Draft: The Panesar Draft

[Yash.]

1. Jimmy Cook
2. ?
3. Brad Hodge
4. Saait Magiet
   
5. Franklyn Stephenson
   
6. George Pope
   
7. Barney Gibson
   
8. Francis Otieno
   
9. Maharaj of Vizianagram
   
10. Michael Beer
    
11. Anurag Thakur

My batting is super thin with only Jimmy Cook, Brad Hodge, and possibly the second opener as proper batsmen. Thankfully, I have 40 caps to play with.

 

[Yash.]

@Nilay_60 its been more than 24 hours so you can go ahead (i think)

 

[Bevab]

Babar Azam and Cec Pepper will be my final picks. Obviously not the best picks one could make but they were two names that popped up and will suffice for me given current circumstances in personal life.

@Nilay_60 has the next pick if I'm right.

 

[Aislabie]

Obviously not the best picks one could make but they were two names that popped up and will suffice for me given current circumstances in personal life.

No worries, just look after yourself and stay well

 

[NILAYSHAH60]

Colin de Grandhomme
​

de Grandhomme means "A big man" and that is what Colin de Grandhomme is. A player well capable a clearing boundaries quite comfortably and at the same time he can grind himself out in tricky situation while batting. He is someone who can also bowl long spells and can get some important wickets for his side. He is probably next to Ben Stokes in my view who still has a long way to go. A player who could prove to be very important to his side in all 3-formats of the game. He will bat a no.6 in my side.

Spoiler: Stats

Stats | Matches | Runs | Average | 50/100| Top Score| Balls Bowled| Runs | Wickets | Average| SR| Economy| BBI | 5w | 10w
First-Class | 110 | 5,694 |36.72| 34/12 | 144*| 11,985| 5,385 | 180| 29.91 | 66.5| 2.69 | 6/24 | 2| 0|
Tests | 24| 1,185| 37.03| 8/1| 105| 3,683| 1,487 | 47| 31.63 | 78.3 | 2.42| 6/41| 1| 0|

@Nilay_60 's XI

Aakash Chopra (U)
A.N. Hornby (U)
Shreyas Iyer (0)
Amol Muzumdar (0)
Ben Foakes (5)
Colin de Grandhomme (24)
Alec Douglas-Home (U)
Harold Larwood (21)
Bill Bell (U)
Ranjan Das (U)
Rajinder Goel (0)

Caps used- 50/50

So here I have used my entire Caps limit to find the best side I wanted to have. I had just reconsidered my decision of opening with Iyer and I wasn't much convinced and since Hornby can't bowl so I felt that I had to make a place to have an additional all-rounder who could bat so Hornby moves back to the top of the order. I feel like we have a strong middle who are bound to score runs in difficult conditions so that is not a worry. Fast bowling apart from Larwood doesn't inspire much of confidence. I think the spin attack is good as Bell can restrict the flow of runs while Goel can attack the batsman from the other end with flighted deliveries and his variations. I wanted to have Vijay Merchant but as I said before I wanted to have Larwood so gone with him. I would nominate Amol Muzumdar as the Captain. I feel like I have one of the most decent sides. So this is my team.

I would like to sign off with this last pick of mine.

@El Loco

 

[El Loco]

In behind the sticks will be Warwickshire legend Geoff Humpage. As a batsmen his attacking style was a joy to behold and his middle order hitting earned him 3 ODI caps, however partaking in the 82 South Africa rebel tour effectively ended his international prospects.
At one point, aside from Leslie Ames and Jim Parks, Humpage had scored the most runs ever as a keeper in a first class season.

1. John Langridge
2. Ajay Sharma
3. Ranjitsinhji
4. Vinod Kambli
5. Phil Mead
6. Geoff Humpage
7. Peter Sainsbury
8. Brijal Patel
9. Pankaj Singh
10. Alfred Luseno
11. Chris Martin

@Na Maloom Afraad

 

[Master Bates]

In behind the sticks will be Warwickshire legend Geoff Humpage. As a batsmen his attacking style was a joy to behold and his middle order hitting earned him 3 ODI caps, however partaking in the 82 South Africa rebel tour effectively ended his international prospects.
At one point, aside from Leslie Ames and Jim Parks, Humpage had scored the most runs ever as a keeper in a first class season.

1. John Langridge
2. Ajay Sharma
3. Ranjitsinhji
4. Vinod Kambli
5. Phil Mead
6. Geoff Humpage
7. Peter Sainsbury
8. Brijal Patel
9. Pankaj Singh
10. Alfred Luseno
11. Chris Martin

@Na Maloom Afraad

The keeper I talked about in one of my older posts. Did you find him yourself or decipher the text?

 

[Na Maloom Afraad]

Alan Jones will complete my team. Please note this is not the player that ahmedleo414 picked. This is the opening batsman from Wales. The highest run-scorer in the history of first-class cricket to never officially play a Test match.

"The uncapped One-Test wonder | ESPNCricinfo.com"

The man represented England in one Test match, that being against 'Rest of the World' in 1970. Those matches have since been stripped of their 'Test' match status, making him the highest run-scorer in first-class history to never OFFICIALLY play a Test. In his only 'Test', he scored 5 and 0 on debut at Lord's, nicking Mike Procter to Farokh Engineer both times, and never played for England again.

|Matches|Innings|Not outs|

RUNS

|

HS

|Average|100s|50s

- First-Class - |645|1168|72| - 36,049 - | - 204* - |32.89|56|194

"All cricket, certainly the British county scene and, above all, the Welsh game, are much poorer for the retirement of Alan Jones. Glamorgan's major batsman for more than 20 years, he scored more runs and more centuries, made a thousand in a season more often, than any other player in the county's history, and shared in the record stand for any wicket."

"It is strange that he should have set so many records, for he was never a record-chaser. It is, though, a savage irony that his only selection for England was in the massive con trick - as cynical as any ever pulled in cricket - which called the England v The Rest of the World fixtures of 1970 `Test matches'. So, like Don Shepherd, he was never to play for England; these two Welshmen must be the finest cricketers of the post-war - or perhaps any other - period never to win a Test cap."

"Alan Jones was a splendid county cricketer. Contented and conscientious as his county's senior pro, he did not aspire to power; but twice, at Glamorgan's need, he took over the captaincy in characteristically dutiful fashion. Nothing flashy or risky, of course; all according to the book, but he was unfailingly sympathetic towards the younger players, many of whom flourished more handsomely under him than at any other time. He took that post most notably in 1977, after the most violent upheaval inside the team, and throughout the membership, that Glamorgan had ever known."

"Alan Jones did not merely compel respect, he alone seemed above any suspicion. He lifted a side afflicted with self-doubt not simply to self-respect, but to the final of the Gillette Cup. Always, though, he was happy to hand over control and return to concentrate on what he saw as his real purpose, that of making runs - Glamorgan runs, of course."

"Fundamentally correct and determined, he created the left-hander's stock impression of heavy-handedness. In addition to all the shifts and nudges of the opening batsman against the new ball, he played with controlled power though the arc between cover point and mid-on. At need, too, he could push the scoring rate along by resource rather than slogging. Modest, kind, cheerful, personable, invariably fit, he will be difficult, if not impossible, to replace, and few will match his 36,049 runs."

- - -

Let's see how my finished team looks. This HAS to be the best team I've ever built in a draft.

NMA's PANESAR XI

Alan Jones ( 0)
Jim Parks Sr. ( 1)
Graeme Pollock ( 23)
Robert Whyte (UD)
Aubrey Faulkner ( 25)
Bart King ( 0)
Kyle Mills (UD)
Rony Stanyforth (UD)
Sridharan Jeganathan (UD)
Charlie Parker ( 1)
Mark Lawrence (UD)

TEST CAPS USED (50/50)

I think I did well enough. I'm probably a good middle-order batsman short, but I think all other departments are sound. I have a right-hand/left-hand opening combo in Jim Parks and Alan Jones. A solid number three in Graeme Pollock, not-so-solid follow-up in Robert Whyte at four. I've decided to move Aubrey Faulkner to number five instead of four because his stats as a batsman are better at that position. He's scored 622 runs at number three, and 655 runs at number five. He could only manage 116 runs at number four. With three occupied, I'm gonna put him at five. Bart King and Kyle Mills are my six and seven, and yes, I know it isn't exactly an ideal batting line when Kyle Mills is your number seven. But seeing other teams in the draft, I think I'm far better off for him having. Rony Stanyforth, a 'Panesar' at eight. He'll be the defecto wicket-keeper. Sridharan Jeganathan and Charlie Parker is my spin attack, and Mark Lawrence is also there. With Parker as my lead spinner (hopefully Jeganathan gets given as few overs as possible), and King, Faulkner, Mills as my fast-bowling trio, I think my bowling attack is set. Jim Parks to be the fifth bowler.

I just don't know who the captain should be.

- - -

@CerealKiller, you're next

 

[ahmedleo414]

Alan Jones will complete my team. Please note this is not the player that ahmedleo414 picked. This is the opening batsman from Wales. The highest run-scorer in the history of first-class cricket to never officially play a Test match.
@CerealKiller, you're next

erhm....... granted it was a different draft....

 

[Na Maloom Afraad]

erhm....... granted it was a different draft....

You gotta be kidding me.

 

[CerealKiller]

My final pick is one of the greatest players never to play Test cricket, one of many victims of the sheer abundance of talent in Australia in the 90s and 2000s, Jamie Siddons. His first-class stats may not look legendary, but he played in the world’s toughest domestic tournament, the Sheffield Shield, full of great players, and he didn’t play County Cricket, which, going by how good he was, probably would’ve allowed him to boost his average by as much as 10. Shane Warne even ranked him among the 100 greatest players ever.
FC stats : 11587 runs at 44, in 160 matches

CerealKiller’s XI
1. Raja Maharaj Singh UD
2. Archie Jackson (8)
3. K.S Duleepsinhji (12)
4. Jamie Siddons (0)
5. Stuart Law (1)
6. Wasim Haider UD
7. Garth le Roux (0)
8. Sanaullah Khan UD
9. Jack Blatherwick UD
10. Bill O'Reilly (27)
11. Pommie Mbangwa UD

Caps : 48/50

@deleted member

 

[ahmedleo414]

@deleted member missed his 24 hours deadline. @Aislabie is next

 

[Aislabie]

My pick is... John Wisden

First-class stats: 4,140 runs @ 14.20 (2 centuries, best 148) and 1,109 wickets @ 10.32 (111 5WI, best 10/58) in 186 matches

Yeah, Wisden as in Wisden. John Wisden's name has been overshadowed by his eponymous almanac, but at the time of his retirement he was cricket's greatest ever player. He is unique in being the only player ever to clean bowl all ten batsmen in a first-class innings - and he did it in one of the three most prestigious cricketing fixtures of the day: for the South against the North in 1850 (the other two fixtures in that list were Gentlemen vs Players and the All-England Eleven).

He wasn't just a bowler either: his career-best 148 against Yorkshire was his only one of the 1855 season, but in fairness to him it was the only century scored by anybody in the 1855 season - such was pre-Grace cricket. WG was at the time playing against his brothers in the garden of The Chestnuts, aged only seven. Wisden also had a great many years of cricket ahead of him, retiring from professional cricket to begin publishing his almanac. Unlike Grace, John Wisden was a tiny man who stood at just 5' 4", and weighed less than half what WG did.

@Aislabie 's XI so far:
1. Alan Melville (11 caps)
2. Frank Tarrant (0 caps)
3. George Headley (22 caps)
4. Marnus Labuschagne (14 caps)
5. Sabbir Rahman (L)
6. Bill Alley (0 caps)
7. George Codrington (L)
8. John Wisden (0 caps)
9. Susantha Karunaratne (L)
10. Alamgir Kabir (L)
11. Seymour Clark (L)

Cap count: 47/50

And that concludes my team. Honestly, we lack an express pace bowler. I was very tempted to pick out somebody like a Duncan Spencer for my side, but the generally pace-off approach does lend itself to making the most of Seymour Clark's wicket-keeping. Marnus and Melville will likely both turn their arms over quite a bit, while we must hope that Karunaratne and Codrington don't especially need to.

Next pick: @ahmedleo414

I'll likely finish the draft by making a few auto picks for @DalePlaysCricket while his attention is rightly on more important things than this silliness.

 

[ahmedleo414]

My final pick goes to Giff Vivian

Stats|Matches|Runs|Top Score| Ave|100s/50s|Wkts|BBI|BBM| Ave| Econ|5w/10w
First-Class |85|4,443|165|34.71|6/31|223|6/49|?|27.64|2.35|12/2
Test |7|421|100|42.1|1/5|17|4/58|4/73|37.23|2.89|0/0

A little bio from cricinfo:

"Henry Gifford Vivian, who died in Auckland on August 12, 1983, aged 70, was only 18 years 267 days when, as a left-handed allrounder of much natural ability, he played in the first of his seven Tests for New Zealand. That was at The Oval in 1931, and, besides taking the wickets of Sutcliffe and Ames, he was top scorer, in New Zealand's second innings, with 51. His record on that tour (1,002 runs and 64 wickets) included centuries against Oxford University and Yorkshire. At Wellington in 1931-32, against South Africa, he scored 100 (his only Test century) and 73, the highest score in each innings. On his second tour to England, in 1937, he opened New Zealand's innings in the three Test matches, three times reaching 50. A charming person and welcoming host, he had been only 22 when appointed to the captaincy of Auckland. By the time a back injury ended his first-class career and confined him to the game's administration--he did not play after the Second World War--he had scored 4,443 runs (average 34.71), including six centuries, the highest of them 165 for Auckland against Wellington in 1931-32, and taken 223 wickets. He also played with success in the late 30s for Sir Julien Cahn's XI. His son, Graham, played five times for New Zealand between 1964 and 1972."

Test Caps used: 50/50

My Team:

1. W.G. Grace (22 caps)
2. Charles "Jack" Russell (10 caps)
3. Wally Edwards
4. Giff Vivian (7 caps)
5. Billy Wade (11 caps)
6. Nawaz Sharif
7. Wilbur Slabber
8. Brian Vitori
9. Ajit de Silva
10. Don Shepherd (0 caps)
11. Allan Jones (0 caps)

That completes my team, while there are some "Panesar" players on there for sure, I feel like I've hidden them well amonths my picks.

W.G. Grace would lead the team, and our bowling attack will start with Shepherd and Jones

@DalePlaysCricket is to be next, but i believe he is unavailable, as such @blockerdave should go next

 

[blockerdave]

OK, my last pick is RAMAN SUBBA ROW. A solid opener who could bat in the middle order too, Subba Row played 13 test matches for England, scoring 984 runs at 46.85 with 3 centuries and 4 50s. He only played 22 inns, so that's nearly a 3rd of his inns going to over 50.

He will form a very good right hand/left hand opening partnership with Barry Richards. Richards is the attacker, Subba Row can be more of an anchor allowing the rest of our very strong top 5 to play around him.

We will need to score very heavily with that top 5 to put scoreboard pressure on the opposition. Sreesanth and Jefferies are a decent new ball pair, but it's not overly strong behind that. Both Barry Richards (off spin) and Subba Row (leg spin) will likely need to turn their arm over.

1. Barry Richards (4)
2. Raman Subba Row (13)
3. Shantanu Sugwekar (0)
4. Eddie Paynter (20)
5. Ollie Pope (7)
6. Roland Pope
7. Stephen Jefferies (0)
8. Clive Rose
9. Sreesanth
10. Mohammod Khalil
11. George Gladstone Marais

[DOUBLEPOST=1588749994][/DOUBLEPOST]@Master Bates is up next