|
|
Post by bandage on Mar 27, 2006 9:16:07 GMT
I'd have to go for:
Hayden (Australia)
Dravid (India)
Ponting (Australia)
Inzamam (Pakistan)
Pietersen (England)
Flintoff (England)
Sangakarra (Sri Lanka)
Warne (Australia)
Pollock (South Africa)
Shoaib (Pakistan)
Murali (Sri Lanka)
Nice mix in the batting line up. 'The Wall' will compliment Hayden's stroke play. Ponting is in imperious form lately. KP, Inzy and Freddie to add a little flair. Sanga is a superb glove man and has also overtaken Gilchrist as the premier wicket keeper batsman imo. The best leg spinner in history (Warne) is complimented by the best off spinner in history (Murali). The express pace and strike bowling of Shoaib can work in tandem with the line and length of Pollock. Freddie to also take on a load of the bowling.
3 Australia
2 England
2 Pakistan
2 Sri Lanka
1 India
1 South Africa
|
|
|
|
Post by cully on Mar 27, 2006 9:47:15 GMT
I'd have to agree with most of what you 've gone for. It's a testament to the quality of the two spinners that it wouldn't matter where this fictional game is played. they are both adept at claiming wkts on any continent and in any conditions.
i would have to disagree with Hayden at the top of the order. Since he was found out by England in the latest Ashes series he lost alot of confidence and whilst he has regained some of it, from watching him at the weekend i'm sure that the same technical faults are still present. it's just that the SA bowling attack aren't bowling in the right areas to highlight them. so i would go for somebody like Graeme Smith at the top of the order. he is a gritty lefthander and a fantastic leader of men. may i ask whom you have decided to captain the side ?
i'm not so sure about Pietersen either, I would have preferred somebody like Gibbs of SA or Lara. both have proven track records and will offer the flair and shot-making which you are looking for. also KP is a liability in the field. i can only think of Ronan McGeehan of Clontarf U15s circa 1996 dropping more catches in one season than him !!
|
|
|
|
Post by bandage on Mar 27, 2006 10:10:38 GMT
I was actually struggling for openers which I thought unusual. I have moved Dravid from #3 to open with Hayden as I wanted to include Punter and The Wall. I totally disagree with your Graeme Smith assertions. He has really struggled for runs in the last 18 months and has had a particularly lean time both in Australia late last year and again in the return series at home. I'm not sure you could class him as a great leader of men either. To me they are behind Australia, England, India and maybe Pakistan at the moment - they were in the top 2/3 when he took over. Baiting the Aussies and calling them chokers before the test series has not turned out to be the wisest of moves also. I know Lara, Gibbs et al have more experience but I think they are past their best. KP is my wild card - one for the future as it were. Where I struggled was my consistent line and length bowler. For years McGrath would have been the automatic choice. I went for Pollock and even he is not the force he once was.
|
|
|
|
Post by cully on Mar 27, 2006 10:35:53 GMT
Smith has led what is a poor SA team very well. Look at their recent ODI campaign v the convicts. you still have not named a skipper for your side.
|
|
|
|
Post by therock67 on Mar 27, 2006 11:07:09 GMT
Surprised not to see Lara or Gibbs in there, especially the latter. Brian Byrne told me before that Gibbs is a class act and I believe him.
Shocking state of affairs from the West Indies that they don't merit an inclusion.
Two Australian batsmen seems like a lot given how they struggled last summer.
|
|
|
|
Post by bandage on Mar 27, 2006 11:07:23 GMT
We'll have to agree to disagree on Smith. I think he's very gritty but hasn't a lot of quality. My team is full of potential skippers; Dravid, Punter, Inzy, Polly, even Freddie now. But I want to give the honour to the greatest cricketer of them all. Shane Warne should have been Aussie test skipper at some stage in his career. I, for one, cannot wait to see his Hampshire side at Castle Avenue.
|
|
|
|
Post by bandage on Mar 27, 2006 11:12:19 GMT
Gibbs is vastly overrated imo. Wonderful knock in the odi the other week but he's not done much in the test arena lately. There was some stat the other day that he's been clean bowled in 8 of his last 12 innings. Sort out your technique son! Lara is 36 now. He's capable of rolling back the years on occasion but he's unsurprisingly not the force he once was. Would like to see his average since he turned 30?
|
|
|
|
Post by therock67 on Mar 27, 2006 11:30:05 GMT
Lara is 36 now. He's capable of rolling back the years on occasion but he's unsurprisingly not the force he once was. Would like to see his average since he turned 30? Or his R Factor!  |
|
|
|
Post by cully on Mar 27, 2006 15:18:00 GMT
Warne wasn't given the test skipper due to his off-field problems and poor publicity. shame really, however he's been advising punter for the past few years. i think he was genuinely hurt at not receiving the captaincy but more so when Gilly got the VC.
|
|
|
|
Post by bandage on Mar 29, 2006 7:47:26 GMT
Delighted I stuck Sangakkara in my team. He's currently battering the Pakistanis all around the place.
|
|
|
|
Post by cully on Mar 29, 2006 7:56:03 GMT
it was a joke that he was left out of the Super Test World XI back in November. He played in the ODI team and was their best batsman by a street. they picked mark boucher ahead of him, he's not got a run in years.
|
|
