World Test Team

[smssia0112]

Sorry but I refuse to jump on the Mendis bandwagon after a year of dominating in the subcontinent. Until he succeeds in English and Australian conditions, I will not call him the superstar everyone else seems to be. He is certainly very talented with his wide range of deliveries and styles, but he is still too young and inexperienced to possibly justify his selection in a world test team. 3 tests, all in the best spinning conditions against the same side, and you honestly think he should be in a world test XI?

I feel the need to bring that up since no one has responded to it but people are still putting him in their World test XI. I still don't see how anyone can justify putting him in their world test XI after 3 tests.

 

[manee]

3 Tests in which he took 26 wickets, against India (rather than a Bangladesh or Zimbabwe), backed up by his superb First Class record is enough justification in most people's book.

 

[irottev]

Krejza took 12 wickets against India in India. Heck, picking Mendis on those games is absurd.

 

[mattfb]

I feel the need to bring that up since no one has responded to it but people are still putting him in their World test XI. I still don't see how anyone can justify putting him in their world test XI after 3 tests.

For most people, the World XI Team they do is from current form and they change it around. So judging by that, Mendis does deserve to be in the teams because 26 wickets in 3 matches is a superb record and he's clearly in top form.

 

[Cricketman]

1. Virender Sehwag
2. Gautam Gambhir
3. Simon Katich
4. Kevin Pietersen
5. Sachin Tendulkar
6. Shivnarene Chanderpaul
7. MS Dhoni
8. Mitchell Johnson
9. Zaheer Khan
10. Muttiah Muralitharan
11. Ajantha Mendis/Dale Steyn (pitch)

Batting order doesn't fly for me. Sachin Tendulkar should keep his number 4 spot and Shiv is too slow of a batsman to be his best at number 6. Move Sachin to 4, Chanders 5 and KP 6 and you've got yourself a winning team right there.

I might put Laxman ahead of of Katich too, seeing that he's been averaging over 50 and has over a 1000 runs over the last year.

 

[Dare]

Krejza took 12 wickets against India in India. Heck, picking Mendis on those games is absurd.

well he has a series against Pakistan coming up so once he runs thru that team that will make his selection even more justified. For us that have selected him anyway, we will see where he ends up by the end of the year and than allot of you are going to end up as quotes in someones signature.

 

[sohum]

Krejza took 12 wickets against India in India. Heck, picking Mendis on those games is absurd.

Except if you actually watched the games. Compare Mendis' bowling to Krejza's bowling. Krejza leaked over 300 runs whereas Mendis clearly had the stick over the Indians. The Indians never really took Krejza's bowling seriously whereas with Mendis they weren't even trying to attack him.

 

[King Cricket]

Except if you actually watched the games. Compare Mendis' bowling to Krejza's bowling. Krejza leaked over 300 runs whereas Mendis clearly had the stick over the Indians. The Indians never really took Krejza's bowling seriously whereas with Mendis they weren't even trying to attack him.

Krejza has become a superstar overnight. Poor chap! Everyone is looking at those "8" wickets he took in his debut, nobody seems to remember that he conceded more than 200 runs in that same test in a single innings, Only the second to do so after Binga.

 

[mattfb]

Everyone remembers the runs he conceeded, but thats not important. It seems your forgetting we needed wickets at all costs, and he took nearly the whole team out for just 200 runs. If he were a team, he would be in a top position.

 

[smssia0112]

Except if you actually watched the games. Compare Mendis' bowling to Krejza's bowling. Krejza leaked over 300 runs whereas Mendis clearly had the stick over the Indians. The Indians never really took Krejza's bowling seriously whereas with Mendis they weren't even trying to attack him.

He had the wood over one team, does that make him in the top 11 test cricketers in the world? The answer is no. You can not select someone in a world test XI after 3 tests, regardless of how good they were. The factors you're leaving out are endless. He's only played against one team, and all in the same spin friendly conditions. There is no doubting he's a better bowler than Krejza, but he's not in the top 4 or 5 bowlers in the world. End of.

aus5892 added 5 Minutes and 5 Seconds later...

well he has a series against Pakistan coming up so once he runs thru that team that will make his selection even more justified. For us that have selected him anyway, we will see where he ends up by the end of the year and than allot of you are going to end up as quotes in someones signature.

And if he does destroy Pakistan, who haven't played a test in about a year now and would probably be bamboozled by Ashley Giles with their match practice and fitness, it still won't make him good enough to be selected in The World Test XI. He still won't have bowled to South Africa or Australia (or a lot of other nations), nor will he have bowled in unfriendly conditions.

Right now for all we know he's a novelty like Paul Adams and when it wears off he will become more predictable and playable.

 

[manee]

He had the wood over one team, does that make him in the top 11 test cricketers in the world? The answer is no. You can not select someone in a world test XI after 3 tests, regardless of how good they were. The factors you're leaving out are endless. He's only played against one team, and all in the same spin friendly conditions. There is no doubting he's a better bowler than Krejza, but he's not in the top 4 or 5 bowlers in the world. End of.

You simply cannot make such a snap judgment to say that he is not in the top 4 or 5 bowlers in the world. Perhaps it is a snap judgment to say that he definitely is. The point is that the skills he displayed on the series combined with a superb First Class career show that, within Sri Lanka, he is the second best, or perhaps currently, the best, bowler within Sri Lankan soil. How he performs outside Sri Lanka will of course be the ultimate decider, but it is key that he is not a bowler reliant on spin, despite having a heavy spinning off break, he is more reliant on subtle variations in pace and drift (two things which has been endlessly neglected by the media despite being major weapons for bat pads) and the one that straightens ever so slightly.

It is no doubt primarily a talent assessment, rather than a statistical assessment, and this many may vehemently object to, but I think that it is a fair talent assessment.

manee added 2 Minutes and 19 Seconds later...

Krejza took 12 wickets against India in India. Heck, picking Mendis on those games is absurd.

You cannot compare one good Test to three comprising on of the most impressive series performances of all time. Moreover, as I have stated below, it is certainly a talent assessment rather than a primarily statistical one.

manee added 0 Minutes and 44 Seconds later...

Right now for all we know he's a novelty like Paul Adams and when it wears off he will become more predictable and playable.

But we have seen him bowl, and he is far more skill than novelty.

 

[Cricketman]

Just having some fun:

Left-handers XI -

Greame Smith
Chris Gayle
Gautam Gambhir
Mike Hussey
Shiv Chanderpaul
Kumar Sangakkara
Simon Katich
Daniel Vettori
Mitchell Johnson
Zaheer Khan
Ryan Sidebottom

 

[irottev]

That's a pretty decent eleven too. That's pretty cool. Not sure about the batting order but nevertheless.

Oram as all-rounder perhaps.

 

[ZoraxDoom]

Nah, Oram bowls right-handed.

 

[smssia0112]

You simply cannot make such a snap judgment to say that he is not in the top 4 or 5 bowlers in the world. Perhaps it is a snap judgment to say that he definitely is. The point is that the skills he displayed on the series combined with a superb First Class career show that, within Sri Lanka, he is the second best, or perhaps currently, the best, bowler within Sri Lankan soil. How he performs outside Sri Lanka will of course be the ultimate decider, but it is key that he is not a bowler reliant on spin, despite having a heavy spinning off break, he is more reliant on subtle variations in pace and drift (two things which has been endlessly neglected by the media despite being major weapons for bat pads) and the one that straightens ever so slightly.

It is no doubt primarily a talent assessment, rather than a statistical assessment, and this many may vehemently object to, but I think that it is a fair talent assessment.

manee added 2 Minutes and 19 Seconds later...



You cannot compare one good Test to three comprising on of the most impressive series performances of all time. Moreover, as I have stated below, it is certainly a talent assessment rather than a primarily statistical one.

manee added 0 Minutes and 44 Seconds later...



But we have seen him bowl, and he is far more skill than novelty.

A great first class career in a weak system. Maybe he is one of Sri Lanka's best bowlers, but does that make him in the top 4 or 5 bowlers in the world? I've said it over and over, no matter how impressive he was against India it's too early to make that call. Michael Clarke took 6-9 in an innings against India, Jason Krejza took 12 wickets in a match, both in their debut series. Now I'm not saying that Mendis doesn't look better or perform better more consistently, but he's still not in the top 5 test bowlers in the world.

I don't understand why it isn't more simple - you can't call someone one of the best in the world when they've only played against one team!