Draft: The Panesar Draft

[Samarth27.09]

I will be glad to welcome Michael Di Venuto to my team

Michael Di Venuto
​

Michael Di Venuto was a fine left-handed batsman for Tasmania in the ’90s. While he did play nine one-day internationals, his first-class batting record had him amass over 24,000 runs at an average of 46.

Yet, he never made it into Australia's Test Team, ever.

In 2013, Di Venuto was appointed the Australian national cricket team's full-time batting coach by head coach Mickey Arthur. In January 2016, due to an illness to incumbent coach Darren Lehmann, Di Venuto was appointed senior coach for the T20I series against India. In February 2016 Di Venuto joined Surrey County Cricket Club as head coach.

Spoiler: Di Venuto's Stats

Spoiler: Test Cap Count

Test Caps Used: 0/50

[DOUBLEPOST=1587383738][/DOUBLEPOST]@Aislabie Sir, You are next.

 

[Bevab]

Di Venuto was one of the names on my shortlist. A fine pick for uncapped openers indeed.

 

[NILAYSHAH60]

Di Venuto was one of the names on my shortlist. A fine pick for uncapped openers indeed.

Wow you even have a list . I am here just randomly looking at Cricinfo and Wikipedia to select players .

 

[Na Maloom Afraad]

Wow you even have a list . I am here just randomly looking at Cricinfo and Wikipedia to select players .

Same here!

 

[Samarth27.09]

Di Venuto was one of the names on my shortlist. A fine pick for uncapped openers indeed.

Thanks man!

You got Virat Kohli, though...

 

[Aislabie]

My pick is... George Headley

Test stats: 2,190 runs @ 60.83 (10 centuries, best 270*) in 22 matches
First-class stats: 9,921 runs @ 69.86 (33 centuries, best 344*) in 103 matches

I had been really struggling to choose between Headley and Graeme Pollock, so with one gone I'll pick up the other. The Panamanian-Jamaican right-hander is one of the very finest batsmen cricket has ever seen, made all the more remarkable for his deeply unlikely origin story. The other remarkable thing about Headley is that his figures don't actually do his career justice: yes he averaged 60, but prior to World War Two - and therefore excluding the games he played well past his physical and cricketing peak - he averaged nearer 70. An absolutely monstrous batsman; I'd say probably the best available in the entire draft.

@Aislabie 's XI so far:
1.
2. Frank Tarrant (0 caps)
3. George Headley (22 caps)
4.
5. Sabbir Rahman (L)
6.
7. George Codrington (L)
8.
9. Susantha Karunaratne (L)
10. Alamgir Kabir (L)
11. Seymour Clark (L)

Cap count: 22/50

Next pick: @ahmedleo414

 

[ahmedleo414]

My Next pick goes to Allan Jones

Stats|Matches|Wickets|BBI|Average|Economy|SR|5w|10w
First-Class|214|549|9/51|28.07|3.08|54.5|53|3|

​

A little bio from cricinfo:

"Allan Jones was the archetypal county journeyman, plying his trade as a brisk fast-medium bowler with four counties (in an era when any switch between sides was commented on) as well as spending two seasons in South Africa. Tall and wiry, Jones was accurate and often let out an audible grunt when bowling and he had no pretensions as either a batsman or a fielder. His most successful spell was with Middlesex when he formed an effective new-ball partnership with Mike Selvey to help guide the county to their first title in 27 years. That summer was also Jones's best, his 71 wickets coming at 22.90. The arrival of Wayne Daniel limited his appearances, as did a back injury, and he finished at Glamorgan."

Test Caps used: 0/50

@DalePlaysCricket you are next

 

[Ed Smith]

Glen Chapple for me.
One of the finest to ever play for Lancashire, Chapple notched 8,725 runs and 985 wickets in first-class cricket, but never once donned Test whites. His only international appearance, in fact, came in an ODI in 2006 against Ireland in Belfast. He scored a 13-ball 20* and then bowled four overs before succumbing to injury. He never played for England again, but built a reputation as a fine seam bowler, a handy batsman and a trusty leader.




Clive Rice
Glen Chapple
Mehrab Hossain
Philip Hutchinson
Aijaz Ali
Mason Crane
Rubel Hossain

@blockerdave

 

[blockerdave]

As a lot of my initial choices have gone, I'm going a bit different to everyone else...

Seems to have been a focus on people who either didn't play tests for what reason, or played few. Nobody has gone for good players now who have just started their careers.

"Needs must when the devil farts in your face..." in the immortal words of Edmund Blackadder, so as I need multi-faceted players, including a keeper, I'm going for Ollie Pope.

He'll bat 5 and keep wicket for me.

@Master Bates

 

[Bevab]

My pick is... George Headley

Knew it was unlikely to ever get the chance to pick him, but he was still the number one choice for my next pick. Fantastic pick and I agree that he might be the best batsman that was a realistic option in the draft.

 

[Bevab]

Wow you even have a list . I am here just randomly looking at Cricinfo and Wikipedia to select players .

That is the very scientific method I am relying on to pick my players too as I'm unlikely to pursue uncapped wonders anymore.

The list isn't extensive either, it has just around ten players per position... god help me

 

[Bevab]

As a lot of my initial choices have gone, I'm going a bit different to everyone else...

Seems to have been a focus on people who either didn't play tests for what reason, or played few. Nobody has gone for good players now who have just started their careers.

It is incredibly surprising that more picks have not been from currently active players as we all have more knowledge of them obviously and the selection pool for such players is actually better than I believed it to be. I suspect more keeper batsmen will be from the modern era as most ones with international honours and skill with the bat are from this era. Which is why I was surprised that Irvine wasn't picked before my turn.

 

[Aislabie]

Knew it was unlikely to ever get the chance to pick him, but he was still the number one choice for my next pick. Fantastic pick and I agree that he might be the best batsman that was a realistic option in the draft.

I suspect he was quite a lot of people's next pick, but that we were all trying to sneak in just one more player if we could before blowing our budgets. I decided I couldn't really afford to risk it though for a player that good - the same way I couldn't afford to risk losing out on Tarrant early on.

The list isn't extensive either, it has just around ten players per position... god help me

I'm impressed - my list is only about five players per role; I feel like the role where I'll end up losing out will be my second top order batsman at number four. I'm torn between two options for my next pick, but I'll be absolutely shocked if one of them doesn't go in about the next half-dozen picks. There's still a lot of quality players out there.

It is incredibly surprising that more picks have not been from currently active players as we all have more knowledge of them obviously and the selection pool for such players is actually better than I believed it to be.

I would agree with this; I think part of the issue is with the presumption that players play a lot more games nowadays. And if we're so familiar with these players then maybe we assume that they've played a lot more cricket than they actually have? It's a very interesting dynamic, especially with a particular uncapped batsman who's not been taken yet.

 

[Master Bates]

My pick is... George Headley

Test stats: 2,190 runs @ 60.83 (10 centuries, best 270*) in 22 matches
First-class stats: 9,921 runs @ 69.86 (33 centuries, best 344*) in 103 matches

I had been really struggling to choose between Headley and Graeme Pollock, so with one gone I'll pick up the other. The Panamanian-Jamaican right-hander is one of the very finest batsmen cricket has ever seen, made all the more remarkable for his deeply unlikely origin story. The other remarkable thing about Headley is that his figures don't actually do his career justice: yes he averaged 60, but prior to World War Two - and therefore excluding the games he played well past his physical and cricketing peak - he averaged nearer 70. An absolutely monstrous batsman; I'd say probably the best available in the entire draft.

@Aislabie 's XI so far:
1.
2. Frank Tarrant (0 caps)
3. George Headley (22 caps)
4.
5. Sabbir Rahman (L)
6.
7. George Codrington (L)
8.
9. Susantha Karunaratne (L)
10. Alamgir Kabir (L)
11. Seymour Clark (L)

Cap count: 22/50

Next pick: @ahmedleo414

And I thought I can get him...

 

[Master Bates]

The biggest problem for me while deciding this pick is that my lower-order just sucks. And I need at least two people capable of bowling pace but also with batting abilities. But then I can't compromise on batting because it is my best chance in bringing strong players. With all this in mind, I bring you my next pick- Allan Steel

From ESPN: "An outstanding allrounder, rated by his peers as second only to WG Grace, Allan Steel made the first Test hundred at Lord's, 148 to inspire England to victory over Australia in 1884. He played in eight Tests between 1880 and 1888, averaging 35 with the bat and 20 with the ball. Although primarily a bastman, he was highly rated in his early years as a slow-medium bowler, and in 1878 headed the All England averages with 164 wickets."
Test Caps - 20/50

Dion Ebrahim




Mike Procter
Allan Steel
Walter Giffen
Sajedul Islam
Monty Panesar
Euan McIntyre

@Yash. double picks time!