Stretch
Full Member
My write-up.
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.
B.Lara – He’s smashed Australia, he’s smashed South Africa. He’s certainly smashed England, and he’s even smashed records that he smashed previously. A living legend of cricket.
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 22 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.
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 time 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 men - J. Rhodes, C. McMillan
Matchup analysis.
Interval Level has a good team. It’s balanced, and it’s effective. But with all due respect, I think I am at least slightly better than him in all departments. I’d favour Cook and Gayle to stay around for longer than Gambhir and Watson, and what was one of my weaknesses has turned into one of my biggest strengths – the middle order. Kallis and Lara are the centre pieces of which Fleming, Prince, and especially Prior would ably support them. Chanderpaul and Ponting are brilliant, but Shiv isn’t quite as good as Lara or Kallis in my humble opinion and their back-ups of Lehmann, Adams and McCullum fail to inspire as much as mine do. I’ve also got Pollock and Swann to make my batting ridiculously deep and they are far better 8s and 9s than Akram and Cork respectively.
IL’s bowling is dangerous with the addition of Donald. Him, Akram and Mushtaq are quite balanced against my Ambrose, Pollock and Swann – although I maintain Ambrose is, with McGrath, the best bowler in the draft. Still, the difference definitely becomes stark when we get down to the 4th and 5th options. It’s Akhtar over Cork any day, and Kallis over Watson as the 5th bowler is obvious.
I know it’s a bit crude comparing like for like – anything can happen on the day – but overall I believe that more often than not, my team would beat Interval Level’s.
I would actually have Kallis at 3, Lara 4 and Fleming 5 rather. Kallis was SA's 3 batsman for a while before Amla.
