Draft: Test Cricket Scrubs XI Draft
- Thread starter Aislabie
- Start date
Aislabie
Test Cricket is Best Cricket
Gordon RorkeTest stats - 10 wickets @ 20.30 (best 3/23) in 4 matches
First-class stats - 88 wickets @ 24.60 (3 5WI, best 6/52) in 36 matches
Gordon Rorke's career very closely mirrored that of Pat Crawford, but with the difference that it wasn't injury that ended his career, but illness - at 25 years old, he contracted hepatitis and retired from professional cricket. Before that though, Rorke was so good that they literally changed the laws of cricket to deal with bowlers like him. He was a "dragger" who exploited the back foot no-ball law to bowl from closer than 22 yards. Added to that his height (6'5") and pace (rapid) and it's clear to see why the back-foot no-ball law was a safety concern. The law was changed and Rorke dropped. Given that Rorke came and went from the Australian team only three years after Crawford, batsmen everywhere must have been thanking their lucky stars that Australia were never able to field Davidson, Lindwall, Rorke, Crawford and Benaud in the same Test team.
Ken MeulemanTest stats: 0 runs in 1 match
First-class stats: 7,855 runs @ 47.60 (22 centuries, best 234*) in 117 matches
It was once-and-done for Ken Meuleman, the opening batsman selected nine games into his first-class career, but then never again. It's a strange choice from the Australian selectors to neglect a batsman who averaged over 50 in seven different Sheffield Shield seasons, including four times in a row from 1956-57 to 1959-60. I know that's a strong era for Australian cricket, but are we quite sure he wasn't a better batsman than Jim Burke or Ken Mackay?
@Aislabie's XI so far:
1.
2.
Ken Meuleman3.
4.
5.
6.
Simon O'Donnell7.
8.
Pat Crawford9.
10.
11.
Gordon Rorke(15 of 50 caps)
@Yash. has two picks now after being late the first time
I'll take Saba Karim as my wicket keeper, and Neved ul Hasan as my bowler
Aislabie
Test Cricket is Best Cricket
Ed Smith
Gaffer
4.
8.
10.
11.
Never heard of him. Picked him because he got 44 wickets in 19 tests. Which is.... alright I suppose.
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@ahmedleo414
ahmedleo414
The Butcher
just fyi, when the posts get merged, there is no notification. So I didn't get an alert for this. I just looked and saw that I was next
ahmedleo414
The Butcher
So my pick will be Kabir Khan
From cricinfo:
"A powerfully-built left-arm seamer, Kabir Khan made his Test and one-day debut on the tour of Sri Lanka in 1994-95, and went on to make 10 one-day appearances over the next six seasons without every being able to command a regular run in the side. He did little wrong - his economy rate was respectably under four-an-over - but lacked penetration. That was also his problem in his Test outings - he took 5 for 223 in his last two Tests against Zimbabwe - and he was discarded after four games in less than a season."
Never got a proper chance to play in the test team, but what can you expect with Pakistan being loaded with pace bowlers in the 90s and his 4 matches not being his best performance. He is however much better if you look at his First Class record instead.
@blockerdave you are next
| Stats | Matches | Wickets | BBI | BBM | Bowling Ave | Econ | 5w/10w |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| First Class | 114 | 437 | 8/52 | ? | 21.18 | 3.22 | 26/3 |
| Test | 4 | 9 | 3/26 | 4/71 | 41.11 | 3.38 | 0/0 |
From cricinfo:
"A powerfully-built left-arm seamer, Kabir Khan made his Test and one-day debut on the tour of Sri Lanka in 1994-95, and went on to make 10 one-day appearances over the next six seasons without every being able to command a regular run in the side. He did little wrong - his economy rate was respectably under four-an-over - but lacked penetration. That was also his problem in his Test outings - he took 5 for 223 in his last two Tests against Zimbabwe - and he was discarded after four games in less than a season."
Never got a proper chance to play in the test team, but what can you expect with Pakistan being loaded with pace bowlers in the 90s and his 4 matches not being his best performance. He is however much better if you look at his First Class record instead.
- ?
- ?
- ?
- ?
- Charles Passailaigue
- ?
- Nigel Haig
- ?
- Sam Staples
- Kabir Khan
- ?
@blockerdave you are next
qpeedore
SOTM Winner - July 2014
He was one of those talked about who was being groomed for fast bowling after Walsh and Ambrose retired. Started playing Tests a couple of years before the end of their careers, but about the only thing he had going for him was his height and pace. Accuracy was not his strong point, neither was his ability to make the batsmen play on a consistent basis. But with that height and speed, the selectors kept playing him. He didn't have that bad of an FC career, but he really wasn't exactly someone who would stand out in your memory.
Ironically enough, despite initial thoughts of him being one to carry on from Walsh and Ambrose, he actually played his last Test before the former. His Test career was pretty much over before the age of 30, and his FC performances weren't stellar enough to earn him a recall. We decided to go with guys like Mervyn Dillon, Reon King, Cameron Cuffy, and so on.
blockerdave
ICC Chairman
qpeedore
SOTM Winner - July 2014
I'll take Chandrakant Pandit for my next pick. A batsman for India in the late 80's/early 90's, he had quite an impressive FC career for a "scrub". He was also quite impressive as a wicketkeeper as well. Which leads to an issue. See, in his first 3 Tests, he was picked as a specialist batsman. For that, his average of 24 definitely isn't up to par for a mid-to-lower-mid order batsman. At the time when he played, wicketkeepers were becoming more than just glovemen, they needed to bat too. An average of 24 would have been perhaps on the lower edge of being able to be called a wicketkeeper/batsman in that era.
Which brings me back to my issue. I can't pick him as a wicketkeeper even though he would be a great choice. That's the issue - he's too good of a keeper. In the two matches he played as the specialist keeper, he had 13 dismissals across the 4 innings (11c, 2st), which is actually pretty good, however it gives him a higher number than the Draft limit of 2. So...that eliminates him from donning the gloves, unfortunately. Because he played more Tests as a batsman and not as a keeper, it's only fair that I also pick him as a batsman.
Of note, he's pretty much a golden manager over the past few years in the Ranji Trophy, leading both Vidarbha (2018, 2019) and Mumbai (2003, 2004) to back-to-back titles. At the moment he's back with Madhya Pradesh, the team he played many years for domestically while the national selectors kept ignoring him.
5 Tests, average 24.42, best 39
138 FC, average 48.57, best 202, 22 centuries, 42 fifties
16/50 caps currently
(EDIT: Just putting in my batting order)
1.
2. Shafiq Ahmed
3.
4.
5.
6. Chandrakant Pandit
7.
8.
9.
10. Shaun Tait
11. Tabraiz Shamsi
@blockerdave again.
Which brings me back to my issue. I can't pick him as a wicketkeeper even though he would be a great choice. That's the issue - he's too good of a keeper. In the two matches he played as the specialist keeper, he had 13 dismissals across the 4 innings (11c, 2st), which is actually pretty good, however it gives him a higher number than the Draft limit of 2. So...that eliminates him from donning the gloves, unfortunately. Because he played more Tests as a batsman and not as a keeper, it's only fair that I also pick him as a batsman.
Of note, he's pretty much a golden manager over the past few years in the Ranji Trophy, leading both Vidarbha (2018, 2019) and Mumbai (2003, 2004) to back-to-back titles. At the moment he's back with Madhya Pradesh, the team he played many years for domestically while the national selectors kept ignoring him.
5 Tests, average 24.42, best 39
138 FC, average 48.57, best 202, 22 centuries, 42 fifties
16/50 caps currently
(EDIT: Just putting in my batting order)
1.
2. Shafiq Ahmed
3.
4.
5.
6. Chandrakant Pandit
7.
8.
9.
10. Shaun Tait
11. Tabraiz Shamsi
@blockerdave again.
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Aislabie
Test Cricket is Best Cricket
He's eligible to be picked as a keeper if that's how you want to play him. The dismissals per innings number is one calculated across entire careers; he came back on the Statsguru list so you can use him as you please6. Chandrakant Pandit
qpeedore
SOTM Winner - July 2014
Ah, I'll see how things go. I have options in mind, so we'll see how the rest of the picks go. Not committed yet but it's good to have the option.
blockerdave
ICC Chairman
Got to be the chicken farmer, Eddo Brandes. Took a hat trick and starred in ODI victories against England. Test best bowling of 3/45, and due to injury played just 10 tests.
A decent lower order hitter, with a first class hundred and 2 ODI 50's. He's a fine addition to the team.
@ahmedleo414
A decent lower order hitter, with a first class hundred and 2 ODI 50's. He's a fine addition to the team.
@ahmedleo414
Aislabie
Test Cricket is Best Cricket
Excellent pick - someone who is a little hard done by to have lasted this long, and most certainly someone I'd consider for my all-scrub XI if I didn't have to wait for other people to make their picks. He would probably be my fifth- or sixth-choice seamer out of all the scrubs, and I've already picked two of the others.
Also presumably that means your XI so far is something like:
Jimmy Cook Bandula Warnapura-
Mike Veletta-
Adrian Kuiper-
Eddo Brandes-
-
-
It's certainly a solid start
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EDIT - Turns out I couldn't read
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blockerdave
ICC Chairman
Excellent pick - someone who is a little hard done by to have lasted this long, and most certainly someone I'd consider for my all-scrub XI if I didn't have to wait for other people to make their picks. He would probably be my fifth- or sixth-choice seamer out of all the scrubs, and I've already picked two of the others.
Also presumably that means your XI so far is something like:
-
-
-
-
-
-
It's certainly a solid start
measly I didn’t get Nixon McLean @Dale88 got there first, so I have Mike Veletta and I’m not sure if I’d have him open and put Warnapura at 3, or maybe bat Veletta at 4 or 5
