Draft: 90s England Draft - It's Richard Blakey time

Aislabie

Test Cricket is Best Cricket
Moderator
Ireland
PlanetCricket Award Winner
Joined
Sep 3, 2010
Location
Derbyshire
upload_2021-1-2_17-35-9.png

:eng: :bwl: Richard Illingworth

90s Tests - 19 wickets @ 32.36 (best 4/96) in 9 matches
Test career - 19 wickets @ 32.36 (best 4/96) in 9 matches
First-class career - 831 wickets @ 31.54 (27 5WI, best 7/50) in 376 matches

Weirdly, I really wanted to pick Ian Salisbury as a luxury spinner. But I can't - so I'm going with Richard Illingworth. Just a nice, reliable stock spinner to complete my bowling attack. From what I can make out of Richard Illingworth's playing career, I'm genuinely quite baffled that he didn't even rack up ten Test matches. He wasn't ever really a player who was going to demolish a Test batting order on any but the most helpful of spinning pitches, but he would be the ideal foil to a pretty strong four-man seam attack.

@Aislabie's XI so far:
1. :eng: :bat: Nick Knight
2. :eng: :bat: Mike Gatting
3. :eng: :bat: Mark Ramprakash
4. :eng: :bat: Graeme Hick
5. :eng: :bat: David Gower
6.
7. :eng: :ar: Chris Lewis
8. :eng: :ar: Phillip DeFreitas
9. :eng: :bwl: Richard Illingworth
10. :eng: :bwl: Angus Fraser
11. :eng: :bwl: Devon Malcolm

@blockerdave
 

blockerdave

ICC Chairman
Joined
Aug 19, 2013
Location
London
Profile Flag
England
View attachment 241550

:eng: :bwl: Richard Illingworth

90s Tests - 19 wickets @ 32.36 (best 4/96) in 9 matches
Test career - 19 wickets @ 32.36 (best 4/96) in 9 matches
First-class career - 831 wickets @ 31.54 (27 5WI, best 7/50) in 376 matches

Weirdly, I really wanted to pick Ian Salisbury as a luxury spinner. But I can't - so I'm going with Richard Illingworth. Just a nice, reliable stock spinner to complete my bowling attack. From what I can make out of Richard Illingworth's playing career, I'm genuinely quite baffled that he didn't even rack up ten Test matches. He wasn't ever really a player who was going to demolish a Test batting order on any but the most helpful of spinning pitches, but he would be the ideal foil to a pretty strong four-man seam attack.

@Aislabie's XI so far:
1. :eng: :bat: Nick Knight
2. :eng: :bat: Mike Gatting
3. :eng: :bat: Mark Ramprakash
4. :eng: :bat: Graeme Hick
5. :eng: :bat: David Gower
6.
7. :eng: :ar: Chris Lewis
8. :eng: :ar: Phillip DeFreitas
9. :eng: :bwl: Richard Illingworth
10. :eng: :bwl: Angus Fraser
11. :eng: :bwl: Devon Malcolm

@blockerdave

I always thought it was worth picking Illingworth so we could send in Gooch twice and hope they wouldn’t notice under the helmet...
 

blockerdave

ICC Chairman
Joined
Aug 19, 2013
Location
London
Profile Flag
England
or an idea of Ben Hollioake that was probably better than the reality...

OK I mean yeah, 2,794 first class runs at 25.87 in 75 matches, with only 3 centuries, and 126 wickets at 33.45 with a single 5-fer don’t scream quality.

But 8 years before Kevin Pietersen showed England that you could whack McGrath and Warne, Ben Hollioake had already done it, with less power for sure but certainly more elegance. Down the track to McGrath? You got it. Slog sweep Warne for 6 over mid-wicket? You got it. Whip through the leg-side Viv Richards would be happy with? You got it. And that straight drive that got him off the mark - I could watch that all day.


You can’t tell me someone who did that at 19 wasn’t gonna crack it?

I don’t even like One Day Cricket* but that summer Ben Hollioake played 2 Limited overs inns I’ve never forgotten (this and his 98 in the B&H final).

I can’t believe he wouldn’t have come good. As a bowler he wasn’t in Flintoff’s class but he could have been a far superior batsman. There’s an alternative reality where he and Flintoff were in the same England side, giving us freedom to pick Read or Foster and we were the best team in the world.

And that’s why Ben Hollioake is batting 6 in my side. He won’t bowl much.

@Yash. Is up to pick next.

*for real, I couldn’t give a damn that England won the World Cup in 2019: I’ve just no interest in the format. It’s as if they won it in tiddlywinks or speed crochet as far as I’m concerned.
 
Last edited:

Aislabie

Test Cricket is Best Cricket
Moderator
Ireland
PlanetCricket Award Winner
Joined
Sep 3, 2010
Location
Derbyshire
There’s an alternative reality where he and Flintoff were in the same England side, giving us freedom to pick Read or Foster and we were the best team in the world.

Something like this?

1. :eng: :bat: Andrew Strauss
2. :eng: :bat: Marcus Trescothick
3. :eng: :bat: Michael Vaughan :c:
4. :eng: :bat: Graham Thorpe
5. :eng: :bat: Kevin Pietersen
6. :eng: :ar: Ben Hollioake
7. :eng: :ar: Andrew Flintoff
8. :eng: :wk: Chris Read
9. :eng: :bwl: Graeme Swann
10. :eng: :bwl: Simon Jones
11. :eng: :bwl: Matthew Hoggard
 

blockerdave

ICC Chairman
Joined
Aug 19, 2013
Location
London
Profile Flag
England
Something like this?

1. :eng: :bat: Andrew Strauss
2. :eng: :bat: Marcus Trescothick
3. :eng: :bat: Michael Vaughan :c:
4. :eng: :bat: Graham Thorpe
5. :eng: :bat: Kevin Pietersen
6. :eng: :ar: Ben Hollioake
7. :eng: :ar: Andrew Flintoff
8. :eng: :wk: Chris Read
9. :eng: :bwl: Graeme Swann
10. :eng: :bwl: Simon Jones
11. :eng: :bwl: Matthew Hoggard

If it’s gonna be my dream XI the 60+ average Vaughan stays opening but yeah that’s pretty close!
 

Aislabie

Test Cricket is Best Cricket
Moderator
Ireland
PlanetCricket Award Winner
Joined
Sep 3, 2010
Location
Derbyshire
If it’s gonna be my dream XI the 60+ average Vaughan stays opening but yeah that’s pretty close!
In that case you'll probably be needing a non-Vaughan captain. Trescothick would be the obvious choice, but with his depression and anxiety concerns I don't particularly think the extra stress of captaincy would have been fair or sustainable. Strauss would have been quite premature in that side, but he's the obvious leader out of that group. Either him or Hoggy
 

blockerdave

ICC Chairman
Joined
Aug 19, 2013
Location
London
Profile Flag
England
In that case you'll probably be needing a non-Vaughan captain. Trescothick would be the obvious choice, but with his depression and anxiety concerns I don't particularly think the extra stress of captaincy would have been fair or sustainable. Strauss would have been quite premature in that side, but he's the obvious leader out of that group. Either him or Hoggy

I really dislike Strauss, is the problem.[DOUBLEPOST=1609620370][/DOUBLEPOST]Mark Butcher to bat 3 and captain.
 

blockerdave

ICC Chairman
Joined
Aug 19, 2013
Location
London
Profile Flag
England
I can hazard a guess that there's not another person on this forum, and possibly in the world, whose dream XI contains Mark Butcher in any capacity - let alone as captain

The Mark Butcher that came back into the team from 2000-ish until he got injured and went out of the side in 2004 was an absolute top-class player. 3rd top scorer in that period for England (behind Tres and Vaughan) at over 40.[DOUBLEPOST=1609622945][/DOUBLEPOST]
Why don't you like Strauss?

Just a boring, empty, corporate blazer.
 

Ed Smith

Gaffer
Moderator
ENG....
Northern Superchargers
The Boys
Joined
May 31, 2006
Location
Jos Buttler's Nightmares
Profile Flag
England
I can hazard a guess that there's not another person on this forum, and possibly in the world, whose dream XI contains Mark Butcher in any capacity - let alone as captain

Wrong :D

The Mark Butcher that came back into the team from 2000-ish until he got injured and went out of the side in 2004 was an absolute top-class player. 3rd top scorer in that period for England (behind Tres and Vaughan) at over 40.[DOUBLEPOST=1609622945][/DOUBLEPOST]

Just a boring, empty, corporate blazer.

Ah so not the player then, just the boredom he's been involved in since.
 

Users who are viewing this thread

Top