RedCafe Cricket Draft QF- Crappy vs Stretch

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

  • Total voters
    16
  • Poll closed .

KM

I’m afraid I just blue myself
Joined
Sep 18, 2008
Messages
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Stretch said:
1. Kepler Wessels (c) – Scoring 2788 runs at an ave of 41.00; dogged opener capable of seeing of the most potent seam attacks as he showed on debut for Aus scoring 162 against an England attack with Botham and Bob Willis. He also averaged 56 vs a Windies side with Marshall, Garner and Walsh. Wessels was an innings builder but even if he failed to score much at times, he'd see of the shine on the new nut to allow others to flourish.
2. Tillakaratne Dilshan (wk) – Scoring 5028 runs at an ave of 41.21; he’s got 80 tests under his belt and the exact opposite to Wessels in batting style. Aggressive and loves playing his shots, Dilshan is well travelled boasting an average of almost 50 in England.
3. Hashim Amla – Scoring 4775 runs at an ave of 50.26; Hash is a genius in the making, if not already. He’s been in immense form since 2009 for SA scoring 3733 runs at an ave of 59.25 and 12 hundreds since then.
4. Younis Khan (vc) – Scoring over 6500 runs at an ave of 51.69 with 20 centuries; Younis is a modern Pakistan great. He’s known for being a fighter when the chips are down and is known for his rearguard specialties. A master of the 4th innings, could be vital against a potent bowling attack.
5. Thilan Samaraweera – Having scored over 5000 runs at an ave of 51.29; Samaraweera is mister dependable and a mainstay in the Sri Lanka line up. His main strength is his patience which wears bowlers down. His 2 recent centuries in South Africa is testament to his determination.
6. Andrew Symonds – Scoring 1462 runs at an ave of 40.61; Symonds provides an attacking option with gusto after a line-up featuring sturdy batsmen. A brilliant fielder and decent enough part time bowler, capable of the all-important ‘partnership breaking’ ball.
7. Tim Bresnan – The one risky pick in the line-up with only 15 tests, Bresnan does provide a much needed balance to the side having scored 3 50s and taken 56 wickets at 28s; between Tim and Strang (12th man), they provide good options to balance the side depending on opposition.
8. Brett Lee – Having taken 312 wickets at 30s, Brett was just short being a great due to his injury concerns. At his best though, Lee took 58 scalps (shortly after McGrath’s retirement, 07/08) at 21s allowing Australia to still dominate. Capable of bowling at 150clicks with outswing with the new ball and reverse swing (to right hander) with the older ball, he’s a dependable wicket taker at his best. Having scored 5 50s and averaging 20.15 with the bat, he’s a great lower order batsman to have.
9. Dale Steyn - My frontline opening strike bowler. With 272 wickets at 23s and taking a wicket every 41 balls, Dale is devastating, and bar any serious injuries will certainly surpass other SA fast bowling greats to become the best from SA. He can swing the ball both ways, and lift his pace to 150clicks when needed. His accuracy is his strongest feat.
10. Rangana Herath – Rangana has taken 146 wickets at 31s as a left arm orthodox spinner with a ball ‘that goes the other way’. Well capable of being the lead strike bowler on a turning and slow wicket as well as holding an end for long spells, he’s a great spin option. He’s shown that he can bowl a side out in the last innings on a fading pitch. He’s no mug with the bat either having 80 n.o. as his highest score.
11. Ian Bishop – The teams other main opening strike bowler, Bishop took 161 wickets at 24s and strike rate of 52. With a high side on action, he had pace and could move the ball of the seam. He got steep bounce from just back of a length and could really upset batsmen. Unfortunately for him, his career was cut short with injuries, else we’d be talking of the great trio of Walsh, Ambrose and Bishop today.

12th man: Paul Strang over since he's an agile fielder

Strengths:

Arguably the best pace attack in the draft with Steyn, Bishop and Lee supplemented with Bresnan. Herath is a decent spinning option who can take wickets on a turning pitch as well as hold an end with long spells to allow me to rotate the quicks. Symonds can assist if need be but I don't foresee the need. My opening batting pair is solid and proven openers at test level, especially Wessels who's record shows that he could face the fiercest pace attacks in the world. The middle order oozes class with Amla, Khan and Samaraweera. Amla has been scoring runs for fun against all kinds of attacks since 2009 at averages of 60. Khan is a fighter, an accumulator and provides valuable leadership to assist Wessels with captaincy issues. Thilan can occupy the crease for long periods and shows sheer grit when bats. He along with Khan have been shown to be masters of batting with the tail.

And to stop the blatant lying that's been going in some matches (;)) I will post what I perceive my weaknesses to be.

Weaknesses:

I concede, Dilshan as WK is a liability. I admit I thought he played more as wk in tests. However, he's a very agile fielder and I have great slip fielders in the likes of Wessels, Khan and co to make up for any mishaps. Also, I do know Bresnan is a risk as he's not played that much, but I do believe he can add to the team. He's not meant to be a striker bowler, just a stock bowler and he can hold his bat just fine.

I will comment on crappy's team once I see it.

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Stretch's write up.
 
Crappy's write up

crappycraperson said:
So here we are then... to start with my lineup... not elaborating on each player, much.. but a long write up on my thoughts on the match.

1. Gary Kirsten - As solid as they come even of not a fancy or swashbuckling batsmen ala Vivs or Lara. If Germany had a proper cricket team, he would be in it given the efficient style of his batting. Was without any doubt SA's best batsmen before likes of Kallis arrived. Has 21 hundreds, first one to score a hundred against every test playing nation as well. Average of 45.34.

2. M. Hafeez - Simply an above average batsmen, in the side to provide a handy second spin option as the fifth bowler. Has an average of above 38. He has a solid enough technique to cope against any attack, but prone to mental lapses. As a bowler coming into his own as well over the last year.

3. Dravid (vc) - errrrr

4. Martin Crowe (c) - A smart cricketer, who is credited with introducing the cricket world to concepts such as pinch-hitters. That's just a value addition given he averages 45.77 as a batsman and is a former wisden cricketer of the year. Interestingly averages above 66 in Australia. Captain of the team, and his record in 16 tests as captain improves some bounds as well

5. Daryl Cullinan- If not for Dravid, would be batting at no.3 probably. Another supremely solid batsmen. Seems to be a forgotten one as well given he his understated style. Average of44.21

6. Misbah-ul-Haq- Arrived on the cricket scene with his heroics (or near heroics) in the first T20 WC. Has been one of the most solid Pak batsmen since then. Averages above 45. Also has shown good experience batting with tail-enders, which will be handy at no.6 position.

7. Chris Cairns - One of my fav crickters. Better all-rounder than Flintoff for my money. Batting average above 33 with 5 hundreds and a bowling average of 29.40, better than many of the other strike bowlers in this draft. Has 13 5-wickets haul to his name as well. Contender for the best third pace bowler in any team on this draft IMO.

8. Adam Parore(wk)- Wicketkeeper. Averages above 26 with the bat, with 2 hundreds and 14 fifties to his name. Not good enough to out bat an attack on his own but should provide good support to the batsmen above him. Holds the NZ record for most WK dismissals so a very safe keeper to have. Something that is being bizarrely overlooked in this competition. Your bowlers are going to suffer if your keeper keeps spilling stuff.

9. Murali- errr

10. C. Walsh- errr

11. Aldermann- Ah.. my sole controversial pick perhaps. Never saw him play but then we had to pick players who debuted after 1980. And I am sure many of the younger ones here picked some 90s players solely by their reputation, having never seen them play much. So I only am going to post his record here.. Average of 27.15, strike rate of 59.8, 170 wickets in 41 tests. Took 9 wickets on his debut, 42 wickets against England in his debut series! Wisden cricketer of the year in 82. His record would be better if not for a ban for playing in SA during apartheid period. Even after that ban, he came back and took 41 wickets in a series against Eng. All time leading wicket taker for Western Oz with 956 first class wickets. To give a taste of his bowling -



12th man- S. Macgill- I am one of those who believe if not for Warne, Macgill would have been the premier Oz spinner and would have been counted as one of the best to play the game. But alas, life is never fair, he was destined to live in the shadow of Warne and go down as a forgotten cricketer. Great turner of the ball and as a leg spinner would trouble many a batsmen. Bowling average of 29.02, strike rate of 54(better than Warne's!) One of his best bowling performances




My batting vs. his bowling

Going by average his middle order may seem better but I will choose mine. Crowe over Khan and Cullinan over Samarweera every time for me. They played better bowlers in their time in conditions which suited bowling much more than now. Opening wise it is probably one each and Dilshan is more reliable than Hafeez but opening after keeping which is not his forte anyway? Might as well count him out IMO
Bowling wise he has Steyn, I have Walsh.. I have Murali, he has Hearth.. even Macgill > Hearth. His second pacer Lee is better than Cairns though stats below suggest the gap is very narrow.

He will be relying purely on his pace attack trio to get wickets against me. Worth pointing out that match is supposed to take place at Eden Gardens, Kolkatta. Even if we don't assume it to have a generic Indian pitch, it is fair to say you will need at least one top quality spinner to get wickets in the second innings.

Quality of pacers Kirsten, Dravid, Crowe, Cullinan faced: Walsh, Ambrose, Mcgrath, Akram, Younis, Donald, Pollock, Gillespie, Akhtar (In case of Crowe- Marshall, Holding, Lille, Garner etc. )

Lee and Bishop belong at the end of that list, Steyn probably in the middle. I am not saying my batting order will just blunt his attack but that they have proven over the course of their career that they can negotiate superior quality than these three. And once the top order does weather the storm, he has no back up to rattle the middle. He will essentially be waiting for the second new ball.

Cairns as a batsmen is a great option at no.7, if situation demands he can move up the order to quicken the scoring as well. Parore at 8 is more than good enough with 2 centuries and 14 fifties. After that it is the tail.


My bowling vs his batting

I think Walsh would dislodge Dilshan pretty quickly. Especially if, he is batting after having kept already. If his middle order gets exposed to Walsh early on.. it won’t be pretty...

Amla is a tougher cookie to crack, I do agree with Stretch that he is batting himself to greatness, nowhere near yet close to the class of Dravid mind. But his record against Murali is not good. His average against Lanka is 26.. with Murali dismissing him twice out of 4 innings he had against him. Amla in his short career so far has not gotten the chance to prove himself against spinner of supreme quality like Murali. I don't think you can bank on him surviving against Murali at his peak.

Younis and Samaweera will be two players I guess, he will rely on to tackle Murali. Khan is an accomplished player of spin, no question about it. But if you are going to bank on anyone to come out on top against good players of spin, then who better than one of the two best spinners of all time. Highest wicket taker ever aswell. Of course Walsh will always be about to have a go at these two too.

Symonds at 6 for me is a poor option to have in tests. He is simply not reliable enough to perform. He could not even prove himself in tests when he got the opportunity to play in a great team like Oz who had many an inferior opponents to toy with. I see zero reason to believe he would have any impact in this game what so ever. After that it is tail really, Bresnan and Lee can try to hit out and get some runs at best. Won't be easy to do so against Murali anyway

So far I have concentrated on Murali and Walsh. But someone oddly getting undervalued as a bowler is Chris Cairns.

Here is a comparison between Cairns and Lee

2lcmqm0.png

Now I don't believe in blindly following the stats so yeah I will have Lee at his pomp over Cairns as far as bowling goes (overall Cairns everytime). But Cairns was no mug with the ball as proven by these stats. Some people oddly discounted him as feeble fifth bowler in my last match when in reality he is better than my second pacers picked by people in this draft!

Hafeez as a fifth bowler: Thos who have watched him over last two years know that he is come to the fore as a bowler only since then. In his last 16 matches starting from 2011, he has 23 wickets at an average of 25.43. Yes that is not enough stats but you have people selecting players who have played 15 matches in all during their career. In any case role I define for a fifth bowler is to bowl around 6-8 overs per innings, maximum of 10 if needed. More if he gets breakthroughs. Hafeez is more than capable of playing that role.

I am not going to say much about Aldermann or Macgill. With the former, you have to take the stats on faith, it is up to people to do that or not. I would point out that many people picked players in this draft based on stats having not seen them. With Macgill, if you rated him as a spinner or not. I most definitely did think he was good enough to play for any top test nation. Not in the class of Murali or Warne and even Kumble, Saqlain were better than him. But his peak level was close to what Swann does now days. I know that I would happily have a spinner like him in the current Indian test team.

Finally, I want to highlight his main weakness. The keeping. I think it is a bit baffling how people are underrating the role of a specialist keeper in test matches. Again limited over matches seems to have affected the mind set here. I could have also committed hara-kiri and used Dravid as a keeper, who is actually more of a proven keeper than Dilshan, but that would have been insane.
Dilshan has kept in 3 test matches and 3 ODIs. Another thing worth noting- his batting average as a keeper goes down to 28. Also keeping and then opening the batting is going to hamper him as a batsmen even more. I don't think he will have any kind of impact as a keeper or batsmen in this game

To sum up:
• Batting wise at best it is even, though I would pick my line up over his anytime
• I have one of the best spinners of all time in Murali, he has no quality spin option
• His keeper is a liability, especially since he will have to contend with Steyn, Lee and Bishop. I have a specialist keeper with plenty of experience under his belt


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On the match-up, it's close as a quarterfinal should rightly be.

Bowling-wise - Stretch's quartet of quicks are superior to Crappy's trio. However, Murali is Murali and he pisses on Herath from a considerable height. All in all therefore, i'd give crappy's attack the edge.

Batting is even I think. They both have one star in Amla and Dravid. Amla's not at Dravid's level yet but on the evidence of the last couple of years, he's getting there. The rest of the batting is also there or thereabouts.

In a close scenario like this, having a part-time wicketkeeper like Dilshan who's never kept to a quality quick and is now expected to keep to four of them could be a huge disadvantage in my opinion.

I'm leaning towards crappy on the whole but i'll wait to hear from Stretch.
 
I am sorry to point this out again but having dilshan as a keeper simply can not cut it at test level. I voted against stretch in last round for this reason as well. It really is too big a gaff IMO, others can make their own minds up but I do think many are underrarting the specialist keeper role needed for 5 day tests where you may need to keep for over 100 overs in an innings.
 
crappy 4 bowlers are not going to do it for you. I might have voted for you even if you had an average 5th bowler, now i will have to think hard
 
crappycraperson said:
I am sorry to point this out again but having dilshan as a keeper simply can not cut it at test level. I voted against stretch in last round for this reason as well. It really is too big a gaff IMO, others can make their own minds up but I do think many are underrarting the specialist keeper role needed for 5 day tests where you may need to keep for over 100 overs in an innings.
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:lol: And you voted for harroney with AB as keeper
 
omardalvi said:
:lol: And you voted for harroney with AB as keeper
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I held off at first when I thought he was going with tilakeratne. With even ab I infracted him so points but it is not a complete no-go since he is now seemingly a keeper for one of the best test sides about.
 
omardalvi said:
crappy 4 bowlers are not going to do it for you. I might have voted for you even if you had an average 5th bowler, now i will have to think hard
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Again it is a fallacy born out of limited over matches to give so much credence to fifth bowler in tests. I have clearly listed the fifth bowler role for my team. If people disagree with that, fair enough.
 
Hafeez has just taken 29 wickets, in 29 tests. At best i'd give him 1 wicket in this match, and that's not enough for me.

It's still close. Lets see
 
I think atleast 3 of your bowlers have to be very high quality if you're going to go with 4 in a matchup of all time greats. After all, you have to get some real top quality batsmen out twice.

I'm not sure Alderman and Cairns qualify though I admit I don't know much about Alderman. If he's about Gillespie's level (drawing a comparison with the Australian 4 man attach), I think you could call Cairns at his best about the level of Fleming/Kasprowicz though not at the level of Lee.
 
Ok just to clear up some 'half truths' crappy posted about my team.

1. My main strike pair is Bishop and Steyn with Lee as the 3rd option. Not Lee and Steyn.

2. His assumption that Herath won't be able to wickets against is batting is flawed. Herath has done really well since emerging from the shadows of Murali. He's no Murali, but then again I reckon he'd well be able to take wickets to supplement my pace attack.

3. Again on Herath, he mentions 4th innings and being able to take wickets. Well, Herath's taken 71 wickets in the 3rd/4th innings at 25s and 7 5w hauls. His 5w hauls have increased significantly since Murali retired as he became SL's main wicket taking spinner.

4. Khan and Samaraweera will deal just fine with Murali and won't have too many issues against Walsh. Samaraweera was accused of not being able to bat against pace attacks on bouncy pitches, well he's proven he can in his MOST RECENT tour to such a country, South Africa. He score 2 centuries and gave Steyn, Morkel and co hard hours in the SA sun. They tried to 'bounce' him out but failed as he was determined and showed leaps of improvement in technique. Khan is susceptible to bounce, however, he also showed against England that he's more than capable of 'riding' out the storm. His sheer determination is his single best attribute.

5. I am aware of the Dilshan as a wk flaw, I've noted this already. However, this is countered by his sheer unpredictability as a batsman. Add to that he's a great fielder, he won't be as bad as some make it out to be. With Steyn and Bishops stock deliveries being a ball that moves away from the RH, I expect a lot of catches to go to a strong slip cordon.

6. Steyn should be in upper area of fast bowlers, for reasons crappy himself listed. He beats Khan and Samaraweera with the stick that they bat in an area where pitches are batsmen friendly, yet conveniently forget Steyn's taken 272 wickets at 23s at a SR of 41, which incredible even the golden bowling era.
 
Oh and on Murali, Younis has his highest score of 313 in a match featuring Murali and he averages over 60 in matches featuring Murali. Let's not kid ourselves, Khan is known for being a spin playing master.
 
Stretch is right. If I had to compare bowling

Steyn > Walsh
Bishop > Alderman
Lee > Cairns
Herath <<< Murali
Bresnan > Hafeez

Murali makes a huge difference though. He's used to taking 3-4 wickets in every innings he plays (800 wickets in 230 innings) and thats a great banker to have.
 
Stretch said:
Ok just to clear up some 'half truths' crappy posted about my team.

1. My main strike pair is Bishop and Steyn with Lee as the 3rd option. Not Lee and Steyn.

2. His assumption that Herath won't be able to wickets against is batting is flawed. Herath has done really well since emerging from the shadows of Murali. He's no Murali, but then again I reckon he'd well be able to take wickets to supplement my pace attack.

3. Again on Herath, he mentions 4th innings and being able to take wickets. Well, Herath's taken 71 wickets in the 3rd/4th innings at 25s and 7 5w hauls. His 5w hauls have increased significantly since Murali retired as he became SL's main wicket taking spinner.

4. Khan and Samaraweera will deal just fine with Murali and won't have too many issues against Walsh. Samaraweera was accused of not being able to bat against pace attacks on bouncy pitches, well he's proven he can in his MOST RECENT tour to such a country, South Africa. He score 2 centuries and gave Steyn, Morkel and co hard hours in the SA sun. They tried to 'bounce' him out but failed as he was determined and showed leaps of improvement in technique. Khan is susceptible to bounce, however, he also showed against England that he's more than capable of 'riding' out the storm. His sheer determination is his single best attribute.

5. I am aware of the Dilshan as a wk flaw, I've noted this already. However, this is countered by his sheer unpredictability as a batsman. Add to that he's a great fielder, he won't be as bad as some make it out to be. With Steyn and Bishops stock deliveries being a ball that moves away from the RH, I expect a lot of catches to go to a strong slip cordon.

6. Steyn should be in upper area of fast bowlers, for reasons crappy himself listed. He beats Khan and Samaraweera with the stick that they bat in an area where pitches are batsmen friendly, yet conveniently forget Steyn's taken 272 wickets at 23s at a SR of 41, which incredible even the golden bowling era.
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- HEarth is simply no where near the level of murali. He will also be against a very solid middle order not just any other test team. I doubt anyone would pick him even over macgill

- I conceeded that khan is a good player of spin. He will be ** key to hold off murali.

- dilshan averages 28 when he keeps. Combining that with him being expected to keeps to likes of styen, lee, bishop , then open the innings. I would say you are a 10 men team instead of 11
 
Red-Indian said:
Stretch is right. If I had to compare bowling

Steyn > Walsh
Bishop > Alderman
Lee > Cairns
Herath <<< Murali
Bresnan > Hafeez

Murali makes a huge difference though. He's used to taking 3-4 wickets in every innings he plays (800 wickets in 230 innings) and thats a great banker to have.
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I would still pick my bowling over him. If the pitch does not help pacers after day 3, he is not getting my team out in second innings. Walsh + murali is a huge plus.
 
crappycraperson said:
- HEarth is simply no where near the level of murali. He will also be against a very solid middle order not just any other test team. I doubt anyone would pick him even over macgill

- I conceeded that khan is a good player of spin. He will be ** key to hold off murali.

- dilshan averages 28 when he keeps. Combining that with him being expected to keeps to likes of styen, lee, bishop , then open the innings. I would say you are a 10 men team instead of 11
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Herath though is not a strike bowler in my team. He's a bowler that can hold an end for long spells allowing me to rotate my pace attack. Whilst he will be a stock bowler mostly, he will also be able to take wickets in the 3rd/4th innings if the wicket starts to deteriorate. He's shown he can do that. He's no Murali, but with Bishop, Steyn and Lee he doesn't have to be.

And not only Khan, Samaraweera is good against spin too. So that's a key partnership in terms of facing Murali.

Dilshan I've noted, not going over it again.

Just something else to add, even if Dilshan fails as a batsman, Wessels faced the fierce West Indian attack of the 80s and yet averaged over 50 against that lot. He along with Amla can occupy the crease for long periods against pace attacks, so Walsh is nullified vs them.
 
Also, I am deliberately not slating your team. Decided it's best to defend my team and note their strengths and flaws myself. It's up to those voting to decide as they will mostly be knowledgeable enough to vote. Not saying you should do that, but just stating that this my tactic in promoting/defending my team.
 
Stretch said:
Also, I am deliberately not slating your team. Decided it's best to defend my team and note their strengths and flaws myself. It's up to those voting to decide as they will mostly be knowledgeable enough to vote. Not saying you should do that, but just stating that this my tactic in promoting/defending my team.
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The only part of your team I am slating is the keeping situation simply because that is too big a gaff for me. Others may not see it that way but I can't miss out on raising it as an issue
 
I'm going to read this tomorrow. But tempted by crappy's team only because he seems to have better balance to his team.

Stretch, for me your batting ends at 6 with Symonds, who himself is quite a risky test player. That with your keeping situation makes me wonder.
 
I like Stretch's team. Great bowling. Herath is nothing in comparison to Murali, of course, but the quicks are top notch. Batting's alright.. I think it will get more runs against crappy's than crappy's will against Stretch's.

Can you guys highlight who you got to pick from the opponent you defeated in the last match? Just find it interesting.
 
Strech got Styen and Crappy got Murali.

Going to have to go against Strech again. Still can't accept he doesn't have a proper WK. It's a huge oversight and a bit unfair on other teams in the draft considering many sacrificed a pick to get a proper WK in.

Doesn't seem to be effecting the voting though so what do I know.
 
Think Crappy took Murali replacing...maybe McGill?

Stretch took Steyn and dropped Fanie DeVilliers.

There's so little to chose between the teams. Opening is level, middle order is level. If Crappy's batting line-up is a little longer, Stretch has 5 full bowlers. Stretch's pace attack is stronger but Crappy's spin option is superior.

In the end, I think Murali and Stretch's lack of a proper keeper will swing it for me. The way I see it, Stretch is quite likely to have to take 22-23 wickets rather than 20 since Dilshan would drop a few.
 
I think though that Stretch would've lost nothing in replacing Symonds with a proper keeper. Symonds isn't a great test batsman anyway and given that he's playing 5 full bowlers plus Dilshan's bowling is available (if he wasn't playing as keeper), he didn't really need the part-time option either. It would've been hardly any sacrifice to have a late 20's averaging reasonably solid keeper like Brad Haddin, Rashid Latif etc. play instead of Symonds. That would've made Stretch favourite for me.
 
This is a real close one. I don't like Crappy having 4 bowlers, one of which I have never heard of. Walsh and Murali can be lethal though! For me, Walsh > Steyn, but Cairns and Alderman aren't as good as Lee and Bishop. Murali >> Herath too.. Batting isn't too different. Might come down to the dodgy keeper.
 
bah.. looks like I am on a loser on this one!

Happy to answer any questions people may have before voting against me
 
Voted Stretch, would back his bowling to dismiss crappy's team twice, not something I could say for crappy. It's neither here nor there though, could easily have been crappy, just feel that overall Stretch has a 0.1% stronger team.
 
Donadol said:
Voted Stretch, would back his bowling to dismiss crappy's team twice, not something I could say for crappy. It's neither here nor there though, could easily have been crappy, just feel that overall Stretch has a 0.1% stronger team.
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Fair enough. Though I would defo back my attack to get him out twice on any kind of surface other than a flat track.

As RI pointed out his batting essentially stops at Symonds, who himself I do not rate much as a test batsmen. I would back Murali and Walsh to run through his side once we get the fourth wicket in either innings.
 
I've voted crappy. Stretch's team has no keeper and doesn't bat post Symonds who is risky himself. Crappy has balance.
 
Dilshan as a test keeper is such a big point that I cant look past.
 
Ok so with Aldo's vote I lead 8-6.

This is as close as I expected it to be and can still turn. Hopefully I can hold on. Great match so far crappy.
 
Stretch said:
Ok so with Aldo's vote I lead 8-6.

This is as close as I expected it to be and can still turn. Hopefully I can hold on. Great match so far crappy.
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You should thank me for Aldo's vote.. I reminded him to vote and he had the cheek to vote against me ! :(
 
There's also a few of the non-participating regulars - Varun, Traub, Sajeev who normally vote. There's still some hope for you though a 3 vote lead with 15 votes in is very tricky.

Great that these are going down to the wire. I imagine there'll be so little to separate the teams in the Semis that people will have to vote on instinct.
 
Red-Indian said:
There's also a few of the non-participating regulars - Varun, Traub, Sajeev who normally vote. There's still some hope for you though a 3 vote lead with 15 votes in is very tricky.

Great that these are going down to the wire. I imagine there'll be so little to separate the teams in the Semis that people will have to vote on instinct.
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Yup. And I think people are already voting instinct!
 
Poor Murali does get underrated a shade though maybe because of the lack of flash. I was at pains to point out in my game with Harooney that Warne supported by Clark, Vaas and Finn would struggle to take 20 quality wickets and not many believed me. Here crappy has supported Murali with a far superior pace attack in Walsh, Cairns and Alderman as well as a good quality keeper and people don't feel he'll take 20.
 
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