KM
I’m afraid I just blue myself
- Joined
- Sep 18, 2008
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Aldoraine's team summary
Team : Pitch Campers
Mark Taylor : 19 hundreds, over 7k runs ata healthy average of 52 at the top of the order, highest score of 334 and to add to that, one of the best captains and slip fielders of all time.
Herschelle Gibbs : Complimenting Taylor, an aggressive player capable of scoring quick runs and has an average of 48 at his position in the team.
Mahela Jayawardene : Averaging over 50 in his career, 10K runs, another good captain and slip fielder, solid man, can stay on the pitch for hours.
Steve Waugh : Captain of the team, exceptional batsman and leader, can guide the team out of trouble in the toughest of situations, averages over 51, excellent with the tail, can bowl whenever needed.
Andy Flower : One of the best players of spin, exceptional keeper and batsman, again averaging over 51 and can play long innings without losing concentration.
Arjuna Ranatunga : A thorn in the path of many bowling attacks, stuck to the wicket like a leech. Adds to the list of great leaders in the team.
Paul Collingwood : Fairly modern compared to the rest, but very competitive. Useful batsman down the order with the odd big score and more then capable of providing a breakthrough.
Merv Hughes : Leading the Aussie attack for many games, the great moustache man brings a lot of fire and hunger to the bowling attack. Averaging 28, which isnt that bad, and 212 wickets in 53 games.
Matthew Hoggard : Sharing the attack with Hughes, full of energy and ability to move the ball,almost 250 wickets to his name.
Vernon Philander : Second fastest to reach 50 wicket mark, a pure wicket taker.
Abdur Rehman : 81 wickets in 17 games with an avg of 28.
Batting is my strength, and I will be looking to put the other team under pressure by posting huge scores and ensure that the loss is out of the way. With that platform, the bowlers will have enough chance to get the wickets they want. His bowling maybe better than mine but still it doesn't look like it can stop all of my batsmen. At least 2 of them wil go one to post big scores and there is no way he can stop that. Philander maybe new in the game but he has achieved man of the series against Aus and other accolades which bowlers strive to get after playing 10 years of cricket.
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nm03's piece
Note: I hate people embellishing facts, so everything I write, other than figures, which are accurate are only what I think, and not facts unless backed by a source in my description.
Summary:
1. Mark Richardson: Left handed opening batsman. Scored 2776 runs @ 44.77 in 38 test matches. 4 100s and 19 50s.
Richardson is a slow batsman who prizes his wicket. He is difficult to remove from the crease and scores at a slow rate. His average (according to cricinfo) was 50 for most of his career, but regressed at the end. He has scored 100s in India and England, and will be a part of my steady but unspectacular opening partnership. His role will be to wear down the opposition bowlers, stay at the crease, and complement the stroke players that come in later.
2. Alec Stewart (wk): Right handed opening batsman. Scored 8463 runs @ 39.54 in 133 test matches. 15 100s and 45 50s.
Stewart is a gritty player that will also be difficult to dislodge. He captained England, and is a more instinctual player to go with the very methodological Richardson. Together they will form a solid opening partnership.
3. Dean Jones: Right handed batsman. He played 1 down most of his test career. Scored 3631 runs @46.55 in 52 test matches. 11 100s and 15 50s.
Jones may be well known for his performances in ODIs, but he is a very solid test player. He is a fighter – he once made 210 in Chennai, and ended the game on a saline drip. He will not give an inch to the opposition. He will complement Lara very well, and is the first cog in my strong middle order. A good outfielder as well.
4.Brian Lara: Left handed batsman. He played at number 4 for most of his career. Scored 11953 runs @ 52.88 in 131 matches. 34 100s and 48 50s. Strike rate of 60. One of the best batsmen of all time. Highest score: 400 not out. A very good slip fielder as well.
Lara is the jewel of my middle order – not much I need to say about him. Better than any batsman on Aldo’s team (IMO) and somebody I loved watching play as a kid. Also captained the West Indies, but when they were on their way down.
5.VVS Laxman: Right handed batsman. Played in the middle order his entire career. Scored (and still scoring!) 8781 runs @45.97 in 134 matches. 17 100s and 54 50s. Probably would have had more 100s if he didn’t bat so low in the Indian order. To put it simply, he is very very special.
Laxman is the third cog of my middle order. He is a specialist in lost causes, and tormentor in chief of the great Australian sides. Laxman thrives in pressure situations, and is a very stylish player. If nothing else – my team will be a joy to watch. Laxman also (and this is my memory so may be wrong) plays very well with the tail. He has often batted for long periods with the Indian tails. The Aussies (according to cricinfo) simply said they didn’t know how to bowl to him after the 03-04 tour there. That is how devastating he can be. Watching him and Lara play together would be just beautiful. He is also a very good slip fielder.
6. Greg Matthews: Left handed batsman. Right arm off spinner. Matthews started out as a specialist spinner, but transformed into a batting all-rounder who can bowl. He scored 1849 runs @ 41.08 in 33 test matches. He took 61 wickets @ 48.22 as well. 4 100s and 12 50s.
Matthews is a fighter. He wasn’t good enough as a bowler alone, so retooled his game so much that he has a better average than some specialist batsmen! He will also be the orthodox off spinner of my spin trio, bowling a bit to add variety and eat the overs up. He is more than capable of picking up wickets though. He has taken 10 wickets in a game (over 2 innings) for Australia.
7.Stuart Broad: All-rounder. Left handed batsman. Right hand fast bowler. Took 161 wickets @31.16 in 49 tests. Scored 1524 runs @27.21 in 49 tests. He is still playing. 1 100 and 9 50s.
Broad is my all-rounder at number 7. He will ably support my middle order, hang around, and score runs quickly. He will also open my bowling along with Makhaya Ntini. He provides important balance to my batting order, and give me wickets early on.
8. Paul Reiffel: Bowler who can bat. Right handed batsman. Right handed fast bowler. Took 104 wickets @ 26.96 in 35 tests. Scored 955 runs @ 26.52.6 50s.
Reiffel is probably my second best bowler, but will bowl as first change, as he primarily did for Australia. He is a line and length bowler who can move the ball both ways off the pitch. He will trouble batsmen no matter the state of the pitch and ball, and will provide valuable wickets after my opening bowlers provide the early breakthroughs. He is also useful with the bat, and ensures I bat down to 8.
9. Paul Adams: Slow left arm Chinaman. 131 wickets @ 32.87 in 45 test matches. Also has the best bowling action ever. He doesn’t even see the batsman!
Adams is one of my two spinners, and has a good average considering spinners don’t get much help in South Africa. He will eat overs, give the quicks time to recover and pick up wickets. Also, bowling in tandem with another spinner will help him.
10.Mushtaq Ahmed: Leg Spinner. 85 wickers @ 32.97 in 42 tests.
Mushtaq is my other spinner. One of the few good leggies ( I can’t remember too many other than Warne and Kumble who are legends tbh) of this draft, Mushtaq will bowl in tandem with Adams and Matthews to bamboozle batsmen. The argument against him will always be – why does a Pakistani spinner have an average above 30, but Mushtaq also took 100 wickets in a county season in England, so he can do it in all conditions.
11.Makhaya Ntini: Right arm fast bowler. 390 wickets @ 28.82 in 101 matches.
Ntini is one of my key cogs - he is a wicket-taker. plain and simple. Another in the great line of South African quickies, he will be a real threat with the new ball, and a useful workhorse later in the games. Having 3 spinners to take the burden off him, he will be able to get plenty of rest and be fresh and lethal when he bowls. Having their key bowlers fresh whenever needed is not something all the other teams can count on - plus he is VERY entertaining when batting!
12th man: Shahid Afridi: 27 test matches. 1716 runs @36.51 and 48 wickets @36.60.
Boom Boom. Smashing batsman who can both open and bat lower down, useful partnership breaker, great fielder. Captained Pakistan. Most versatile 12th man around.
My strategy and thoughts on Aldo's team against mine:
Captaincy: I will captain by committee. Stewart is my nominal captain, but Lara and even Afridi as 12th man will provide input during breaks.
Batting Strategy: The openers will provide a solid platform for the middle order. Stewart and Richardson will grind down Aldo’s bowlers. The middle order of Lara, Jones, Laxman and Matthews will then pile on the runs before my tail-enders (I bat till 8) support the likes of Laxman. I see myself putting on a BIG score. Also note that I have a very even number of lefties and righties - it will be hard for his bowlers to settle!
Bowling Strategy: Ntini and Broad to open, with Reiffel following after. Plenty of aggression (Ntini), and precision (Reiffel) there. The spinners will then come in, with Mushtaq and Adams bowling in tandem, before Matthews also throws his arm in. Spinners tend to work better in pairs, so having 3 very different ones (leggie – Mushtaq, chinaman – Adams, offie – Matthews) can only help me. The batsmen won’t be able to settle. They will also provide my quicks with adequate rest, which not a lot of other quicks will have.
My view on Aldo’s Team: He has a VERY solid batting order. Best batting order up to number 5 in the draft (round 1 only). No doubt about that. Then it all falls apart for me. Ranatunga @ an average of 35 doesn’t worry me. Collingwood only has 18 wickets in tests, so I don’t see how he can provide a breakthrough. His bowling, apart from Hughes, is average (in comparism to others in this draft). Hoggard isn’t a world beater, and his remaining two bowlers have played less than 30 tests combined! He can talks all he likes about Philander being great, but Ajantha Mendis was supposed to be Murali. What happened there? Irfan Pathan was supposed to be the next Akram! You can't judge bowlers as "great" on short test samples. It just isn't right. I don’t see how those bowlers can take 20 wickets.
My view on the match: Draw 3 times out of 5. But my superior bowling means I am more likely to win the other two times. I think I really should win this on a balance of probabilities, but am worried big names in his team might swing this against me. Both teams are batter heavy, but there is no way he is taking 20 wickets against me! I at least have a shot at doing that. I pick up a couple of early wickets and there is IMMENSE pressure on his middle order. I make inroads there, and it really is game over.
Here we go
Jimmy Adams 38 of 170 balls. I'll bore the heck out of you'll.