Test draft Match 6 - Boycott vs Raees

Who will win the test series?

  • Total voters
    15
  • Poll closed .
Don't like Aravinda as opener. Has he played before in that position?

And think Boycott is a batsman short.

Prefer the combo of Marshall+Croft+Broad to Dev+Mackenzie+Willis

As far as spinners go, Qadir is obviously better than Macgill, but thats just the second match.

Currently going with boycott to win 2-1
 
I love Raees' batting lineup and Boycott's bowling. I fancy Raees for the 2nd test, Boycott for the 3rd. I think it's down to 1st game where, if his openers survive initial few overs, he has a good chance. Just feel Raees will come out better due to that middle order, although feel 1-1 is the most fair result
 
Yeah I think Qadir is getting underrated a little, I like Macgill a lot but Qadir is in a different class. Malcolm Marshall being the stand-out bowler here is the biggest factor for me though.
 
Inzi, Lara, Waugh and Jimmy in the third match is a seriously daunting task for any bowling line up. I can see why people are saying is a batsman short but McMillan has no place in this draft either. Plus Knott is a very good player. Just that I don't rate either team's openers

Bowling obviously favours boycott. But Willis is very good. Spin is better for raees. The way I see it a close contest with a lot of pressure on Marshall and croft to ensure they get through the middle order.

I'll vote in sometime
 
I think people are underplaying my bowling attack here for the first game.. on a flat wicket my fast bowlers are superb in subcontinental conditions. Dev obviously is a legend on indian surfaces, McKenzie is renowned as one of the greatest flat wicket bowlers of all time.. he was better on flat wickets than in seaming conditions. Below is his record v India and Pakistan...

MCKENZIE V INDIA (IN INDIA)

Overall v India - 403.1 Overs 47W Best Figures 7/66 Ave: 20.57 SR:54.53 ER: 2.26

34 wickets out of that 47 came in India at an average of 19.

  • In Chennai he took 10W @91, career average at that ground of 9.1
  • In Eden Gardens he took 8 Wickers @132, career average at that ground of 16
  • At MA Chidabaram Stadium he took 5W @64, career average at that ground of 12.

So at three of the grounds he has a ridiculous average, it is across a number of series so he was a consistent performer in India.

MCKENZIE V PAKISTAN (IN PAKISTAN)

He played in Pakistan in just one test match but he was stunning and he got out Hanif Mohammed (ranked as one of the big three of all time Pakistan batsmen with Miandad & Inzy)

Figures of 6/69 in the first innings and 2/62 in the second innings. 8/131 AVE: 16.

WILLIS IN INDIA

OVERS: 264.1 WICKETS: 32 BEST FIG: 6/53 AVER: 22.38 SR: 49.53 ER: 2.71

He got Gavaskar out on three occasions in India (Dismissed him for 25, 11 and a duck 0) so he didn't just get Sunil out when his concentration had waned but early doors while he is dangerous.
 
Compare that bowling attack to Croft who is completely unproven in India and Broad who is terrible in India and Pakistan, in addition to Ajmal who is proven on flat tracks.

Broad averages 145 in India with the ball and 66 with the ball in Sri Lanka and 46 with the ball v Bangladesh. Yet this guy is going to help bowl out my batting lineup on a flat track.. He is going to be targeted big time.

I would back myself to win 2-1 as on flat tracks and spinning wicket, I have the better team and proven players for those surfaces.
 
Broad has never played in Pakistan for obvious reasons. Flat pitches in this era aren't restricted to one region. There are everywhere. He's done well in UAE, WI and traditionally flat pitches like Lords, the Oval. Simply put as a third seamer he'll do the job.

At the very least I am confident my batsmen will see out the flat track for a draw. At least mine are solid top down which is an area of weakness for you in the third test which you claim to be confident of at least a draw.
 
Boycott said:
Broad has never played in Pakistan for obvious reasons. Flat pitches in this era aren't restricted to one region. There are everywhere. He's done well in UAE, WI and traditionally flat pitches like Lords, the Oval. Simply put as a third seamer he'll do the job.

At the very least I am confident my batsmen will see out the flat track for a draw. At least mine are solid top down which is an area of weakness for you in the third test which you claim to be confident of at least a draw.
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My point is that my bowlers are arguably more dangerous on a flat track than any set of bowlers because they're specialists for those conditions.

So of course normally batsmen of your calibre should be confident of batting out a draw but it won't be easy because I have a strong collection of bowlers for those particular conditions. . McKenzie in particular will be a menace on that pitch.
 
Interval said:
Inzi, Lara, Waugh and Jimmy in the third match is a seriously daunting task for any bowling line up. I can see why people are saying is a batsman short but McMillan has no place in this draft either. Plus Knott is a very good player. Just that I don't rate either team's openers

Bowling obviously favours boycott. But Willis is very good. Spin is better for raees. The way I see it a close contest with a lot of pressure on Marshall and croft to ensure they get through the middle order.

I'll vote in sometime
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Why don't you rate Lawry?
 
Boycott said:
Why don't you rate Lawry?
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I am surprised if he doesn't. For me he is the best opener out of our 4 opening batsmen and very solid. I considered him myself when picking my side.
 
I don't really equate flat wickets to subcontinental conditions though. Subcontinental tracks can be turners or they can be flat. The best evaluation for how a bowler would do on a wicket that offers nothing is records in matches/series where most innings had large totals or were known to have been played on a flat deck. Can be hard to dig that kind of information up though.
 
I think Kapil Dev is being underrated as a bowler. He has 430 test wickets which isn't a small thing even though he effectively played a similar timeline to Malcolm Marshall. As a lead bowler he is not a bad choice. Willis+Dev is a good enough attack. Mckenzie though has a SR of about 72? Which isn't good enough imo for a bowler in the 60s. Broad would get smashed in a spin wicket but as he plays only in the other 2 pitches he would be fine. He has 2 test hattricks.
Qadir and McGill are good spinners but the batsmen of KP Dravid and Lara Inzy all are excellent spin players and won't be very affected by the same. McMillan for me isn't going to be as effective. He has 70 odd wickets from nearly 40 games with an avg of 33 and SR of 80? That's part timer figures at best.

I guess id have to go with 1-0 boycott as I think his pace attack off Marshall+Croft+Broad would be more effective than Dev+Willis+Mckenzie especially against Siddhu and Arvinda in the third test. (I like Siddhu but from what I've seen of him he would struggle vs class bowlers).
 
prath92 said:
I think Kapil Dev is being underrated as a bowler. He has 430 test wickets which isn't a small thing even though he effectively played a similar timeline to Malcolm Marshall. As a lead bowler he is not a bad choice. Willis+Dev is a good enough attack. Mckenzie though has a SR of about 72? Which isn't good enough imo for a bowler in the 60s. Broad would get smashed in a spin wicket but as he plays only in the other 2 pitches he would be fine. He has 2 test hattricks.
Qadir and McGill are good spinners but the batsmen of KP Dravid and Lara Inzy all are excellent spin players and won't be very affected by the same. McMillan for me isn't going to be as effective. He has 70 odd wickets from nearly 40 games with an avg of 33 and SR of 80? That's part timer figures at best.

I guess id have to go with 1-0 boycott as I think his pace attack off Marshall+Croft+Broad would be more effective than Dev+Willis+Mckenzie especially against Siddhu and Arvinda in the third test. (I like Siddhu but from what I've seen of him he would struggle vs class bowlers).
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He is a part timer. Good economy so I think he can keep it tight when called upon. Decent batsman. Played either 6/7 and did well guiding the tail. Since Broad/Allen and Marshall can hold up an end that comes handy.
 
Boycott said:
He is a part timer. Good economy so I think he can keep it tight when called upon. Decent batsman. Played either 6/7 and did well guiding the tail. Since Broad/Allen and Marshall can hold up an end that comes handy.
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Economy isn't that important in tests for me. Unless you have a chase on the 5th day effectively turning it into a one day game.

However a small issue would be you have just 4 legit bowlers and a part timer. As against 5 legit bowlers and a part timer like Waugh in raees team. So the wicket load for the bowlers may be higher for you in comparison to raees
 
prath92 said:
Economy isn't that important in tests for me. Unless you have a chase on the 5th day effectively turning it into a one day game.

However a small issue would be you have just 4 legit bowlers and a part timer. As against 5 legit bowlers and a part timer like Waugh in raees team. So the wicket load for the bowlers may be higher for you in comparison to raees
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Marshall and Croft build up pressure because of their skill level. They'll be hard to settle let alone get away. So when McMillan takes the ball I expect the batsmen to try and target him, but his nagging accuracy can tie them down. Test cricket is as much about building pressure and my attack allows that and I believe we have all angles covered regarding balance. Marshall - complete fast bowler. Croft - aggressive speed. Broad has bounce due to his height but is now a fine at executing seam bowling. MacGill skilful leg spin and Allen is a wily spinner who builds pressure and forces errors.
 
Boycott said:
This has run its course. Good game @Raees
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Well played mate, pleasure debating with you.. Marshall was such a tough prospect to overcome and once you mentioned the Pakistan figures for Croft, upon further analysis it seemed like he had the number of Miandad which is seriously impressive. Good luck for the next round.
 
Raees said:
Well played mate, pleasure debating with you.. Marshall was such a tough prospect to overcome and once you mentioned the Pakistan figures for Croft, upon further analysis it seemed like he had the number of Miandad which is seriously impressive. Good luck for the next round.
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Thanks pal :). Likewise I enjoyed the debate. You assembled a fine team, top players and a GOAT batsman. For that it's a shame this was was a first round match. The calibre of players on both sides would have been more fitting for later rounds.
 
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