Draft: The Panesar Draft

[Yash.]

Yeah, the Internet Archive is good, but I need my oracles!


Yeah, this was arguably one where creativoty was the name of the game, but the sheer variety is what makes it fun.


I've written about Hornby so many times that I just didn't want to do the same poinrs again. And he said he was being generous

Actually, I don't use the Internet Archive. I just use (or misuse) a simple glitch in the cricket archive website.

The paywall page is a redirect pge which opens, AFTER the previous page loads up. So if your browser does not allow redirects, OR you are quick enough to click the stop button just as the page loads, you can access whole of ArchIve

 

[Master Bates]

you are quick enough to click the stop button just as the page loads, you can access whole of Archve

Ha! You thought you are the only one? But jokes aside, it requires precision! I did this few times but then realized I have no purpose to view the whole of the site.

 

[Bevab]

The paywall page is a redirect pge which opens, AFTER the previous page loads up. So if your browser does not allow redirects, OR you are quick enough to click the stop button just as the page loads, you can access whole of ArchIve

Shhhhh....

 

[Aislabie]

Actually, I don't use the Internet Archive. I just use (or misuse) a simple glitch in the cricket archive website.

The paywall page is a redirect pge which opens, AFTER the previous page loads up. So if your browser does not allow redirects, OR you are quick enough to click the stop button just as the page loads, you can access whole of ArchIve

Edited for sneakiness

 

[NILAYSHAH60]

Unlucky Dip Player 8...

Virat Kohli
And the player goes to... @Bevab

Just thinking if my username was @Bevab.

 

[Aislabie]

Unlucky Dip Player 11...


Susantha Karunaratne

Nominated by: @blockerdave

First class stats: 29 runs @ 9.66 (best 16) and 2 wickets @ 64.50 (best 2/72) in 2 matches

Karunaratne's entire career for Bloomfield came while he was still a schoolboy. Despite being a fast-medium bowler and middle-order batsman at Nalanda College, it turned out that first-class cricket was kinda hard. He opted to go to university instead of pursuing a cricket career, judging by a LinkedIn page that I think is him. Honestly, researching some of these blokes is surprisingly tricky.

And the player goes to... @Aislabie

My team so far:
Susantha Karunaratne

 

[Aislabie]

Unlucky Dip Player 12...


Sabbir Rahman

Nominated by: @deleted member

Test stats: 481 runs @ 24.05 (best 60) in 11 matches
First-class stats: 2,899 runs @ 30.84 (4 centuries, best 165) in 63 matches

By Unlucky Dip standards, Sabbir Rahman is a pretty competent batsman. Good enough to play eleven Tests for Bangladesh in the era that they weren't always terrible, but not good enough to have been picked on the basis of scoring huge amounts of domestic runs. Seriously, why has he played nearly four times as many games as Mosaddek Hossain? Rahman has also had more than his fair share of bans from cricket, including one for assaulting a fan during a first-class match for Rajshahi.

And the player goes to... @Aislabie

My team so far:
Sabbir Rahman
Susantha Karunaratne

Seriously, I'd much rather not have Sabbir in my side, just for the whole "assaulted a fan" thing.

 

[NILAYSHAH60]

@Aislabie You've missed out on the most interesting aspect of Hornby's career, he was the man that lost a test match to a certain team from Down Under at home which prompted the Sporting Times to write a certain obituary and gave rise to the oldest cricket rivalry in history. Hardly the type of aura you would want in your side.

Well I can vouch for it that I can make optimum utilization of him in my side.

 

[blockerdave]

Unlucky Dip Player 11...

View attachment 231366
Susantha Karunaratne

Nominated by: @blockerdave

First class stats: 29 runs @ 9.66 (best 16) and 2 wickets @ 64.50 (best 2/72) in 2 matches

Karunaratne's entire career for Bloomfield came while he was still a schoolboy. Despite being a fast-medium bowler and middle-order batsman at Nalanda College, it turned out that first-class cricket was kinda hard. He opted to go to university instead of pursuing a cricket career, judging by a LinkedIn page that I think is him. Honestly, researching some of these blokes is surprisingly tricky.

And the player goes to... @Aislabie

My team so far:
Susantha Karunaratne

He was banned for going on the AROSA Sri Lanka Rebel tour, so I don't think he had much choice!

 

[Aislabie]

Unlucky Dip Player 13...


Sridharan Jeganathan

Nominated by: @ahmedleo414

Test stats: 0 wickets in 2 matches
First-class stats: 49 wickets @ 31.61 (1 5WI, best 5/34) in 29 matches

Sridharan Jeganathan became the first Sri Lankan Test cricketer to die at the age of just 44, but he had more success as the coach of Malaysia than he ever did as a player. He was a really weird selection: in a country as spin-friendly as Sri Lanka, he managed comfortably less than two wickets per game in his first-class career, and when he finally was picked he batted at nine and bowled five wicketless overs across two games.

And the player goes to... @Na Maloom Afraad

His team so far:
Sridharan Jeganathan[DOUBLEPOST=1586859861][/DOUBLEPOST]

He was banned for going on the AROSA Sri Lanka Rebel tour, so I don't think he had much choice!

My obvious thought here is: "But why?"

Not why was he banned, but why was he picked

 

[Aislabie]

Unlucky Dip Player 14...


Walter Giffen

Nominated by: @DalePlaysCricket and @Master Bates

Test stats: 11 runs @ 1.83 (best 3) in 3 matches
First-class stats: 1,179 runs @ 15.93 (best 89) in 47 matches

Next time an Australian starts waxing lyrical about the baggy green, maybe remind them that Walter Giffen had one. The godawful South Australian batsman owed his selection (both for Australia and his state) to the fact that his brother George was a famous all-rounder and wanted to show he was the biggest bully in the playground by making sure that his brother played too. Must have been a delightful dressing room.

And the player goes to... @Master Bates

His team so far:
Walter Giffen
Sajedul Islam

 

[blockerdave]

Unlucky Dip Player 13...

My obvious thought here is: "But why?"

Not why was he banned, but why was he picked

Probably a combination of old school tie and also, despite the money on offer not everyone wanted to go since they knew the consequences of ban/ostracism so making up the numbers. AROSA Sri Lanka were awful - even the full Sri Lanka side at the time wasn't exactly competitive (certainly not in first class cricket in South Africa!) and they were well short of that.

 

[Aislabie]

Unlucky Dip Player 15...


Francis Otieno

Nominated by: @Bevab

First-class stats: 29 runs @ 4.14 (best 8*) in 5 matches

Francis Otieno probably made Brijal Patel look good. In his younger years he kind of justified his position by bowling a bit of medium-pace, but that faded away and all that was left was his batting. Which was dreadful. For a while he took up a coaching job in Uganda but that didn't last. He's now a sales and marketing guy for a bottle company, where one must hope he sets the prices for his bottles as low as the price on his wicket.

And the player goes to... @Yash.

His team so far:
Francis Otieno

 

[Aislabie]

Unlucky Dip Player 16...

Kyle Mills

Nominated by: @Nilay_60

Test stats: 289 runs @ 11.56 (best 57) and 44 wickets @ 33.02 (best 4/16) in 19 matches
First-class stats: 2,166 runs @ 26.09 (1 century, best 117*) and 204 wickets @ 29.81 (5 5WI, best 5/33) in 76 stats

If you pick up a player like Kyle Mills from the Unlucky Dip then you've done really well. A decent bowler and lower-order batsman for Auckland and New Zealand, he was always seen as more of a one-day player but never really let anyone down in the Test side. Like many Kiwi players of his vintage, he also had an occasional winter gig coming over and playing for a minor county in the old knockout cup to make them a bit more competitive (Andre Adams also did it once, helping Herefordshire to beat Middlesex).

And the player goes to... @Na Maloom Afraad

His team so far:
Kyle Mills
Sridharan Jeganathan

Not a bad start here considering how things could have gone. Certainly better than in the Lasagne Draft.

 

[Aislabie]

Unlucky Dip Player 17...

Anurag Thakur

Nominated by: @CerealKiller

First-class stats: 9 overs, no maidens, two for 49.

Anurag Thakur was an ambitious man; rising fast in the Himachal Pradesh Cricket Association, he wanted to appoint himself as Chief Selector. The only issue with that plan was a bylaw that stated that a Chief Selector must have played first-class cricket. Ever the pragmatist, Thakur picked himself for the next Ranji game to tick that box, bowling a few overs of maybe-not-too-terrible off-breaks. And it paid off: 15 years later he became BCCI President while only 41 years old.

And the player goes to... @Yash.

His team so far:
Francis Otieno
Anurag Thakur