Draft: Best to Never Play ODIs

[Aislabie]

@Parth D has missed his slot

@ahmedleo414 now

 

[ahmedleo414]

Fred Trueman

@ddrap14 you're next

 

[ddrap14]

So I have Donald Bradman. Surely this would mean that the next best batting option is taken... well yes, because the next option by average is Graeme Pollock. But the next one...

He was known as the Black Bradman in England and Australia. But, in the Caribbean? Bradman was called the White George Headley. Very happy to take this man into my team.

Provisional lineup:
3. Don Bradman
4. George Headley
7. Billy Barnes
9. JJ Ferris
10. George Lohmann

@VC the slogger

 

[VC the slogger]

Ray Lindwall, writeup shortly..


@NILAYSHAH60

 

[VC the slogger]

There were two reasons why Don Bradman was unable to finish with a Test average of 100 - one was perhaps his own nerves, the other was the sublime bowling of Ray Lindwall who claimed 6 for 20 to completely wreck England for 52 in their first innings, thus ensuring that Australia and Bradman in extenstion didn't have to bat twice. He was arguably the biggest ace up Bradman's sleeve on that unbeaten 1948 'Invincibles' tour, thrilling spectators everywhere with his ability to set batsmen up wonderfully with pacy bouncers followed by searing pinpoint yorkers. His batting was also by no means anything short of genuine all-round quality, with him smashing then Test cricket's third fastest century off just 89 balls in 1946/47, and the quickest fifty in the Ashes in terms of minutes in 1953. Overall, he claimed 228 wickets at 23.03 apiece and scored 1502 runs at 21.15 with 2 centuries from his 61 Tests between 1946 and 1960, one of which he even captained Australia in 1956/57 when the then skipper Ian Johnson was unavailable - the only fast bowler to do so until Pat Cummins some 65 years later in 2021. Alongside Keith Miller, he formed the then most prolific fast-bowling partnership in Test history with the duo claiming a total of 340 wickets in 50 Tests together, which undoubtedly inspired several future generations of fast bowling pairs that have since gone on to overtake them.


VC's XI

1. Barry Richards
2.
3.
4. Graeme Pollock
5. Clyde Walcott
6.
7.
8. Bart King
9. Ray Lindwall
10.
11.

 

[NILAYSHAH60]

Vijay Merchant
Vijay Madhav Thackersay populalry known as Vijay Merchant was perhaps the greatest batsman in his country during his peak days. With a first-class average of 71 he was considered as next in line to the great Don Bradman. Born in Bombay, he followed the typical Bombay school of batsmanship. He was quite consistent and his body language just spoke for himself. He was more like a front foot dominated player but had shots like cut & pull in his repertoire. At the later end of his career he developed a really fine hook stroke. He loved taking on the spinners but was equally dominant against pace bowling. He scored more than 13,000 runs with the best score of 359* to his name in his first-class career. Infact at the later end of his Test career he also started to open the batting for India. He was very aggressive at times and would score around 150 runs in just about a day. His combination of consistency and aggression made him one of those players who was a prime candidate for limited overs Cricket. Unfortunately he did not belong to that era.

Erapalli Prasanna
If Cricket was a game of Chess then this man is the master of it. Prasanna was a thinking bowler and he always looked at what the batsman is trying to do and how he is going to get them out. Even a slight error was followed by an extremely thought out and a planned action. He was an attacking spinner who loved to flight the ball but would still have a lot of varieties in his bowling. He decided to complete his undergraduate studies and returned to Cricket after a break of 5-long years. On his return he found a good support from his Captain MAK Pataudi. But unfortunately he became a victim of politics as he was always left out for Venkatraghavan. Taking 957 First-Class wicket, Prasanna also played limited overs Cricket. He took 17 List-A wickets in just 9 games at an impressive average of just over 18!!
​

Nilay's XI

1. Michael Klinger ​
2. Vijay Merchant ​
3. 
   
4. 
   
5. 
   
6. Aditya Tare ​
7. Franklyn Stephenson ​
8. Garth le Roux ​
9. 
   
10. 
    
11. Erapalli Prasanna
    ​

 

[NILAYSHAH60]

@VC the slogger your turn now

 

[VC the slogger]

Oh goody..

In a draft where you can't pick either of Joel Garner or Glenn McGrath, the only viable replacement for either of those two players and someone who had a bit of both their traits in Garner's height and McGrath's relentless accuracy is Vintcent van der Bijl. A fast-medium bowler standing at a mighty 6'7" he was a victim of South Africa's justifiable isolation from international cricket between 1971 and 1992; actually pretty much his whole career started and finished within that period, and in that time racked up numbers that were simply mind-boggling and easily placed him among the finest players in the world. In first-class cricket he claimed 767 wickets at just 16.54 apiece from 156 matches, but in List-A cricket he was nothing short of an absolute demon - 132 wickets at just 18.06 apiece, at an economy rate of (wait for it)... 2.73 runs per over!!! Even Joel Garner, his contemporary who was regarded as the finest limited overs bowler in history proved oh so slightly more expensive at 2.96 per over. He was no mug with the bat either, averaging a pretty healthy 16.20 in first-class cricket and 15.66 in List-As despite mostly batting at Nos 10 and 11 in some very powerful all-round South African lineups of that era which could have placed him slightly higher up in most other countries. Then there's also the small matter of him turning up for Middlesex at the age of 36 in 1980 with his cricketing career in it's final stages and recording a haul of 85 wickets at just 14.72, consequently bowling them to title victories in the County Championship and Gillette Cup in what proved to be his only full county season. With no hope of playing international cricket, he called it a day in 1982/83 while still at the top of his game to focus solely on his teaching career.


VC's XI

1. Barry Richards
2.
3.
4. Graeme Pollock
5. Clyde Walcott
6.
7.
8. Bart King
9. Ray Lindwall
10. Vince van der Bijl
11.


@ddrap14

 

[NILAYSHAH60]

Oh goody..

In a draft where you can't pick either of Joel Garner or Glenn McGrath, the only viable replacement for either of those two players and someone who had a bit of both their traits in Garner's height and McGrath's relentless accuracy is Vintcent van der Bijl. A fast-medium bowler standing at a mighty 6'7" he was a victim of South Africa's justifiable isolation from international cricket between 1971 and 1992; actually pretty much his whole career started and finished within that period, and in that time racked up numbers that were simply mind-boggling and easily placed him among the finest players in the world. In first-class cricket he claimed 767 wickets at just 16.54 apiece from 156 matches, but in List-A cricket he was nothing short of an absolute demon - 132 wickets at just 18.06 apiece, at an economy rate of (wait for it)... 2.73 runs per over!!! Even Joel Garner, his contemporary who was regarded as the finest limited overs bowler in history proved oh so slightly more expensive at 2.96 per over. He was no mug with the bat either, averaging a pretty healthy 16.20 in first-class cricket and 15.66 in List-As despite mostly batting at Nos 10 and 11 in some very powerful all-round South African lineups of that era which could have placed him slightly higher up in most other countries. Then there's also the small matter of him turning up for Middlesex at the age of 36 in 1980 with his cricketing career in it's final stages and recording a haul of 85 wickets at just 14.72, consequently bowling them to title victories in the County Championship and Gillette Cup in what proved to be his only full county season. With no hope of playing international cricket, he called it a day in 1982/83 while still at the top of his game to focus solely on his teaching career.


VC's XI

1. Barry Richards
2.
3.
4. Graeme Pollock
5. Clyde Walcott
6.
7.
8. Bart King
9. Ray Lindwall
10. Vince van der Bijl
11.


@ddrap14

van Bijl was someone I was about to pick earlier but le Roux & Stephenson had got more wickets so went with those. Honestly I felt he was better than le Roux.

 

[ddrap14]

I was tossing up whether to fill one of two gaps in my side, but I decided to add my first opener with this pick. Len Hutton wasn't Bradman - if we ignore his 364, the differences are painfully obvious. But he was still one of the greatest players England have ever produced - for me, he walks into any all-time England XI alongside one of Sir Alastair Cook or Sir Jack Hobbs as the opener.

Provisional lineup:
1. Len Hutton
3. Don Bradman
4. George Headley
7. Billy Barnes
9. JJ Ferris
10. George Lohmann

@ahmedleo414

 

[ahmedleo414]

Richie Benaud for my next pick

1. Sid Barnes
2. W.G. Grace
3. ?
4. ?
5. ?
6. Denis Lindsay
7. Richie Benaud
8. ?
9. Bill O'Reilly
10. Fred Trueman
11. ?

@Parth D

 

[ddrap14]

Richie Benaud for my next pick

DAMMIT

 

[Aislabie]

9. Ray Lindwall
10. Vince van der Bijl

 

[VC the slogger]

 

[ahmedleo414]

@Parth D missed his time @Aislabie you're next