RedCafe Cricket Draft

What do people think of this team?

1. Mark Richardson: 2776 runs @ 44.77
2. Alec Stewart (wk) :8463 runs @ 39.54
3. Dean Jones: 3631 runs @ 46.55
4. Brian Lara: 11953 runs @ 52.88. One of the best ever. Not much more to say about him.
5. VVS Laxman: 8781 runs @ 45.97. At his best in tough situations.
6. Greg Matthews (Batsman who can bowl): Batting average of 41.08 and 61 wickets as an off spinner.
7. Stuart Broad (All Rounder) - 161 wickets @ 31.16 and a batting average of 27.92
8. Paul Reiffel (Bowler + Lower order bat): 104 wickets @ just 26.96 and a batting average of 26.52
9. Paul Adams (Chinaman): 134 wickets @ 32.87
10. Mushtaq Ahmed (Leggie): 185 wickets @ 32.97
11. Ntini - 390 wickets at 28.82

12. Afridi (good fielder iirc)

I see a solid but unspectacular opening partnership, followed by an amazing middle order and a tail that wags all the way down to number 8. I also have a good balance of right and left handed batsmen - no bowler will be settled. I also have 3 fast bowlers and 3 spinners (1 part time). All the spinners bowl different as well - I have an offie, leggie and a chinaman. I can see lots of runs and wickets.

Thoughts?
 
Slightly weak bowling. But I'm happy someone here has the guts to play 2 spinners instead of 3 quickies.

I don't know how people would receive it, but I think you should play Afridi instead of Paul Adams. It'll give you great batting depth and won't lose out on much on bowling ability.
 
Interval Level said:
Slightly weak bowling. But I'm happy someone here has the guts to play 2 spinners instead of 3 quickies.

I don't know how people would receive it, but I think you should play Afridi instead of Paul Adams. It'll give you great batting depth and won't lose out on much on bowling ability.
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Yeah. Afridi for me is a match winner and a superior bowler to Adams.
 
My Stuff -


Here’s my team. Have explained my bowlers as a unit further down.

Jayasuriya – Specialist opener. Over 100 tests at an average of 40. No record of his strike rate but I imagine it being on the high side.

Slater – Average of 42. The most steady of my batsmen and an accomplished opener.

Azharuddin (c) – Average of 45 over 99 tests. An attractive to watch, wristy, stroke player. Tremendous slip fielder.

Mallick – Average of 43. Similar player to Azhar (off the field as well!) in that he was wristy and great to watch.

Astle – Average of 37. Another one who’s entertaining. Great slip fielder as well.

Flintoff – Batting/Bowling average of 31/32. Not very impressive stats wise but a big game player. Can probably chip in with a 40-50 with the bat and provide pressure with the ball.

Moin Khan (WK) – Average of 28. Didn’t rate him with the bat but he’s got a few 100s and 50s to his name so not a complete mug I suppose. Experience behind the wickets.

Zaheer Khan

Kasprowicz

Lawson

Muralitharan


I’ve packed my batting with flair players and it looks like Crappy’s done the opposite, going for the more solid and unspectacular. My odd batsman may self destruct, but I only need a couple of them to click and I’m on my way to a big score in quick time. This team will always be on the attack and play to win. Worth noting the opening pair are known openers and the left - right hand combo.

Walsh is definitely the danger man but he can only bowl for so long before being tired out, since Crappy’s only gone for four specialist bowlers. I’ve never seen Aldermann so can’t really comment (Youtube videos can make Sami look good). The rest are fairly average and shouldn’t cause too many problems. My top four are all known for being strong against spin so Macgill shouldn’t be a problem. Hafeez will get hit out of the attack if brought on.

I’ve gone for 5 specialist bowlers so I can rotate them around and keep everyone fresh without using part timers. Zaheer, Lawson, Flintoff, Kasprowicz all complement each other well and offer something different.

I haven’t watched Lawson play but he’s described as a fast right hand, not medium but fast. He was tall, quick and lively but had bad luck with injuries. He got the man of the series award in the 83 Ashes as well. His Cricinfo and Wiki pages read as a player who could have been great but had bad luck with injuries.

Zaheer Khan at his best was a tremendous seam bowler. Worth noting Flintoff’s record may not be spectacular, but he’s big game player and I expect him to bowl his heart out. And of course, I’ve got Murali – the second greatest spinner ever. Murali at his peak WILL get wickets. Don’t think Crappy having three sub continental batsmen will help against Murali when two of the three are Hafeez and Misbah.

If my batting clicks there will be a high score put up in quick time, giving my 5 bowlers more time to bowl out the opposition.
 
Interval Level said:
Slightly weak bowling. But I'm happy someone here has the guts to play 2 spinners instead of 3 quickies.

I don't know how people would receive it, but I think you should play Afridi instead of Paul Adams. It'll give you great batting depth and won't lose out on much on bowling ability.
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KM said:
Yeah. Afridi for me is a match winner and a superior bowler to Adams.
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Afridi has played 27 tests scoring 1700 runs @ 36.51 and taken 48 wickets @ 35.6.
I am playing against a strong batting order (M. Taylor, H. Gibbs, Jayawardene, S Waugh, A Flower, Ranatunga, P Collingwood) with a weak bowling of M. Hughes, Hoggard, Giles and Philander. I reckon having another bowler could help
 
Here's my write-up. Interval, if you're starting the thread tomorrow, just copy it over.



A feature across my team is that they won’t give an inch. Starting from the Captain to Kumble bowling with a broken jaw, they’ll take everything you can throw at them and keep coming back. In fact, one of them – Dujon has never played in a losing series. I don’t think you can price that attitude too highly in a team and thats what I was looking for. In fact, I sacrificed averages a couple of times for players I thought had the right mentality.

That said, playing DE’s team is basically going to be all about breaking through that scary opening partnership to get into the soft center. If I do that, only Hussey stands between me and a really long tail. Given that Sehwag gets out before he gets to 30 in 50% of the innings he plays, I think it’s quite likely we’ll get that breakthrough . Between Pigeon, Streak, Nash and McMillan, we’ll plough through that middle order and Kumble will mop up the tail.

Batting wise, I don’t have a lot to fear from his bowlers in my opinion. There’s a bunch of honest triers in there but no one to give my boys any serious trouble. Smith will soften them up and Aravinda and Clarke will feast on them while Marsh or Lamb dig in at one end.

A biased view maybe but I think my XI would beat DE’s 4 out of 5 games except for the odd game when both Sehwag and Hayden click and nothing works. I’m hoping everybody else sees it that way

RI's Bastards

The XI

1. Graeme Smith (c)
2. Geoff Marsh
3. Allan Lamb
4. Aravinda de Silva
5. Michael Clarke
6. Brian McMillan
7. Jeff Dujon (wk)
8. Heath Streak
9. Dion Nash
10. Anil Kumble (vc)
11. Glenn McGrath

I think my team’s very nicely balanced with everyone in the position they’re best suited to.

Batting

Opening – Smith and Marsh are a solid set of specialist openers. Smith (8000 runs at 50) is probably the best opener of the last decade while Marsh (3000 at 33) is a tough son of a bitch who’ll hold his end up.

Middle Order - At 3 I’ve got Allan Lamb (4600 at 36) who was an ever-present in the England middle order for a decade and loved playing against the quicks. Then come the stroke players deSilva (6300 at 43) and Clarke(6000 at 49). They’re both quality players of spin and importantly for me in the middle get their runs relatively quickly. Brian McMillan at 6 was a technically perfect middle order batsman who accumulated 2000 runs with an average of 40.

Lower Order Okay its 350 for 4 and you’ve made it past my formidable middle order. Can you breathe a sigh of relief? No...because Dujon at 7 is a strokeplayer averaging 32 with 5 centuries, Streak and Nash are almost allrounders with averages of 22 and 23 (after Nash's injury restricted his bowling, there were suggestions he play on as specialist batsman). Anil Kumble at 10 has a fecking test century and 5 fifties and was the usual nightwatchman for India. You’ll get McGrath quickly enough I suppose if you make it that far.

Bowling

Glenn McGrath…I’m not even going to talk about except to say 563 wickets at 21 point fecking 6. Heath Streak was a one-man attack for Zimbabwe and a superb swing bowler with 216 wickets at 28. Dion Nash when not injured or smoking pot was a lively seam bowler who got 93 wickets at 28. Big Mac was a very underrated allrounder…international cricket came a little late for him in his career but he still managed 74 wickets at 34 always hitting the deck hard and making batsmen uncomfortable with his bounce. Now my spin option - Kumble has 619 wickets and every legspinner’s trick in the book plus some he's invented. Clarke and Aravinda will chip in and act as partnership breakers.

One thing you’ll note about the bowlers is that they won’t shirk long spells. There’s not one among them that needs to be mothered and bowled in short spells.

Dujon’s one of the all-time great keepers and an incredible athlete. Personally, I think McMillan’s the best slip fielder I have ever seen. From an article about him -
If he dropped a catch - and there aren't too many recorded instances, so you have to rely on his first-class colleagues for that - the reaction in the field would be stunned silence. Just silence, players looking at each other, not saying a word.
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McGrath will be buying him a lot of beers.

Smith’s captain and I have a bunch to choose from for Vice-Captain. Streak, Clarke and deSilva were all possibilities. I went with Kumble in the end because I think he’ll be a perfect complement for Smith’s aggression and impulsiveness.
 
Desert Eagle's Desert Eagles

Hayden
Sehwag
Shafiq
Hussey
Dhoni( C, Wk)
Sammy
Bravo
Mendis
Malinga
Srinath
Morrison

12th man: JP Duminy

My openers are pretty much sex on fire. Right/Left combo and if even one of them gets going they can take the game away from the opposition.

My middle order is also pretty strong, Hussey is obviously class. Shafiq has 2 centuries and 6 half centuries in 13 tests and can also contribute with occasional leg breaks. Ideally I would like to have Dhoni a position lower but i think an average of more than 37 along with 5 centuries and 24 half centuries makes him a very deserving number 5 batsman as well.

6 and 7 is filled with two west indian all rounders, one the current captain and one a former captain. Sammy is a decent medium pacer and a solid batsman. Bravo when on form is as destructive as it gets. Two centuries against a Mcgrath led Aussie pace attack down under shows his quality. He is also an excellent bowler.

8 and 9 are the two unorthodox sri lankan bowlers. "When I started playing Test cricket, I was not as good as Mendis. He is exceptional. He is the future of Sri Lankan cricket," Big words from Murali himself. Both bowlers had amazing test debuts and I would argue a little is due to the fact that their action takes some getting used to. I have no doubt that the older players in RI's team will struggle against them.

10/11 are my two opening bowlers. Morrison was NZ's number one pace bowler for almost a decade and Srinath carried the indian pace attack for a long time. They can both reverse swing the ball.

My twelfth man is JP Duminy. Can chip in with ball or bat and is an excellent fielder which is the number one prerequisite for a 12th man in test cricket.

other notes:

My fielding is excellent

7 out of my eleven players can bowl ( not counting Shafiq) giving me great variety.

RI's strength is Kumble and Mcgrath and I feel I have the kryptonite to those two in Hayden and Sehwag.

Good luck RI, may the best team win.
 
Someone please post this in the relevant thread when the poll opens for my game tomorrow. Thanks.

Team line-up:
Justin Langer – (average 45.27; 23 100’s) – a real battler as a batsman, Langer was an integral member of the successful Aussie side scoring over 7500 runs at Test level. He showed his ability to fight for runs when he was the leading Aussie run scorer in the 2005 ashes, where all batsman struggled with the swing movement, Langer showed he could get runs in the toughest of conditions, averaging 43 in that series. He will accumulate runs at his own pace and rarely will he give his wicket away by playing a false shot. Over his career Langer consistently proved he was a superb test opener and he will provide a good platform for my team to get started.

Marcus Trescothick – (average 43.79; 14 100’s) – an elegant batsman who combined aggression with genuine strokeplay and was a fixture at the top of England’s batting line up until depression got the better of him. Trescothick has the ability to take the initiative away from any bowling attack and score quick runs whilst never looking flustered in his batting and rarely giving his wicket away. An excellent slip fielder who would have scored a lot more runs had illness not stopped him, Trescothick will provide big runs for my team. A part-time spin option as well should he be needed.

Richie Richardson (c) – (average 44.39; 16 100’s) – coming in at the all important position of #3 is the destructively brilliant Richardson who will also captain my side. An outstanding batsman who was a world-class stroke player and had all the big shots in his armoury and a tendency to score big centuries once set, Richardson will provide fire-power and leadership to my team. An outstanding slip or gully fielder.

Ross Taylor – (average 43.52; 6 100’s) – Another aggressive player who has good technique, Taylor has already proven himself to be New Zealand’s best batsman and shown his ability to adapt to a leadership role and anchor the innings by averaging 57.70 since becoming Kiwi captain. He has shown more patience and temperament in recent years and will provide composure to my batting line-up. His fielding is also an asset to my team.

AB de Villiers – (average 49.16; 13 100’s) – An excellent batsman who possesses all the cricket shots, AB in recent years has emerged as an essential part of the successful SA side. Batting comes effortlessly to him and he demonstrated his ability to bat on all types of pitches by scoring first double-century by a South African against India and doing so in India. Averaging 63 since 2008 and the ability to bat anywhere in the order, AB will be the key batsman to my side and will score big runs against any type of bowler. He can also act as an emergency WK as well as being another brilliant fielder in my team.

HP Tillakaratne (WK) – (average 42.87; 11 100’s) – a gritty batsman who will provide solidity to the lower order and who will strengthen my batting line-up. An average of 47 when batting at the #6 position, he will provide resistance in my line-up should the top order fail and will be able to stick around with the tail. He may not have been an all-time great WK but he is competent enough to keep to my bowling attack and should not face any serious issues especially when he will be assisted by Warne, Trescothick and Richardson behind the stumps.

Abdul Razzaq – (batting average 28.61; 3 100’s; bowling average 36.94; 100 wickets) – he may be more successful at ODIs but since we are picking teams when players were at their peak, Razzaq will be a valuable all-rounder in my team who performed reasonably well in Tests as a lower-order option with the bat and alternative bowling option. He emerged as a genuine fast bowler who has now become a stump-to-stump option, Razzaq will provide control to my bowling attack whilst also having the ability to be a partnership breaker. His role is to solidify my bowling and batting and give me another option in both categories. A very aggressive batsman he can change the momentum of the game with a few big hits and will score some important runs down the order.

Chaminda Vaas – (bowling average 29.58; 355 wickets; batting average 24.32; 1 100) – an underrated player who carried Sri Lanka’s seam attack by himself and will be my opening bowler. A superb swing bowler, Vaas amassed over 350 wickets despite bowling on mostly flat tracks showing he is able to take wickets in the most difficult of conditions. Alongside the great Imran Khan, he is the only player to take 14 wickets in one match on the sub-continent. A master of swing bowling who will trouble both left and right handers with his ability to bowl both in and out swingers and a well disguised slower delivery, he will be offer my team the threat of picking up early wickets with the new ball and then returning when reverse swing comes into play and being as dangerous with the old ball. Averaging a useful 24 with the bat, he will add depth to my batting and score runs down the order.

Shane Warne – (bowling average 25.41; 708 wickets) – one of the greatest bowlers of all time, arguably the greatest spin bowler ever. Warne showed he got better with age by taking a record 96 wickets in 2005. Could bowl on all pitches and be as effective in all conditions, his ability to out-think the greatest batsman by mixing his deliveries up whilst never losing control made him the one of the most devastating bowlers ever. He will be the primary bowler in my team and with the supporting cast he is guaranteed to take many wickets. An excellent slip fielder as well as offering runs down the order ensuring my batting line up goes down to #9.

Stuart Clark – (bowling average 23.86; 94 wickets) – but for injury and the great Aussie bowling line-up, Clark would’ve been a mainstay in Aussie test cricket and potentially an all-time great. An incredible average and 94 wickets in just 24 matches, Clark has the ability to control the ball with superb line and length bowling whilst getting the ball to seam and cause havoc for batsman. He will open the bowling with Vaas and his role in the team will be to pick up key wickets, something which he has proven in his short career, whilst not giving away any runs and creating pressure so that the more penetrative Vaas or Warne can benefit from Clark’s superb accuracy.

Steven Finn – (bowling average 27.42; 56 wickets) – a wildcard pick to round off my bowling attack, Finn has shown he will be leading the English bowling attack in years to come. A genuine fast bowler who uses his height to trouble batsman, Finn also has the ability to swing the ball and pick up wickets when it matters most. Whilst Finn could be more expensive than my other bowlers, his pace and height will cause problems even for batsmen who have been set at the crease so he will offer the threat to break up partnerships and help changing the momentum of the game.

My bowling attack is well balanced with the 4 seamers who all offer a variety of pace, bounce, swing, reverse swing, seam, control and a bit of unpredictability. Vaas and Clark will open the bowling with Vaas offering swing and Clark offering line and length bowling with seam movement to trouble the batsman. Razzaq will be used as a stump to stump option to build pressure so that Warne will pick up the wickets when Omar’s batsmen become frustrated and resort to playing silly shots. Finn will offer pace and bounce which will unsettle the middle-order and with Vaas returning to utilise the reverse swing, his line-up will struggle to make sufficient runs.

Add to that attack the great Shane Warne who has the guile and intelligence to spin an entire side out by himself, I should have no trouble going through Omar’s batting line-up. Trescothick also provides a part-time spin option in the unlikely event I become desperate for wickets.

My batting is well balanced with some gritty players like Langer and Tillakaratne mixed together with more elegant stroke makers like Trescothick and Richardson. AB and Taylor in the middle order may not be to everyone’s liking but AB has become one of the best middle-order players in recent times and is as adept playing spin as he is fast bowling and looking at Omar’s attack I don’t see my batters facing many difficulties. Taylor too has shown he is maturing as a batsman and has all the shots necessary to be effective against Omar’s bowling attack.

Tillakaratne may not have been the best option available at WK but if push comes to shove I could always use AB as my WK and move Tillakaratne away from the gloves. I don’t envisage either player having any trouble with my bowlers and with Trescothick, Warne & Richardson making up my slip cordon I expect all edges behind to be taken.

Overall a balanced and deep batting line-up will ensure I have sufficient runs to put the game out of Omar’s reach. The variety and wicket-taking ability of my bowling attack makes my team the clear favourites to win.
 
Latest teams of people through


Interval Level - Akram, S. Mushtaq, Chanderpaul, Watson, Gul, Brendan McCullum, Gambhir, Robin Smith, Jimmy Adams, Cork, Lehmann, Asanka Gurusinha, Pointing

Crappy - Dravid, Walsh, Chris Cairns, G. Kirsten, M. Crowe, S. Mcgill, Alderman, Cullinan, M. Hafeez, Misbah, Taibu, Praore, Murali

Mightberight - Pollock, Ambrose, A.Cook, Akhtar, Swann,M. Prior, Gayle, Fleming, A Prince, C McMillan, Rhodes, Prabhakar, Kallis

Donadol - Sangakarra, Donald, Pietersen, McDermott, M. Waugh, S. Anwar, Atherton, Hooper, Cronje, Klusener, M Aamir, Yuvraj, Vettori

Stretch - Amla, Lee, Younis Khan, Ian Bishop, Samarweera, T. Dilshan,Fannie De Villers K.Wessels, Herath, Symonds, Bresnan, Strang, Steyn

-------------------------------------


What's interesting is that bar Interval, all 4 others have come from the bottom half of draft picks with Donaldo, mb and Stretch being the last 3. RI who will win today was also in bottom half.
 
Donadol said:
And we were forced to be smarter with our picks, it would appear.
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I think people with odd first two picks suffered mostly. Zen had Gilchrist and Vettori as first two. That looks ok but Gilly comes at no.7, that is not going to sway many people if batting above him is not up to the mark. Same with Vettori, a very good spin bowler but not someone who should be a second pick.
 
Simon Katich - Over 4000 runs, an average of 45. He really is a very good opening batsmen, infact, he has an average of 50 while opening(while scoring just under 3000 runs). A very dependable opener.
Then he can also bowl. Has an average of 30, taking 20 wickets, with one 5 wicket haul. Althought his wickets are less, he can break partnerships when needed.

Shoaib Mohammad - Another good opener. An average of just over 44, scoring more than 2500 runs. He will nicely compliment Katich while opening.

Nasser Hussain (C) - He will be my captain and my dependable number 3 batsman. He has an average of 37 playing just under 100 tests. But he has played many match winning innings, in some very difficult circumstances. At number 3, his average is over 39. He is a much better bat than his average suggests.

Sachin Tendulkar - Hmmm, what should i say? Arguably the best batsman in test cricket. Average of 55, while rises to over 56 at number 4. He is pure class.
He can also bowl, another bowler who can come on to break partnerships here and there.

Neil Mckenzie - A more than decent batsman. An average of over 37. Has scored 5 centuries, and 15's half centuries. He can also open the batting, which is benefitial to him, if the new bowl is taken while he's there on the crease, he can play the new ball out.

Jacob Oram - He can bat, he can bowl, and he's pretty good at it. Has an average of over 36, scoring 5 centuries and 6 half centuries, while having an average of 33 with the bowl. He will be playing a role both as a batsman, and as a bowler, and he'll do just fine.

Mark Boucher (wk) - 555 dismissals in 147 Tests. One of the best keepers, in terms of pure wicketkeeping skill. Also dependable batsman down the order, has done well many times when his team needed him to for a win or to ensure a draw. Determined to stay at the crease. An average of 30, with 5 hundreds, and 35 fifties.

Mitchell Johnson - Another player who can bat, and bowl, quite nicely. A batting average of 21, with a century, and 6 fifties, and a bowling average of 31 taking 190 wickets. A good new bowl bowler, with his pace and swing.

Andrew Caddick - Taken over 230 wickets, with an average of under 30. Batting average of 10, with a highscore of 49*. He was a good bowler, and that shows in his stats.

Danish Kaneria - He's taken 261 wickets, with an average of 34. He could get bounce, and could also turn the ball significantly. I know his average is a bit on the higher side, but i don't mind him giving a few extra runs to take a wicket. Most wickets by any pakistani spin bowler, and fourth by any pakistani bowler.

Mohammad Asif - Now this man is class on the pitch. A very smart bowler, can swing the ball both ways, can bowl long spells, is tall, gets bounce, and most importantly, he can outthink the batsman. He's taken over 100 wickets with a bowling average of 23. He's played a bit less tests, but what he has done in those tests, is what defines him on the pitch. He will be my sother new bowl bowler. It was a shame he got involved in spot fixing, or else he could have been a real class bowler.

Now, batting is obviously my strenght here. My openers are very good, and will lay a solid platform for the middle order to build on. And my middle order will definitely not disappoint. I bat deep till number 8, playing to my advantage. My batsmen might not have the greatest of averages, but they can do better than their average suggests. Having Boucher as my keeper ensures no keeping blunders for me, and i will not miss any oppurtunity for a wicket behind the stumps. His bowlers are not very special, except for Warne. And i have Sachin in my squad, who would not have a big problem facing him. Also Razzaq's average has been over 40 against most teams, except for Srilanka, Bang, and WI, and his batting average is vastly helped by his average against Bang being 131. Also two of his bowlers in Clark and Finn, haven't played many tests, althought you can say that for Asif, he took over 100 wickets and was class. The thing here is, he has just those 5 bowlers to bowl session in, and session out. If say i get a partnership going and batsmen settled, he won't have a secret weapon type bowler. After a solid opening partnership, Sachin and Hussain should take the score higher, and Neil, Oram, Boucher get partnerships going here and there, and Johnson with them drag the score further, before my tail comes in.

My bowling is also around par, compared to him, except for Warne obvious, but let's be honest. Even if i had anyone else(say Swann, McGill), Warne would still be the best, and by a good margin, so can't do much here. My opening bowlers provide pace, swing, bounce, everything needed for an opening bowler. Johnson and Asif will bowl well, then Caddick will come in first change. Kaneria is my spin option, and he can give a few runs away to take wickets, i don't mind. Then ther'e's Oram also. If a partnership gets going, i can bring in Sachin and Katich to try and break it, or to give rest to my bowlers. They too can bowl and take wickets. Once i reach the tail, i won't have much trouble getting thorugh it. I know Warney and Vaas can bat, but against Asif, they shouldn't be long on the crease.

That said, i think this is real tight. Our bowling is around the same level, except for Warne. Let's say our fast bowling is around the same level. He's got some very good batters, while i've got the best one, along with some good ones to compliment him. Should be a close game. I'm happy his fast bowling is not very special, and that should help my batters.

Fun facts - Langer has been dismissed by Caddick 4 times(3rd most)
Ross Taylor has been dimissed by Johnson the most(5 times)
AB De Villers has been dismissed by Asif 4 times(2nd most)
Vaas has been dismissed by Oram 3 times(3rd most)
 
crappycraperson said:
Did KM rule on that? I will PM him
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Yeah crappy. The rule was that you can have more than 3 players of nationalities in the squad, but not in the first XI.

Also I won't be on here tonight. Will check on mobile but won't be able to make the polls. You guys have to message someone else.
 
KM said:
Yeah crappy. The rule was that you can have more than 3 players of nationalities in the squad, but not in the first XI.

Also I won't be on here tonight. Will check on mobile but won't be able to make the polls. You guys have to message someone else.
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Ok. Also the picked player replaces someone or is added as 13th man?
 
KM said:
Yeah crappy. The rule was that you can have more than 3 players of nationalities in the squad, but not in the first XI.

Also I won't be on here tonight. Will check on mobile but won't be able to make the polls. You guys have to message someone else.
Click to expand...
Start the poll now itself
 
crappycraperson said:
Ok. Also the picked player replaces someone or is added as 13th man?
Click to expand...

He's added into the squad. Thought it would be good to give player more options so that they can change their team on according to the opponents.
 
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.
 
I am posting my team summary below. Whoever makes the match thread, please post it.
 
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.
 
Last game this round isn't it?

Time to start thinking about the quarters. We need someone who's not in the game to go to random.org and use the sequence generator to generate a sequence from 1 to 8. We can generate the matchups based on the following numbers allotted.

1. Stretch
2. Interval
3. Mightberight
4. Crappy
5. Donadol
6. Red-Indian
7. Harooney
8. Nm03 or Aldoraine
 
Red-Indian said:
Last game this round isn't it?

Time to start thinking about the quarters. We need someone who's not in the game to go to random.org and use the sequence generator to generate a sequence from 1 to 8. We can generate the matchups based on the following numbers allotted.

1. Stretch
2. Interval
3. Mightberight
4. Crappy
5. Donadol
6. Red-Indian
7. Harooney
8. Nm03 or Aldoraine
Click to expand...
These match ups will be a huge factor in who ends of winning it. I got lucky with being able to snatch Murali for my team. I am not sure who I want now... I know a couple who I want to avoid though...
 
If we're going to start the quarters tomorrow, we better get a move on in the draw. Give anybody who's first up a chance to modify their write-ups and tailor to the opponent if they want.

I'll PM KM to do the draw and post it on here.
 
Don't really need a neutral. KM or indeed any of the guys who got eliminated in the previous round.

Here's the list below. Jut needs a random sequence from 1 to 8.

1. Stretch
2. Interval
3. Mightberight
4. Crappy
5. Donadol
6. Red-Indian
7. Harooney
8. Nm03
 
I can do it. I can't seem to find the website we normally use though.
 
There were 8 items in your list. Here they are in random order:

Crappy
Stretch
Nm03
Donadol
Harooney
Red-Indian
Interval
Mightberight

Timestamp: 2012-08-07 11:36:05 UTC
 
Who did everyone pick by the way?

1. Stretch - Steyn
2. Interval - Ponting
3. Mighberight - Kallis
4. Crappy - Murali
5. Donadol - Vettori
6. Red-Indian - Hayden
7. Harooney - Tendulkar? Boucher?
8. Nm03 - Steve Waugh? Merv Hughes?
 
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