Akshay/Akash team:
Batting:
1. Herbert Sutcliffe (Avg: 61) - Right Handed Batsman
Less flamboyant and famous than his partner Jack Hobbs, Sutcliffe nonetheless possessed an immaculate defensive technique, evidenced by his average of 164 balls per dismissal, the highest in history (30 more than Bradman). He also has the 4th highest test average among batsmen who have played 20 or more innings. Sutcliffe did well against pace-men like Larwood in his time and was known for his courage in facing up to fast bowlers.
2. Graeme Smith* (Avg: 48) - Left Handed Batsman
Our captain, the man who resuscitated the self-belief of the South African test team and led them in over 100 test matches.
This article details how Smith's style places him at a tremendous advantage against right arm seamers, with the only weakness in his play being to left arm seamers who swing the ball which our opponent doesn't have. Unfortunately he does support the scousers, but you can't win at everything in life. Smith boasts an incredible average of 73 in the West Indies and, together with Sutcliffe, he will effectively blunt the early pace threat of Steyn and Willis.
3. Younis Khan (Avg: 54) - Right Handed Batsman
Pakistan's highest run scorer in test cricket is an excellent player of spin and also a skilled slip fielder. He also averages over 60 in 4th innings in Tests (the only player ever to do so), which will come in handy as we will be batting second.
4. Inzamam Ul-Haq (Avg: 50) - Right Handed Batsman
Younis' partner in crime, with whom he once put together a 324 run stand in India, joins forces with him again. Inzamam is known for his matchwinning innings, with the 2nd highest average in winning causes behind only Bradman. He was also rated by Imran Khan as the best player of pace in his generation.
5. Shivnarine Chanderpaul (Avg: 51) - Left Handed Batsman
Another strong player of fast bowling, Chanderpaul is the seventh highest all time run scorer. He also has the 2nd highest batting average in the past decade among batsmen with 500 or more runs. He will be an important factor in this match, playing at home at the ground at which he is the highest run scorer.
6. Tony Greig (Avg: 40, Bowl Avg: 32, SR: 70) - Right Handed Batsman
A solid batsman and a versatile bowler. His bowling style based on bounce and aggression will be suited to this wicket, and he also has the ability to switch to a quick offspin. Greig scored 148 at this ground and took 6-146 in the next innings with his seam bowling, thus becoming the first Englishman to score a century and take a 5-for in the same test. Five of those six wickets were of the top 5 batsman. He followed it up with another century in the next test, and took 156-13 in the final test of the series, this time relying purely on spin. Greig's accomplishments in the West Indies were particularly notable because he bowled to the likes of Kanhai, Kallicharan and Sobers while himself facing the bowling of Andy Roberts and Lance Gibbs.
7. Hashan Tillakaratne (Avg: 43) - Left Handed Batsman
An athletic fielder and a doughty batsman who made the opposition work for his wicket. His away record is not as good, but he is still a solid batsman at no. 7.
Bowling:
Sydney Barnes (Avg: 16, SR: 42)
The spearhead of our attack is possibly the greatest bowler of all time, known as the 'Bradman of bowlers' [
1]. He averages an astonishing 7 wickets per test match. Barnes was a master of both swing and spin, often imparting both with pace on the same delivery such as in his trademark 'Barnes ball' which swung in late on middle and leg and then spun away off the surface at about 125kphs [
2]. His height allowed him to extract plenty of bounce as well. He also added conventional legbreak, offbreak, and a topspinner to his repertoire over his career, all delivered at fast-medium pace [
3].
Curtly Ambrose (Avg: 21, SR: 55) - Right Arm Fast
Ambrose serves as the perfect complement to Barnes' subtlety and deception here with ferocious pace and bounce. Another of our players in home territory, Ambrose is the second highest wicket taker on this ground with 52 wickets, just 1 behind Walsh. His best spells on this ground were 8-45 and 6-34 spells, against England and South Africa respectively. Ambrose can turn matches on their head in the space of a single session, as he has done time and time again.
Darren Gough (Avg: 28, SR: 52) - Right Arm Fast
Our first change bowler, he will relieve Barnes after a short spell and see plenty of the new ball. Gough will exploit the early bounce in the wicket at first, and then later on switch to reverse-swing as the ball wears, delivering his famous in-swinging yorkers. His solid strike rate in tandem with Ambrose and Barnes will allow us to take wickets at regular intervals and prevent partnerships from developing.
Bill Johnston (Avg: 24, SR: 69) - Left Arm Fast-Medium, Left Arm Orthodox
A member of Bradman's Invincibles, he was hailed by Wisden as the greatest contributor to the success of that 1948 side, taking over 100 wickets in that series (the only bowler to do so) [
1]. He operated as a strike/stock bowler hybrid who would switch from swing to finger-spin once the ball became worn [
2]. He was also possessed a mean bouncer.
Why We'll Win:
1. Toss favors us. Captains have chosen to bowl first more often than bat first here, and the results justify those decisions with the team batting second scoring higher on average and winning more often. Our (up to) five pace-men are going to love this wicket.
2. Sydney Barnes was a very difficult bowler to read even by his peers who played against him frequently, due to his unique delivery action which he invented for himself. His style was not replicated by any bowler that Skills's batsmen have ever faced, and his swing plus spin at pace is going to have them at sixes and sevens.
3. Both Barnes and Johnston were used to bowling plenty with an old ball, and know how to get results with it. In contrast, Skills' fast bowlers are all used to getting plenty of the new ball, and will be less effective once they have to share it.
4. Our batting line-up, including the tail, averages almost 400 runs per innings. Additionally, all our batsmen are doughty and will not give away their wicket cheaply, forcing Skills' bowlers to toil away for long sessions that will wear them down.
5. Willis struggled in the West Indies (averaging 51), often flopping in the same matches on tour here that Tony Greig excelled in. If he has difficulties again, Steyn will have to take the bulk of the wickets himself. That won't be easy considering our line-up's proficiency against pace.
. First Amir, now Langer.