RedCafe Cricket Draft- MightbeRight vs nm03

Who will win based on players in their prime, team tactics and balance?

  • Total voters
    18
  • Poll closed .

KM

I’m afraid I just blue myself
Joined
Sep 18, 2008
Messages
49,917
NM's writeup


nm03 said:
My team :

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: 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. Steve Waugh (Captain): Right handed batsman. Right handed medium pace bowler. Scored 10927 runs @ 51.06 in 168 tests and took 92 wickets @ 37.44 in 150 innings. Great batsman, great captain, useful bowler (before injuries).
Waugh will be my captain. He will also be a steady influence in my middle order, which I think is now one of (if not the) best in the draft. I don’t need to say much about him. He was also a useful medium pace bowler. He is a real fighter, and rarely loses. He will also make very good use of my 6 (including him) bowlers.

6. 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.

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 both 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 2 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.

13th man 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.

Strategy and Thoughts:

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 Waugh 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, despite the strong bowling lineup I am facing. Don’t forget I have a very good mix of righties & lefties, along with stroke players and fighters. Waugh will complement both Lara and Laxman beautifully.

Bowling Strategy: Mightberight has only 1 (IMHO) AMAZING batsman in his lineup – Kallis. I don’t rate any of the others as much as mine - this might change after I see his lineup. If I get an early wicket and pick him up, I can see his team being bundled out very cheaply. If that happens even in one inning, my strong batting lineup will be all over the opposing team.

Overall view: This is batting vs bowling. Pure and simple. My batsmen are way better than his, and his bowlers are better than mine. I think at least a few of my batsmen will put on big scores, allowing my bowlers to put pressure on his, leading to a win for me.
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MightbeRight's writeup


mightberight said:
A.Cook - The boy wonder. Perhaps already the best batsman England has ever produced, perhaps he more than anybody has been the spearhead of England's recent golden era.

C.Gayle - Gayle force's impact on the West Indies test side should not be underestimated. Averaging well over 50 in the last three years before his exile, the man has blossomed into an aggressive and effective test opening batsman who can produce big scores on a whim. Just recently he returned to the Windies test side with a 200+ runs performance. Also a very useful spinner.

S.Fleming (C) - Averaging over 40, it is hard to express enough how galvanizing an effect Fleming was over the years for a faltering New Zealand. According to Shane Warne, "the best greatest captain he has ever seen." Not just a scorer of big runs, Fleming uses his superior cricketing brain to his advantage to eek out more wickets and less runs as a marshall on the field. With my bowling line-up already, opposing batsmen have nowhere to hide.

J. Kallis - The jewel of South Africa. How many innings has this man glued together? Averaging over 57 with the bat and 32 with the ball, this man will go down as one of the all time greats - but you don't need me to tell you that.

A.Prince - One of the South Africa's premier batsmen of the 2000s, Prince has smashed centuries against the heavyweights of India, Australia and England. An average of 41.64 somewhat made to look worse due to an experiment as an opening batsman, his sturdiness and penchant for runs should not be underestimated. South Africa's first black captain for a reason.

M.Prior (WK) - Matty Prior, finally the wicketkeeper to replace Alec Stewart. A batting average of 43, Prior has turned England's quality batting order into a deep one. There's never any fear when Prior comes to the crease, as his 6 centuries and 19 50s in 55 matches attest to. He does not have a single weak spot against any test side, with notable innings scores for each one. His wicket keeping has also improved immeasurably; quite simply the best wicketkeeper today.

shining asset was his unbelievable fielding.

B]C.McMillan[/B] - Big old Craig McMillan, a destructive batsman who was very deft dealing with the spinners of India, as his 58.8 average against them attests to. An overall batting average just shy of 40, he also took 28 wickets at test level as a medium pacer with a bowling average of 45. On song, he really could crush the ball and was far more than just a niggle for bowlers attempting to plough through New Zealand's middle order.


S.Pollock - What can you say about this man? A zipping seamer who could be a menace with the bat, taking the DNA of both his Father and Uncle to become one of the best all-rounders to ever grace the game. A bowling average of 23, he would have made any side in the world in his prime if even he were just pure bowler. Deadly accurate, affording no breathing space to the most refined of batsmen. An average of 32 with the bat, he's another player for your bowlers to huff and puff with against my deep batting order.

G.Swann - Burst onto the scene in late 2008 by taking two test wickets in one over in India, giving them a taste of their own medicine. Has gone on to take 188 wickets since then, and he hasn't even been in the game for four years. Averaging 29 with the ball, his economy rate is just as much a boon as his destructive innings, compiling an extraordinary hitlist in Sri Lanka earlier this year. Best in the game and an average of 22 with the bat as my number 9!

S.Akhtar - To face Shoaib, the fastest bowler alive, must be a frightening experience. Only a career marred in controversy and lack of fitness has us reluctant to elevate him to the pantheon of all greats. But the speed demon took 170 odd wickets in just 46 tests, culminating in an ever thrilling but ever too short career. Striiiiiiiiiike.

C.Ambrose - "Curtly talk to no man." He lets the ball do the talking. There isn't a better fast bowler in the draft, truly. A mammoth of a man with his penchant for bounce. And when some of the pace left him later in his career, his intelligent seaming allowed no decline to his bowling. His average? Under 21. But it hardly needs to be said, given his legend and even his ghost as the last great pacer that haunts the current West Indies side.

Twelfth man - J. Rhodes - Good old Jonty, one of the most famous sporting South Africans. Gritty with the bat an average of over 35, Rhodes' real

NM will probably try and tell you that this is a story of batting v bowling. From where I’m standing, it’s not quite that simple; I won’t for a minute deny that he has a supreme batting order, but I will contend that my batting unit is far sturdier than his bowling, and that I am considerably more likely to take 20 wickets.
My reasoning? Let’s first compare opening batsmen. On merit I believe my pair of Cook and Gayle are better than Richardson and Stewart, and I’m afraid I can only see the latter going down early to my bowling attack. This piles immediate pressure on nm’s side with Ambrose, Pollock, Akhtar AND Kallis all still fresh fast bowlers to take on nm’s great middle order.

Now, it’s likely that one or two of them will make a decent stand – even against my bowlers. I’m not going to deny that. But even great batsmen “only” have averages of 50 for a reason; it’s rare to make a century and it’s unlikely that they’ll ever have faced a bowling attack with the collective calibre of mine. I’m sure Waugh, Lara, Laxman, Jones would make some decent scores against me in a 5 test series, maybe even with a few centuries. But it’s also very likely that a couple of them will fall for low scores in the same innings. The main problem I think I’ll face is the prospect of that middle order holding out for a draw. They may not score many runs but they’ll know how to dig in. Still, a couple of lapses of concentration in one day’s cricket out of five means it’s curtains for NM, and I’d still bet that the depth of my bowling would be fresh enough to clean up the tail. Don’t forget that Swann also is a crucial part of this team.; don’t let that one poor recent test again SA fool you – he’s been the world’s premier spinner for the last few years for a reason.

Let’s get to the rest of my batting order. It extends all the way down to 9, in which Swann has scored a few 50s and averages way over 20. If my opening batsmen are dislodged, they immediately have to face Stephen Fleming and one Jacques Kallis, who have something like a ridiculous 250 tests between them. IF nm can get past them, he faces Prince, Prior, McMillan and Pollock. Can nm take 20 wickets? I guess my answer is predictable – no! But I’ll tell you why. There’s ridiculously huge pressure on Ntini – he was a very good bowler but he’s not a patch on Ambrose and Pollock, nor as destructive as Akhtar. Broad is a good player but has a habit of looking ordinary, and my batting order is definitely not that. I believe nm might play Afridi as a crowd pleaser, but he is NOT a test player. His poor 36.6 average can attest to that, and he’s only played in 27 tests. Reiffel was a decent player but I can’t see him troubling us for too many wickets, and the same goes with Ahmed.

All in all nm is just not … menacing. For me when a bowling unit is on song any batsman in the world is going to have difficulty not only scoring runs, but keeping his wicket. I have plenty enough batting strength to ensure that this does not happen to me, and also plenty enough bowling to make sure it is likely to happen to him.
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nm has an incredible middle order (well he has brian lara who is the most talented test batsman (in terms of talent translating to runs)). i don't rate nm's bowling much.

mightberight has a pretty good balanced team. will wait a while before i vote.
 
Shit bowling attack will cost nm. Adams? Really? Why the feck was he even picked? Reiffel, Broad, Adams, Mushtaq and Ntini. Barring Ntini I see no matchwinners there. Major major flaw, and even though his batting looks well and good, lara and Laxman are the moodiest players around. A dose of Akhtar, Pollock, Kallis and Ambrose would be fun to watch.

But then, I hate Matt Prior and his neanderthallic face.
 
MBR's bowling attack is easily capable of taking twenty wickets. NM03's bowling attack isn't.
 
Donadol said:
Shit bowling attack will cost nm. Adams? Really? Why the feck was he even picked? Reiffel, Broad, Adams, Mushtaq and Ntini. Barring Ntini I see no matchwinners there. Major major flaw, and even though his batting looks well and good, lara and Laxman are the moodiest players around. A dose of Akhtar, Pollock, Kallis and Ambrose would be fun to watch.

But then, I hate Matt Prior and his neanderthallic face.
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Steve Waugh is dependable though. Besides players are supposed to be at their peaks so you are talking about Lara and Laxman in their consistent mode.

But that bowling attack....
 
I think if this was a 5 test match I could only see nm's side taking 20 wickets once in the one game Broad really turns up. Aside from that MBR always has a chance with Pollock and Ambrose in his side with the likes of Kallis, Akhtar and Swann for support.
 
Yeah not much doubt in my mind. Sorry nm. Mightberight's bowling is excellent and while his batting is not your level of awesome, it's more than good enough. If you had even superstar bowler (mbr has two), it would give you a serious chance with the likes to Steve Waugh and Lara in your team. As things stand though, I could see Mbr winning a 5 test series 3-1.
 
Well at least I got 1 vote that isn't United fan!

Tbh, I think this is a lost cause, so I'll just defend my team. People used spreadsheets etc, while I've never done a draft before, so went with players I like. Eventually, I realized I was in trouble, and overloaded on bowlers to make up for it.

Then I got drawn against Aldo, and his only decent bowler was Merv Hughes - so I ask would Hughes in this team made a huge difference? I think not, so I went with Waugh. I still maintain the only player in MBR's batting that scares me is Kallis, and if I get into the top order, they would fall like a pack of cards.

With regards to Paul Adams - I did say players I picked players liked, and he had the best action when I was a kid.

I didn't expect to win this - especially after how hard people think getting 20 wickets is, but don't know why this is so lopsided!

Good luck MBR - I would take Waugh, as you already have Kallis at 4.
 
I did understand your issue. You had some serious bad luck in coming up against Aldo first round. Most of us got to pick a player to fill a real weakness in the team. You just added to an already strong area which was never going to work in a quarterfinal that needs some balance.

I think everybody's who's done well picked at least one bowler in their first two picks. Most people realised early on that there were about 20-30 star batsmen in the era but only 10-15 star bowlers so if you missed out early, you really missed out.
 
Thing is, if nm had 1 proper high end bowler like Ambrose or even Pollock, I'd be tempted to vote for him. As things stand, it is difficult to vote for him. I think its a lot close than the voting suggests. I think mbr would probably win a series 1-0 simply because most will be draws with nm's batting scoring 400+ in all and mbr's batting putting in similar due to the opposition's inability to take advantage of his poor batting. But in that 1 match, when nm's team has been put into bat on a seaming wicket, his team will be bundled for 250 or so and mbr will win the match.
 
nm03 said:
I didn't expect to win this - especially after how hard people think getting 20 wickets is, but don't know why this is so lopsided!

Good luck MBR - I would take Waugh, as you already have Kallis at 4.
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Thanks mate, if you had that one star bowler along with Ntini it could have gone either way imo.

I was thinking of Lara, omar's saying that too. I know Waugh usually played no.5 but does it really affect batsmen that much when it comes to placing in the middle order?
 
mightberight said:
Thanks mate, if you had that one star bowler along with Ntini it could have gone either way imo.

I was thinking of Lara, omar's saying that too. I know Waugh usually played no.5 but does it really affect batsmen that much when it comes to placing in the middle order?
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It may - people are pretty pedantic at times. Your batting is definitely your weakest link - I meant it when I said I didn't rate anyone outside of Kallis. Lara is one of the best ever - you can't go wrong with him. If you pick up Lara and another batsman in the next round - you would be a cert to win it.

Can't go wrong with Waugh either - both great players. If you get another batsman in the next round, you would be a clear winner for me.. Kallis just gave you so much balance - 4 quality bowlers and a spinner.. You have 20 wickets - just beef the batting.
 
mightberight said:
Thanks mate, if you had that one star bowler along with Ntini it could have gone either way imo.

I was thinking of Lara, omar's saying that too. I know Waugh usually played no.5 but does it really affect batsmen that much when it comes to placing in the middle order?
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I would take Lara. One of the best match winners when it came to tests
 
Lara is a standout. Have to take him. Don't think it makes much difference is Fleming plays at 3 or 5.

In fact a middle order of Lara, Fleming and Kallis could play at any order (except for maybe Kallis at 3).
 
KM said:
MBR's bowling attack is easily capable of taking twenty wickets. NM03's bowling attack isn't.
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Ok.. this is a general question - why do people think it is so hard to take 20 wickets in test??? Shit bowling attacks have taken 20 wickets lots of times. I think that is a little overrated - I'm not saying my bowling is great - just that people tend to forget that shit attacks often take 20 wickets in tests.
 
FlawlessThaw said:
Lara is a standout. Have to take him. Don't think it makes much difference is Fleming plays at 3 or 5.

In fact a middle order of Lara, Fleming and Kallis could play at any order (except for maybe Kallis at 3).
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Kallis can bat 3 or 4. He batted at 3 before the days of Amla.

Went with MBR here. In a 5 match series he'll edge it since he's got an attack that will take wickets. I've little confidence in NMs bowling attack and though his middle order batting is the strongest around, it's not just runs that makes you win matches. With NM's bowling, I can see MBR's 'weaker' batting scoring just as much as NMs batting vs MBRs bowling.
 
nm03 said:
Ok.. this is a general question - why do people think it is so hard to take 20 wickets in test??? Shit bowling attacks have taken 20 wickets lots of times. I think that is a little overrated - I'm not saying my bowling is great - just that people tend to forget that shit attacks often take 20 wickets in tests.
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Sure shit attacks do, but remember the premise on which we voting. Assume players at peak, not just random occurrences. So one asks oneself, can this bowling attack take 20 wickets often enough in a 5 match series for example to be able to win the series? So whilst a team might be able to take 20 wickets in one match, can they sustain that over a 5 match series? That's what I ask myself anyway and I think that's what most here analyse on.
 
Stretch said:
Kallis can bat 3 or 4. He batted at 3 before the days of Amla.
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Fair enough, for some reason I could not remember if Kallis had ever batted or 3 or not. Always seem to equate him as steadfastly at number 4.
 
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