Redcafe ODI Cricket Draft- Aldo vs Varun

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


  • Total voters
    11
  • Poll closed .

KM

I’m afraid I just blue myself
Joined
Sep 18, 2008
Messages
49,917
Varun

Hashim Amla
Gary Kirsten
Shane Watson
Misbah Ul Haq
Carl Hooper
Kamran Akmal
Justin Kemp
Anil Kumble
James Anderson
Michael Kasprowicz
Muttiah Muralitharan

12th man- Tsotsobe

Batting: Great South African opening pair in Amla and Kirsten. Wonderful strokemaker in Amla to give the innings a brisk start combined with the solidity and calmness that Kirsten will bring to the lineup. Amla is someone who is great at building innings so thats another big plus. These 2 will be followed by Watson who's another fantastic player. Big hitter of the ball and scores big knocks.

Misbah will provide the fulcrum to the team to play around. Steady player who can accelerate later. His best performances come when playing at the No 4 slot and thats where i'l be playing him. He's followed by the very talented Carl Hooper. Very good against both pacers and spinners, he'l give the team impetus or stability as needed.

Akmal and Kemp will give the team the late flourish it needs. 7 batsmen, more than enough for an ODI when they are of this quality.

Bowling: Murali and Kumble. 2 of the greatest spinners Cricket has seen in the same lineup. Both economical bowlers and great at picking wickets. Can bowl at any point of time depending on the situation. 20 top quality overs of spin by the wizards supplemented by another spell by Hooper will be very handy against most teams.

Anderson with his swing bowling will open the innings supported by Kasprowicz. Not the best of opening bowlers admittedly but with excellent support in the likes of Watson and Kemp, i have lots of bowling options and with such variety, teams wont have it easy. Hooper is another option in attack with lots of wickets in ODIs, quality all rounder.

Overall, i think its a wonderfully balanced team with lots of strokemakers ably supported by stable batsmen to play with. This team can post huge totals and with the genuises in Murali and Kumble supported by Anderson Kaspro Watson Kemp and Hooper, i'd back my bowlers to make life very difficult for most lineups. 3 quality allrounders in the team in Watson, Kemp and Hooper which is much needed in ODIs.

AldoRaine
y team :

3ZsXw.jpg


Two openers who compliment each other and are a proven pair that led Australia throughout it's glory years. With Gilchrist smashing balls to every part of the ground on one side and Mark Waugh playing his elegant game and splitting the gaps with ease on the other. I expect them to give me a strong start in every game, without holding up the run rate, which is a must for every ODI innings. To follow them I have a set of graceful and determined middle order. All 3 players have captained their countries and have all it takes to build an innings and carry forward the cracking start given by the openers. And to finish the innings, I have the best in the game. Michael Bevan who would put the maximum price on his wicket and would be extremely valuable in a case where the team has suffered a rare collapse and needs an anchor to see it through. Cairns and Azhar are capable of hitting the big shots. Umar Gul is no mug with the bat either. The whole batting order played in the 90s against the best bowling attacks of all time.

Bowling has an excellent balance of strike rate and economy to it. Walsh and De Villiers are two of the most economical bowlers in the draft, and would build immense pressure and strangle the opposition. With Gul and Mendis at the other end being great wicket takes and providing the deliveries to exploit the pressure created by Walsh and De Villiers. Cairns would be the fifth bowler, who has over 200 wickets to his name, and Mark Waugh with another 100 odd comes in to provide the variety with his off spin.

The wicket keeper is also the best in the game, with multiple records to his name. With accurate bowlers such as Walsh and De Villiers, there are bound to be edges flying.

My team is a great fielding unit, starting with Gilly himself who was as athletic as they come. Mark Waugh is one of the finest slip fielders of all time. And in Azhar I have a mercurial fielder in the outfield. The rest of the team is in general very fit and would save loads of runs.

Opposition Tactics
While his team has an extremely strong batting order, it lacks the urgency needed in an ODI innings. My bowlers can slow down the run rate with ease.

Vaas, while is a good bowler, wouldn't be able to provide the team with early wickets against my strong opening pair. Prasad and Maharoof who are his 3rd and 4th strongest bowlers are very weak against a strong batting order.

Player Profiles :

Adam Gilchrist : He is considered to be one of the greatest wicket-keeper-batsmen in the history of the game. He holds the world record for the most dismissals by a wicket keeper in One Day International cricket. His 16 ODI centuries are the most by a wicket-keeper. He holds the unique record of scoring at least 50 runs in successive World Cup finals (in 1999, 2003 and 2007) and is one of only three players to have won three titles. Won the game in the 2007 final with a lightening quick century.

Mark Waugh : Waugh is regarded as one of the most elegant and gifted stroke makers to ever play the game. His three centuries at the 1996 Cricket World Cup made him the only batsman to ever achieve this feat, and a fourth century in the 1999 tournament made him the only Australian to score more than 1000 runs in World Cup competition and to score four centuries. He became the leading Australian run-scorer and century maker in ODIs during the 1999 tournament. Best slip fielder of his generation.

Richie Richardson : Captained West Indies, with 44 half centuries to his name and 5 tons. Flaboyant player who never cared to wear a helmet against the fastest of bowlers. A real livewire.

Javed Miandad : Greatest batsman Pakistan has ever produced. Adept to all styles of play, determined to win which was proven by his immense contribution in the 1992 Cricket World Cup with half centuries in most games including the semi final and final. He will bring great experience and quality to the team.

Mohammed Azharuddin : In his prime, he had a graceful, fluid batting style, comparable to that of his English contemporary, David Gower and Australian batsman Greg Chappell. Add to that, he was capable of accelerating when required, and had the fastest ODI century record at one time. The most succesful Indian captain in ODIs and a lightening quick fielder. At his very best he was as good as Sachin.

Michael Bevan : The best finisher the game has seen, who saw Australia through to most of their wins. Excellent in batting with the tail, extremely difficult when it comes to giving away his wicket, and has a wide variety of shots.

Chris Cairns : At his best the best all rounder in the world, as described by Warne. A great number 7 to have, with a history of being able to clear the boundary with ease. Also a fine bowler with over 200 wickets to his name.

Umar Gul : After the two Ws, the best Pakistani quickie in ODIs without the bad temperament of Akhtar. A wicked yorker and the ability to swing the ball both ways, Gul established himself is the spearhead of Pakistan and consistently took wickets on flat subcontinent tracks.

Courtney Walsh : One of the many great Windie quickies, Walsh was a tireless worker not afraid of running uphill and bowling with ferocious pace and accuracy. Very very hard to score against.

Fanie De Villers : Another miserly bowler who produced crucial wickets when needed. One of the few who troubled Sachin at his prime.

Ajantha Mendis : Still holds an average of 20 and an equally impressive strike rate. Had the perfect start to his career, and demolished all batsmen in sight. Can bowl 6 different balls in an over.

Opposition Tactics
His main attacking weapon is the twin spin attack with Kumble and Murali, but unfortunately for him, I have very good players of spin. Miandad and Azhar were extremely good against top quality spinners, while both Mark Waugh and Bevan with their great technique and array of shots handled spinners really well. Those batsmen would be there during the middle overs and hence can play out the two spinners without getting under pressure.

After that, his pace attack is highly underwhelming. Anderson and Kasperowics are not top quality bowlers, and considering they will be opening the bowling against the likes of Gilchrist, I can see them getting hit all around the park.

His batting also has a few weak spots in there. Misbah has been a culprit of staying at the crease for ages and not contributing at all. Watson and Amla, while are very good modern day batsmen, are still inexperienced in terms of facing quality bowlers. Seasoned campaigners like Walsh and De Villiers can stifle them and put them under pressure. The batting order is top heavy, and lacks genuine finishers who can take the team home in a high pressure situation. No one of the class of Bevans or Cairns.
 
Aldo. Not a fan of Varun's batting. It's not got proper balance.

Gilchrist would murder Aldo's opening bowlers..

Just a good quality, balanced team from Aldo, imo.
 
Have to go with aldoraine here. Decent one day unit. Still has some glaring weaknesses, IMO, but should be sorted once he gets to pick a player.
 
Looks a lost cause already with the number of votes games gets.

Anyways, Miandad in the 90s wasnt that great a player. Very mediocre record.

Mendis isnt much of an ODI bowler. His sheer surprise got him wickets at the start but he pretty much faded after that.

He has only 5 bowlers 2 of which are Cairns and Mendis.

I'd open my bowling with Murali to counter Gilly.

Thats about my arguments.
 
Was always a risk going with 2 spinners. Could have picked a fast bowler instead of Kumble. Will have a proper look at the stats past 1990 and vote tomorrow
 
Went with Aldo. Just a class lineup. Having said that, Varun's team is really good too. Two good teams just one slightly better than the other.