Test draft - 1st SF - Interval vs Skills || Vote guys

Who will win the test series?

  • Total voters
    20
  • Poll closed .

Varun

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Welcome to the 1st SF of the test draft!

  • Judge the players on their peaks excluding any 6-12 month purple patch.
  • Vote for the team you think will win a 3 match test series between these 2 sides based on the given nature of pitches.
  1. 1st test: Good batting pitch.
  2. 2nd test: Slow wicket which gets worse as the game goes on and will assist spinners heavily.
  3. 3rd test: Green top
Team Skills:

qfgBVU2.png


Team Interval:

Greenidge
Jaya
Kallis
Sachin
Border
Laxman
Bairstow
Pollock
Warne
Akram
Boult (3rd test only)
Saqlain
 
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Interval write up:

Reasons why I'll win

1. Spin tracks: Admittedly, Skills has some very good players of spin. Most of them are good players of spin. But the issue here is whether my batting lasts longer than him on a deteriorating pitch. His batsmen may be good against spin (Lara, Hussey, Hayden, Cook et all) but mine are equally as good or better (Jaya, Sachin, Kallis, Border, Laxman). Moreover, I have more ammo in terms of bowling to blow him out of the water - Warne, Saqlain (leg+off) vs his Swann and DD. He has pacers that can bowl on subcontinental pitches - Imran, Kapil, Marshall; but so do I in Akram and Pollock

2. Pace tracks: Now this is where most people will start to believe that his class 4 of Marshall, Walsh, Imran and Dev will outdo my trio of Akram, Pollock, Warne and Boult (add Kallis here; he was no mug with the ball). Admittedly, his is better (mine aren't slouches either). BUT his batting weakness lies against swing. Look up Hayden, Hussey, Imran and to an extent Cook struggle in swinging conditions of England, RSA. Hayden averages 35 in Eng/ RSA; Hussey 31/32; Cook 45/31 and Imran 36 in England. I have 3 swing bowlers - all of whom can swing the bowl either ways. That should negate considerable advantage he has in batting. Therefore, I think over 100 iterations, this match should end up even

3. Batting tracks: His batting is good but just a level below mine. He isn't getting a result on this track. Remember that Jayasuriya also comes into play on this track making my batting almost unassailable. Oh and just to be controversial Greenidge > Hayden :p

4. Oh and

 
A few things about my team:

  • I've chosen not to play a second spinner but this doesn't really matter. Courtney Walsh averages 18 in India and 21 in Pakistan.
  • Imran Khan averages 19 in Pakistan and 28 in India.
  • Malcolm Marshall mid 20s in both India and Pakistan. So I don't need a second spinner in these conditions

I also bat deep as feck. If I ever get in a spot of bother, we will stick like a resilient skidmark at the bottom of a toilet bowl. It's going to be tough as feck bowling us out.
 
Spinning track, Interval wins it and fast track, Skills wins it. But that batting track Im not sure who has a better batting team.
 
RDCR07 said:
Spinning track, Interval wins it and fast track, Skills wins it. But that batting track Im not sure who has a better batting team.
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Bowling plays a bigger part on a flat track surely. You need 12 wickets.

My fast bowlers also have excellent records in the subcontinent. So it's not a given.
 
Marshall's record by country

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Imran's record by country

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Walsh's record by country

6gEWsCH.png


That's not to mention Kapil Dev and Swann.
 
RDCR07 said:
Spinning track, Interval wins it and fast track, Skills wins it. But that batting track Im not sure who has a better batting team.
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Its actually not that straight forward. His batsmen aren't that good in swing conditions

Look up Hayden, Hussey, Imran and to an extent Cook struggle in swinging conditions of England, RSA. Hayden averages 35 in Eng/ RSA; Hussey 31/32; Cook 45/31 and Imran 36 in England. I have 3 swing bowlers - all of whom can swing the bowl either ways.

Oh and whilst he will rightfully highlight the better bowling; the batting conditions would go my way more often than not - 4 top notch bowlers in a test is fine - his Walsh, Marshall, Imran, Dev combo is adequately matched by Akram, Pollock, Warne and Saqlain. Point being that his superiority gap in bowling is much smaller than I have in batting.
 
Interval said:
Its actually not that straight forward. His batsmen aren't that good in swing conditions

Look up Hayden, Hussey, Imran and to an extent Cook struggle in swinging conditions of England, RSA. Hayden averages 35 in Eng/ RSA; Hussey 31/32; Cook 45/31 and Imran 36 in England. I have 3 swing bowlers - all of whom can swing the bowl either ways.

Oh and whilst he will rightfully highlight the better bowling; the batting conditions would go my way more often than not - 4 top notch bowlers in a test is fine - his Walsh, Marshall, Imran, Dev combo is adequately matched by Akram, Pollock, Warne and Saqlain. Point being that his superiority gap in bowling is much smaller than I have in batting.
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Your forgetting Swann who was a better bowler than Saqlain.
 
Skills said:
Your forgetting Swann who was a better bowler than Saqlain.
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I did mention that 4 bowlers are typically adequate in a test and picked your 4 best. Oh and Swann wasn't. Saqlain could bamboozle batsmen that Swann couldn't.

Also, you're absolutely paying no heed to how much better my batting is than yours
 
Interval said:
I did mention that 4 bowlers are typically adequate in a test and picked your 4 best. Oh and Swann wasn't. Saqlain could bamboozle batsmen that Swann couldn't.

Also, you're absolutely paying no heed to how much better my batting is than yours
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If Saqlain makes his way into a group that's challenging my frontline, Swann should be in there too. Swann has played in England most of his career and ended up with an identical record, so his Saqlains bamboozling wasn't all that much more useful than Swann's traditional offspin.

I think your batting line up is great, I also think mine is pretty great itself, and adequate for its purpose.
 
Honestly I think this is is going to be really tight if it played out in real life. Probably 1-0 to the winning team, and I hope it's mine :D
 
Went with Skills to win 2-1. I think both sides have quality batsmen on all surfaces. In fact I would say Interval's marginally is better because as he says, some of Skills batsmen are susceptible in seaming conditions. For the third test it goes his way but Skills is very well balanced in both facets and it's the quality of bowling which will see him take the first two tests. A very good spinner in Swann who is supported by a relentless pace attack.
 
Would love to have some discussions. I'm caught up in a client request till 2pm after which I'll give my few cents on this. We need more people to vote.
 
In real life, I think it'd be a 1-1 draw with the first test being drawn. Will vote depending on the why skills and interval think they'd win the first test.
 
Varun said:
In real life, I think it'd be a 1-1 draw with the first test being drawn. Will vote depending on the why skills and interval think they'd win the first test.
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I think I'd win the first test because I've got a better chance of taking 20 wickets. I've got more than enough options, and the relentless pressure could be enough to win the test.

Secondly, I believe I can score runs quicker. Hayden & Lara were butchers at their best (career strike rates of 60), and on a flat pitch I think they'd give my bowlers more time to bowl out my opponent.
 
These are the reasons that I believe I will win... @Skills

1. Superior batting
Barring Lara, I don't see how his middle order will build an innings. Hussey's averages drop when he number 4 (46 odd). If my bowlers (Wasim and Pollock) can go through Lara and one of his openers, I believe his middle order can be got at. Admittedly, I don't know much about Root.

I've noticed a massive dissonance when people judge matches; Pacy tracks - whoever has the better pacers; spin tracks the better spinners; By the same logic, on the batting surface, you should be opting for a team that has the better batting.

On a batting surface - Greenidge, Jaya, Sachin, Kallis, Border and Laxman will be impossible to get through twice. Yes, he bats deep but so do I - Pollock at number 8 is a legit batsman and Wasim can also bat a bit at 9. So the question is, in 100 iterations, how many times do you see the batting of each team faltering?

2. Pace tracks is not a given for Skills
I'll reiterate, that you need to look at the pace tracks in context of the batting. Whilst my batting has extensive experience and a great track record of batting on pace tracks (Kallis, Border, Greenidge in specific), his seem to struggle against quality swing - Hayden, Hussey, Imran and to an extent Cook struggle in swinging conditions of England, RSA. Hayden averages 35 in Eng/ RSA; Hussey 31/32; Cook 45/31 and Imran 36 in England. I have 3 swing bowlers - all of whom can swing the bowl either ways.

3. On a batting track...
His bowling of Walsh, Marshall, Imran, Kapil and Swann is adequately matched by Wasim/ Warne/ Pollock and Saqlain (do you even need a 5th bowler in tests; if I need, Kallis averaged 28 in the first 8 years or so of his career). Not to mention that Warne and Saqlain can bowl long spells as spinners.

Skills said:
I think I'd win the first test because I've got a better chance of taking 20 wickets. I've got more than enough options, and the relentless pressure could be enough to win the test.

Secondly, I believe I can score runs quicker. Hayden & Lara were butchers at their best (career strike rates of 60), and on a flat pitch I think they'd give my bowlers more time to bowl out my opponent.
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My team isn't exactly full of plodders either - Greenidge, Jaya, Sachin, Lax have enough flair to do the same.
About taking wickets to win the third match part goes, its not supposed to be that simple. For one, I have Wasim, Warne and Pollock who are absolutely in the top echelons of bowlers themselves - so its not like I have incompetent bowlers. Second, like I mentioned earlier, how is it that all matches are completely determined by the bowlers you have? Pace tracks - see bowlers; spin track - see bowlers; batting track - you have the bowlers?!?
 
Interval said:
These are the reasons that I believe I will win... @Skills

1. Superior batting
Barring Lara, I don't see how his middle order will build an innings. Hussey's averages drop when he number 4 (46 odd). If my bowlers (Wasim and Pollock) can go through Lara and one of his openers, I believe his middle order can be got at. Admittedly, I don't know much about Root.

I've noticed a massive dissonance when people judge matches; Pacy tracks - whoever has the better pacers; spin tracks the better spinners; By the same logic, on the batting surface, you should be opting for a team that has the better batting.

On a batting surface - Greenidge, Jaya, Sachin, Kallis, Border and Laxman will be impossible to get through twice. Yes, he bats deep but so do I - Pollock at number 8 is a legit batsman and Wasim can also bat a bit at 9. So the question is, in 100 iterations, how many times do you see the batting of each team faltering?

2. Pace tracks is not a given for Skills
I'll reiterate, that you need to look at the pace tracks in context of the batting. Whilst my batting has extensive experience and a great track record of batting on pace tracks (Kallis, Border, Greenidge in specific), his seem to struggle against quality swing - Hayden, Hussey, Imran and to an extent Cook struggle in swinging conditions of England, RSA. Hayden averages 35 in Eng/ RSA; Hussey 31/32; Cook 45/31 and Imran 36 in England. I have 3 swing bowlers - all of whom can swing the bowl either ways.

3. On a batting track...
His bowling of Walsh, Marshall, Imran, Kapil and Swann is adequately matched by Wasim/ Warne/ Pollock and Saqlain (do you even need a 5th bowler in tests; if I need, Kallis averaged 28 in the first 8 years or so of his career). Not to mention that Warne and Saqlain can bowl long spells as spinners.


My team isn't exactly full of plodders either - Greenidge, Jaya, Sachin, Lax have enough flair to do the same.
About taking wickets to win the third match part goes, its not supposed to be that simple. For one, I have Wasim, Warne and Pollock who are absolutely in the top echelons of bowlers themselves - so its not like I have incompetent bowlers. Second, like I mentioned earlier, how is it that all matches are completely determined by the bowlers you have? Pace tracks - see bowlers; spin track - see bowlers; batting track - you have the bowlers?!?
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How the feck does Cook struggle in England? He just fecking scored 170 odd a few days ago in a test. On the other hand you have Jayasuriya who averages 35 in England, 35 in SA, 24 in New Zealand, 31 in Australia. His offstump will be gone within the first 12 balls of each innings with the ball in Marshall or Imran's hands.

And it's obviously not adequately matched. You keep throwing Saqlain in that group, who it's a joke to mention alongside the lot I have. And yes you need 20 wickets to win, it doesn't matter if you score 1000. You won't win the game unless you get 20 wickets in a match. 5 relentless wicket taking options means I have a much better chance of getting them.
 
Skills said:
Your forgetting Swann who was a better bowler than Saqlain.
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Oh c'mon. He wasn't.

Why the feck is Saqlain getting so underrated? The only spinner ever to consistently trouble Indian batting.
 
KM said:
Oh c'mon. He wasn't.

Why the feck is Saqlain getting so underrated? The only spinner ever to consistently trouble Indian batting.
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He was a great ODI bowler (arguably the best ever). It's not the same in the test format.
 
Skills said:
How the feck does Cook struggle in England? He just fecking scored 170 odd a few days ago in a test. On the other hand you have Jayasuriya who averages 35 in England, 35 in SA, 24 in New Zealand, 31 in Australia. His offstump will be gone within the first 12 balls of each innings with the ball in Marshall or Imran's hands.
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Yep. Jaya doesn't stand a chance in pace against your likes. But then again, Hayden, Hussey aren't exactly legends in those conditions. What I meant what that these players have lower than their overall averages in these conditions. And I kept the 45 average to not be disingenous there. However, he did struggle in South Africa.
And it's obviously not adequately matched. You keep throwing Saqlain in that group, who it's a joke to mention alongside the lot I have.
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Opinions, I guess. But he's definitely not a joke.

And yes you need 20 wickets to win, it doesn't matter if you score 1000. You won't win the game unless you get 20 wickets in a match. 5 relentless wicket taking options means I have a much better chance of getting them
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I think you missed the point on how people are judging multiple pitches. But if I were to use your language, even I have 4 relentless wicket taking options. My bowlers aren't exactly mugs.
 
Sorry boys, been distracted with the footie draft.

Right my thoughts on this clear batting v bowling battle are this.. Skills bowling attack is holy feck balls kind of awesome, like seriously stunning. Swann is underwhelming in an all time context so I would give the spin track to Interval what with Warne & Saqlain (my two favorite spinners of all time) in tandem and not to mention a brilliant batting lineup.

On the batting pitch, with the bowlers at Skills arsenal, you can still easily see them bowling a side out.. the names on that side. feck me.. Imran, Dev, Walsh and just for a bit of fun Malcolm fecking Marshall. Sheesh.

Bowling pitch, clearly Interval's batting lineup is better but when you have bowlers of that calibre on a bowlers wicket, and they're at their peak and fully pumped.. you'll be incredibly lucky to make big runs and Sachin even at his best does not score game changing amount of runs, whereas you'd back a Lara to post a big score against any calibre of attack.. and he has ample batting support in this case too.

It would be a low scoring affair, but I would back Skills side to edge it.
 
KM said:
Oh c'mon. He wasn't.

Why the feck is Saqlain getting so underrated? The only spinner ever to consistently trouble Indian batting.
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No way is Swann in Saqlain's league.. that is disgraceful.
 
Interval 2-1 for me. Jaya is an eye sore but other 3 in top 4 are just too good. Very hard to vote against Lara in tests though. On bowling side too, Warne and Akram give Interval a slight edge.
 
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