
9. Kwame Tucker (spare part)
10. Joel Garner (death bowler)
11. Shoaib Akhtar (express pace bowler)

And my nomination for the lottery...

Gus Mackay

@El Loco you have your pick before the final lottery and team evaluations

 

[El Loco]

Deliberated over this one for a while but I guess other picks being taken made the decision slightly easier. I'll go with Ian Botham to try and offset the lack of genuine pacers, although it might be too little too late

1. Brian Lara
2. Adam Gilchrist
3. Viv Richards
4. Cheteshwar Pujara
5. Zubin Surkari
6. Ian Botham
7. Michael Yardy
8. Tony Suji
9. Paul Mooney
10. Muttiah Muralitharan
11. Glenn McGrath

Lottery pick: Jacob-Jan Esmeijer

Apologies for the late pick.

 

[Sherlock Holmes]

Looking forward to the lottery and final team reviews by @Aislabie

If possible can you also rate my score outta 10 in the draft?

 

[Aislabie]

LOTTERY SIX

@Aislabie - Ricky Ponting
The great Australian will have to watch on from the sidelines as Mike Allingham goes out to bat at number three.

@ddrap14 - Jacob-Jan Esmeijer
Looking at his batting record, this is probably the right place for one of only two players with both the lowest batting and bowling rating on BLIC 2005.

@CerealKiller - Kumar Sangakkara
Whatever happens to your side during the game, this is the man to send out to the post-match press conference.

@Parth D - Gus Mackay
This'll be fine-leg to fine-leg, like if someone's 10-year-old son gets asked to field at the last minute in a village game.

@qpeedore - Umar Akmal
Your keeper could break a finger and even with the change in regulations to allow it you wouldn't give Akmal the gauntlets in his place.

@El Loco - Rudi van Vuuren
The standard of your team's six-on-six rugby warm-up just improved significantly. Not sure this'll help Tony Suji to bowl straight though.

Team reviews coming soon!

 

[CerealKiller]

@CerealKiller - Kumar Sangakkara
Whatever happens to your side during the game, this is the man to send out to the post-match press conference.

Well, I have my coach, now

 

[ddrap14]

BLIC 2005.

Why does this sound like an offbrand technology convention

 

[Sherlock Holmes]

Well, I have my coach, now

Coaches don't come out to provide water and napkins to players.

 

[CerealKiller]

Coaches don't come out to provide water and napkins to players.

He is an extra kind coach

 

[Aislabie]

1. Andre Fletcher (top-order hitter)
2. Jonny Bairstow (top-order hitter/gloveman)
3. Mike Allingham (anchor I guess)
4. Andrew Symonds (middle-order hitter/stock bowler)
5. Andrew Flintoff (middle-order hitter/attacking bowler)
6. Garfield Sobers (middle-order hitter/attacking bowler)
7. Khaled Mahmud (firefighter/stock bowler)
8. Mluleki Nkala (stock bowler)
9. Kwame Tucker (spare part)
10. Joel Garner (death bowler)
11. Shoaib Akhtar (express pace bowler)

12th man - Ricky Ponting

Lots and lots of hitting power from Bairstow, Symonds, Flintoff and Sobers - even from Lottery pull Andre Fletcher in a pinch. Should outweigh the Allingham influence.
A really nicely balanced bowling attack, even if it doesn't look like Mluleki Nkala is going to do much bowling at all (not his preference).
Seven, eight and nine are all complete passengers if this side plays well - even in the most unbalanced teams, it is best not to be carrying three non-batting non-bowlers.

1. Javed Omar Belim
2. Rohit Sharma
3. Brijal Patel
4. Jos Buttler
5. Imran Khan
6. Shaun Pollock
7. Gerrie Snyman
8. Wasim Akram
9. Waqar Younus
10. Deighton Butler
11. Pommie Mbangwa

12th man - Kumar Sangakkara

Another powerhouse middle order here: everyone from Buttler to Wasim could mess you up proper badly on their day. See also: Rohit.
Also a fantastic set of headline seam bowlers - Wasim, Waqar, Pollock and Imran should have 40 of your 50 overs well and truly covered.
The only weakness of this team is balance - two horribly slow anchors in the top three and no spinners was just the luck of the lottery really.

1. Sanath Jayasuriya
2. Shane Watson
3. Virat Kohli
4. Rohan Gavaskar
5. Courtney Kruger
6. Michael Bevan
7. Adnan Akmal
8. Naimur Rahman
9. Chaminda Vaas
10. Saqlain Mushtaq
11. Josephat Ababu

12th man - Jacob-Jan Esmeijer

Massively dynamic top three - I rate that extremely highly, especially with Michael Bevan to follow a little later on.
Not many of us concentrated on picking a really good specialist spinner, which means you had the opportunity to pick up Saqlain Mushtaq who will embarrass most of our lottery pulls.
There is a definite lack of pace in this bowling attack though; it's between Chaminda Vaas and Shane Watson to be this team's quickest bowler - at his fastest Watson was quicker, but by the time he became truly destructive as a batsman his body had fallen to bits. LOTS of spin though - just a different strategy.

1. Brian Lara
2. Adam Gilchrist
3. Viv Richards
4. Cheteshwar Pujara
5. Zubin Surkari
6. Ian Botham
7. Michael Yardy
8. Tony Suji
9. Paul Mooney
10. Muttiah Muralitharan
11. Glenn McGrath

12th man - Rudi van Vuuren

That is a powerhouse top order: Lara, Gilchrist, Richards and Che Pujara - two of those players being especially dynamic for their era - should keep the fragile batsmen nice and safe. Probably rearrange the order to Che, Gilly, Lara and Viv for better results though.
Glenn McGrath and Muttiah Muralitharan. Go and build a bowling attack around them why don't you.
I'm a bit of an Ian Botham truther - that truth being that he was a bang-average one-day cricketer - so I view that pick a bit unfavourably. He also has a tough job here being smack ni the middle of Surkari, Yardy, Suji and Mooney. Unenviable.

1. Sachin Tendulkar
2. Ian Philip
3. Jacques Kallis
4. Mohammad Ashraful
5. AB de Villiers
6. Alok Kapali
7. Kapil Dev
8. Daniel Vettori
9. Berend Westdijk
10. Lasith Malinga
11. Lionel Baker

12th man - Gus Mackay

Your star players are dotted throughout the side - Tendulkar, Kallis, AB, Kapil, Vettori and Malinga pretty much cover most of the key roles in the side.
AB de Villiers batting in middle order is absolutely the most valuable any player has ever been in any role in ODI cricket.
20 of your overs will come from suboptimal bowlers - Sachin, Kallis, Kapali, Westdijk and Baker will cover the overs, but not to the level of an Imran Khan or similar.

(You also asked me to rate your performance in this draft out of 10. I'll go 8, because although you never made any wrong picks, I did get the impression that your team could have been better if you'd gone in a different direction than Dan Vettori. But every pick you made had good reasoning so I can't mark you harshly. I'd rate myself lower than an 8 on this one.)

1. David Obuya
2. Shivnarine Chanderpaul
3. Kane Williamson
4. Scott Styris
5. Sanwar Hossain
6. Lance Klusener
7. Aijaz Ali
8. Heath Streak
9. Curtly Ambrose
10. Yasir Shah
11. Dwayne Leverock

12th man - Umar Akmal

Even two of your lottery picks did good things for your bowling line-up: Yasir Shah and Dwayne Leverock isn't perfect, but it is a more than adequate spin attack.
Peak Lance Klusener will always be of benefit to a one-day team; 199-spec Klusener averaged 95 at over a run a ball. Him be good at cricket.
Honestly, a bit of a lack of hitting power. Good as he was, Klusener wasn't great at six - better in the top three or bottom five - but beyond him there are a lot of players with strike rates of under 80 - second-fastest scorer in your team is Kanos.

 

[El Loco]

Just thankful I was somewhat fortunate with the lottery picks tbh otherwise I probably wouldn't have a middle order to speak of at all.