Everyone has been pretty amazing. Got all of the picks in within less than 24 hours. Kudos to all.
So this was a round where you could pick anyone. But playing at least 100 Tests meant that everyone who was picked were great. And because it was a recovery round, not a single player was double-picked. You all get your chosen player.
1.
@ddrap14 -
Virender Sehwag
Zero foot movement. That's what struck me about Sehwag's batting ability first up. And yet he'd find a way to crash boundary after boundary with ease. It was unreal, and this is coming from a West Indian here, who has seen his share of zero footwork players simply muscle the ball to the ropes. But with Sehwag, it was different. He could muscle the ball, yes, but he could also finesse it and still get the same results. ddrap, you're quickly amassing a very good team here.
2.
@Neptune -
Viv Richards
There is no more intimidating sight in the world than seeing Viv strut out to the middle with just a cap and chewing his gum. Against the fastest bowlers in the world at the time, indeed, perhaps of any era, he flat out never wore a helmet. He said that he did so once, but it was too restrictive and after that one experiment, he never wore one again. Too restrictive...true, for someone with such quick hands and his playing style, he never needed a helmet. He'd know which shot to play as soon as the ball left the bowler's hand. A great eye, amazing skill, and just the sight of him coming to the crease put fear into many a bowler's mind. You guys can talk about Don, Sachin, Brian...IVA Richards had swagger, persona, everything.
3.
@ahmedleo414 -
Jacques Kallis
You got him this time around. Kallis was pretty much Mr. South Africa for a long time. Part of a team that contained the likes of Smith, Pollock, Ntini, Boucher, and Donald...well, I mean the South Africans truly could be unbeatable when they were on form. As I mentioned prior in this thread, Kallis played absolute textbook cricket - there was very little unorthodox about him. He could bowl at a decent enough pace...maybe fast medium, which is nothing to shake your head at. With the bat, he'd just bat until he felt like it. You had to actually bowl a good ball to get him out more often than not. He'd not be out giving his wicket away.
@CerealKiller -
Javed Miandad
Fun fact about Miandad I just learned from research:
his batting average never fell below 50 for his entire Test career. This is a Round where you
need to pick players that have played at least 100 Tests. Does anyone else realise the significance of that particular statistic? Imran Khan might be Mr. Pakistan, but Miandad is miles ahead of him as far as I'm concerned. No other player can even come close to winning as many matches with the bat in hand than this guy. Pick of the Round, Cereal. (And to think I just about almost posted early, you were the last to pick...figured I'd wait at least 24 hours. Glad I did.)
5.
@Aislabie -
Geoffrey Boycott
Fiery. Weird that a man so set on defense at the crease would get that nickname. Boycs was a man that was often difficult to get out, and he just kept scoring when he could. You had to get very aggressive to even rattle him, or else he'd probably pad you away from now until next week. Warne might have bowled the
ball of the Century, but Fiery faced the over of the Century. Michael Holding, 1981. How the hell he did not die right then and there is beyond me. He just about survived gloving a couple at neck height. Of course he was bowled off of the final ball of the over, but I think even he would say that was probably almost an act of mercy. I genuinely love this pick.
6.
@Yash. -
AB de Villiers
This was, in my opinion, one of the late, great Tony Cozier's favourite players, and that was even before he started wicketkeeping regularly. Coze would never stop talking about him while on commentary. But he had good reasons to admire AB. Not just a great cricketer, he's also good at rugby, tennis, and golf. But if it's cricket you're talking about, I think that AB was truly one of South Africa's best ever players. The ability to play shots to all parts of the park, the catches, the fielding in general. There is that video of
that blind runout that gets a mention now and then, but that one was luck. He's got way too many other amazing attributes as a natural athlete to ignore. At one point, he probably could have represented South Africa in any sport, and excelled at it.
7.
@sanchitgarg -
Sachin Tendulkar
Where to even begin with Sachin? Hell, where to
end with Sachin? The Little Master of the Game, he's simply one of the best that we'll be likely to see within our lifetimes. Okay, Lara made 400. Sachin will give you 4 hundreds back to back to back to back. Consistency was a key asset to his game. He'd play any bowlers almost as if it was a net session - oh, he'd respect the good balls, but just err marginally and he'd punish you. He holds records the likes of which may never be broken. That balance at the crease...only Lara had better balance. Lara could bat big and be flamboyant, Sachin never cared about flamboyancy. He just batted. Almost like a never-ending net session at times.
8.
@Mittal2002 -
Chaminda Vaas
One of my biggest personal regrets is not seeing this guy in person. I'm a left-handed bowler in backyard games, and I always thought that if ever I wanted to bowl fast...he would be the guy to model myself after. Warnakulasuriya Patabendige Joseph Chaminda Vaas (what a name, that's a champion's name right there) bowled his heart out for Sri Lanka at a time when you'd never really consider Sri Lanka to develop seamers. He wasn't out and out fast, but he got movement both through the air and off the seam. He'd always bowl this new ball line to right handers where it would start off outside leg, swing to pitch just on middle and leg at a good length, and then seam back in. But every now and then it might just hold up and get the edge. I'll always say that Chris Gayle is his bunny, at one point Gayle just could not cope with him. In general, left arm seamers don't usually go around the wicket, but he could do that too without looking awkward.
9.
@qpeedore -
Stephen Fleming
I like the guy. When New Zealand were just becoming a threat in Test cricket, he was there. Now New Zealand are arguably the best team in the world. If not for him, they would never have reached these heights. As a captain, he was simply incredible. He new when to rotate bowlers, where to place the field, how to motivate players. As a batsman he was probably without peer during his time. It's a pick more for captaincy more than anything, but his average of 40 with the bat is nothing to ignore either.
Notable misses: (will add, for the third time)
So everyone got their pick with no misses this time around. Let's get things devious.
Round 11
If you need a batsman, it's this: Pick a player who has at least ten 50s to their name, but no centuries.
If you need a bowler, it's this: Pick a player who has at least 100 wickets to their name without ever having 5 in an innings.
If you need a wicketkeeper, it's this: Pick a wicketkeeper with more than 100 catches as a designated keeper, but also has more than 10 stumpings.
Also, if you guys don't mind, check out my
Creative Writing thread.
Good luck.
