The XI:-
1. Desmond Haynes
2. Marcus Trescothick
3. Greg Chappell
4. Michael Hussey
5. Arjuna Ranatunga
6. Mushfiqur Rahim
7. Lance Klusener
8. Shaun Pollock
9. Daniel Vettori
10. Javagal Srinath
11. Bob Willis.
The Tactics:-
THE TEAM
The Batting Order:-
1. Desmond Haynes.
2. Marcus Trescothick.
3. Greg Chappell.
4. Michael Hussey.
5. Arjuna Ranatunga. [
C]
6. Mushfiqur Rahim. [
†]
7. Lance Klusener.
8. Shaun Pollock.
9. Daniel Vettori.
10. Javagal Srinath.
11. Bob Willis.
Opening the batting, we have one of the best ODI openers of all time in
Desmond Haynes accompanying one of the most destructive ODI openers of the modern era in
Marcus Trescothick. With the classic left hand-right hand duo, we will offer the opposition bowling attack something extra to worry about from the get go. We would have our batsmen playing their natural game so that we ensure we are ensuring they bat to their potential. So, we would have Trescothick attacking the bowling with Haynes looking to build the innings. Trescothick's attacking style would complement with Haynes really well.
At one down, we have one of the finest batsmen to have graced the game of cricket in
Greg Chappell. While he was a cnut of a coach, that shouldn't hinder the fact that during his playing days, he was and still is considered by many as the second best Australian batsman of all time after the great Don Bradman and often was toe to toe with Viv Richards when it came to stroke-play and scoring runs against quality attacks. At four, we have one of the best finishers of all time in
Michael Hussey. Considered Australia's heir to Michael Bevan, Michael Hussey made a name for himself by applying the finishing touches to some wonderful starts given the Australian top order. Like Bevan, Hussey was a master at finding the gaps and keeping the scoreboard ticking, but he also had that extra gear where he could really accelerate when needed. At five, we have the legendary Sri Lankan captain and the man who would lead us,
Arjuna Ranatunga. A fine batsman during his hey days, Ranatunga was a hard hitter with often the knack for hitting it big. His stroke-making ability would be essential in the middle overs. Though not the best runner between the wickets, Ranatunga mastered the art of finding the gaps and walking the singles.
The lower order comprises of batsmen with great stroke-making ability, both in terms of quality as well as depth. Starting the deep lower order is
Mushfiqur Rahim who time and again shown for Bangladesh that he can not only bring some stability in the middle-order but also at the same time, he can go big if needed. We then have one of the most destructive batsman of all time,
Lance Klusener.
Zulu was a master at accelerating the run-rate and with his ability to clear the ropes at will, he would be essential for us to post a big total. Very few batsmen have savaged bowling attacks like peak-Zulu did circa 1999. He would also have support from his South African teammate,
Shaun Pollock, who was quite a good batsman on his day and like Zulu helped South Africa post/chase down some big totals. After the South African duo, we have
Daniel Vettori coming to bat. Known for his all-round ability, Vettori provides us with another tailender who can bat well. We then have
Javagal Srinath, who can be a decent pinch-hitter on his day and
Bob Willis rounding off the tail.
All in all, the batting line-up is extremely balanced and has a very long tail. We have batsmen like Desmond Haynes, Greg Chappell and Michael Hussey who were masters at building an innings and big hitters like Marcus Trescothick, Lance Klusener, Arjuna Ranatunga and Shaun Pollock etc who could accelerate the run-rate and help us post a big total!
***IF we are cruising well and have wickets in hand during after 2/3rd of the game, we would promote Shaun Pollock as a pinch-hitter to get us some quick runs and accelerate the run-rate. Shaun Pollock doesn't have to stay there for long. A quick 20 ball 30 would be quite helpful is providing us with some sort of momentum for the late overs to build-upon.
The Bowling:-
Shaun Pollock and
Bob Willis would open the bowling for us. Shaun Pollock's line and length bowling would complement Bob Willis' fast and aggressive bowling really well. Great bowling attacks hunt in packs and in Pollock and Bob Willis, we have two excellent bowlers who could provide all sorts of problem to opposition batsmen with their variety.
Javagal Srinath will be the first change bowler. The Barbados wicket would provide pace and bounce and some swing initially. Both Willis and Srinath were tall bowlers with a knack for good bouncers. The wicket would help them initially with the new ball and a bowler of Pollock's calibre and ability would be difficult to bat against on any kind of wicket.
In the middle orders, we would have
Lance Klusener,
Daniel Vettori and
Greg Chappell share the bowling. Klusener and Vettori are the primary bowlers but Chappell would offer us with a couple of overs if needed as some of variety to the bowling attack. Vettori was an excellent ODI bowler because he was very economical and could really restrict the flow of the runs. He would help us build the pressure from one end with one of Klusener or Srinath looking to capitalize from the other end.
When the ball starts to reverse, we would have Klusener and Srinath bowling and looking to capitalize on the reverse swing. Srinath was an excellent reverse swing bowler and with his action, he did the shiny side of the ball extremely well while Klusener with his variety in terms of off-cutters, leg-cutters and blockholes would be quite deadly with the old ball alongside Srinath.
During the death overs, we would have Pollock, Willis and Klusener in the bowling attack. Three different kinds of bowlers but all excellent at what they do. Pollock with his line and length bowling would be difficult to score against like he was through out his career, Willis would offer the raw pace and yorkers while Klusener would offer us his trademark off-cutters, leg-cutters, slow-deliveries and blockholes. This kind of variety in bowling attack would be a tough ask for any batting order to deal with and in Arjuna Ranatunga, we have one of the best ODI captains of all time who was great at rotating the bowling attacks and taking the best out of his bowlers.
FOR THIS MATCH SPECIFICALLY
Both our openers, Desmond Haynes and Marcus Trescothick have an excellent record in West Indies. Haynes has an average of 67.71 with a strike-rate of 78.01 which is amazing considering the era Haynes played in while Trescothick averages an equally impressive, if not more 66.75 at a strike-rate of 94.68. Considering their track record on these types of tracks, I expect them to provide us with a great start which would help us to give a great base to the innings for the middle-order to build upon and the lower order to accelerate the post a great total.
Bowling wise, we would to get a couple of early wickets when the new ball would be offering some sort of swing. Especially against Saeed Anwar who struggles in tracks which offer pace and bounce. Crappy has got a really side but there is one issue with his batting order. Cairns aside and to an extent Clive Lloyd, none of his batsmen are exactly big hitters. With him chasing, and us have some of the best ever economical bowlers of all time in Shaun Pollock, Bob Willis and Daniel Vettori, we would look to restrict the flow of runs. With an increasing run-rate and right field placing under Ranatunga, we can really put his middle-order under pressure and make them panic. Even Cairns who was a good hitter of the ball was hit and miss throughout his career. So, it gives us a good chance of winning the match as he doesn't have the chasers who would help him guide through what I expect to be a big chase for him.
