Draft: The Pre-Twenty20 Draft

[Gaurav_7]

Keith Miller
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Keith "Nugget" Miller. He was a live life king size sort of a personality. His strokeplay was brutal and effortless at the same time. Many said he played cricket like a war. And when in mood he could demolish bowlers like no other. When Miller retired he was the best all rounder in cricket history. ICC rankings when worked for the given era when he played had him as the top AR for 8 straight years.

His bowling was lethal. He could deliver the ball at gun speed even when bowling from a short run up. He was a cunning work horse. He took a 10 wicket haul in a match while stuggling with his back when his famous bowling partner Lindwall was absent in the XI. Miller was a part of the 'Invincibles' of Don Bradman led Aussie side which was undefeated for 31 matches. His straight six at the SCG which was considered the biggest hit of the time is still remembered by many even till today.

'One of the most volatile cricketers of any age. Long, rangy, athletic type—drove the ball with tremendous power—tried to hit sixes with abandon. Many of them would have been prodigious. Would have been a far better player had he curbed this propensity and showed more judgement in his hitting. Dangerous bowler with the new ball, swinging it both ways not much short of [Ray] Lindwall's speed. [...] In 1948 he was the best slip field in the world. Altogether, a crowd-pleasing personality ... whose limitations were caused mainly by his own failure to concentrate.'

— Don Bradman

His relation with Sir Don wasn't too lovey dovey but despite that he earned praises from him along with a bit of criticism. Keith Miller was said to be an impatient batsman and someone who could accomlish great heights if he was a bit more patient with his batting. But in T20 cricket he is best suited as one can go bang bang from ball one. Add to that him opening the bowling and sending those rapid deliveries at batsmen! A perfect T20 player I will say!

Viv Richards
Keith Miller

 

[Bevab]

One of the most underrated players ever! Would have been my choice if Kapil Dev hadn’t been available.

 

[blockerdave]

Hadn’t thought of Miller but he is an outstanding pick

 

[Gaurav_7]

@blockerdave your turn

 

[Aislabie]

Absolutely outstanding pick. Hats off

 

[blockerdave]

Gilbert Laird Jessop - the Victorian Chris Gayle
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This was the player I feared @Aislabie would take, but he took one of Gloucestershire's other all time greats instead (and Abbas was a fine choice indeed).

It might seem odd to pick a player who was dead before even List A cricket was a thing, much less T20, but Jessop was no ordinary player.

As his Wisden obituary said:

Gilbert Jessop was famed as the most remarkable hitter cricket has ever produced. Born at Cheltenham on May 19, 1874, he enjoyed a memorable career in first-class cricket which, dating from 1894 to the start of the First World War, extended over 20 years. There have been batsmen who hit the ball even harder than Jessop... but no one who did so more often or who, in match after match, scored as rapidly.

Where Jessop surpassed all other hitters was in the all-round nature of his scoring. At his best, he could make runs from any ball, however good it might be.

He played in an era when inns were only measured in minutes, not balls, so it's impossible to get definitive strike rates, and moreover for much of his career clearing the boundary only got you 4 (a 6 had to be out the ground) and yet it was common for him to reach his hundred in under an hour. His 104 at the Oval in 1902 was measured by a newspaper as coming in 76 balls, though officially it's only recorded as 75 minutes...

He hit 53 first class hundreds, and when he made a hundred he scored at a rate of 82.7 runs an hour (again, measurement in time not balls sadly).

His first first class inns for Gloucestershire, he came in to face hat trick ball and smashed it for four.

On top of all this, he was a bowler of genuine pace with 873 FC wickets at 22.79 and an economy rate of 2.81, and a brilliant fielder especially at cover point or extra cover...

Depending on whether I can get some of my other choices, he'll either open with Richards or come in at 3/4.

@Aislabie i think it's your turn now

 

[Villain]

and moreover for much of his career clearing the boundary only got you 4 (a 6 had to be out the ground)

Such an interesting fact I had no clue about that and a very interesting pick too. The write-up you wrote for him makes me think he was far ahead of his time and a typical t20 batsman.

I joined this to learn more about the era before the 90s as I'm not so knowledgeable about Cricket before that period being a 90s kid. Good to know stuff!

Sir Bradman, Imran Khan and Kapil Dev were the ones I had thought of so far. Good picks.

 

[Aislabie]

Overall Pick #16: Sydney Barnes
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Profile
I've had my eye on Sydney Barnes since before I decided to pick Bradman, but figured that batsmen are generally in more demand than bowlers in drafts like these. And when it comes to bowlers, Barnes is widely considered to have been one of the very best of all. He did not come from a cricketing family and is said to have received only a few hours' coaching in his youth. This being the case - he must have been a fast learner for he acquired the skills to "swing the new ball in and out very late, could spin from the ground, pitch on the leg stump and miss the off." This was not the rose-tinted judgement of a lifelong friend or teammate (Barnes was rather socially awkward, and did not have much need for either) but the honest appraisal of Clem Hill, one of the finest Australian batsmen of the age. His style was to combine seam with spin despite little change of action, and to do so at the pace one would expect from any other opening bowler. Later in his career, his body was only willing to deliver the ball at a medium pace - but this can be forgiven in a man whose first-class career stretched into his 58th year.

Comparable T20 Player
An opening bowler who can indistinguishably interchange swing and spin? That sounds like Mustafizur Rahman if The Fizz was injury-proof and substantially better at cricket.

Finest Performances
According to Neville Cardus, in 1928 when he was in his mid-fifties, the West Indies team of that year faced him in a tour match and unanimously agreed he was the best they had encountered in the season.

Role in the Team
Barnes is plenty good enough to bowl any over from the first to the last, but he was known to fume when he didn't get the new ball so he shall open, then return at the death.

Aislabie's XI so far:
1.
2. Don Bradman (Pick #3)
3. Zaheer Abbas (Pick #12)
4.
5.
6.
7.
8.
9.
10. Sydney Barnes (Pick #16)
11.

Next pick:
@Sinister One

 

[Gaurav_7]

Aah Barnes would have been my next pick! Also, Gilbert Jessop sounds an incredible batter. Scoring hundreds in less than an hour is astonishing tbh. Great picks guys.

 

[Master Bates]

Clive Llyod

A great batsman and a very good captain who lead the Windies to 2 world cup titles. At his best Lloyd was a flamboyant destroyer of bowling. His heavy bat, powerful shoulders and full swing of the arms could turn the course of any game, once scoring 201* in just 120 minutes against Glamorgan - equalling the record for the fastest ever first-class double hundred (1976).
Lloyd was named a Wisden Cricketer of the Year in 1971 for his performances in the previous 12 months, when he'd scored 1600 runs for Lancashire at 47. Often raising his game for the big occasion, he struck 126 against Warwickshire at Lord's to help Lancashire to the Gillette Cup (1972), and hit a wonderful century in the first ever World Cup Final at Lord's in 1975 to take the West Indies to victory.

Strike-rate above 80 in ODIs in that era was very good along with smart mind. He will be the captain of my XI

@Villain

 

[blockerdave]

Barnes is a phenomenal pick. Was going to be one of my next ones. Again I figured you were the one most likely to nab him ahead of me...

 

[blockerdave]

Clive Llyod

A great batsman and a very good captain who lead the Windies to 2 world cup titles. At his best Lloyd was a flamboyant destroyer of bowling. His heavy bat, powerful shoulders and full swing of the arms could turn the course of any game, once scoring 201* in just 120 minutes against Glamorgan - equalling the record for the fastest ever first-class double hundred (1976).
Lloyd was named a Wisden Cricketer of the Year in 1971 for his performances in the previous 12 months, when he'd scored 1600 runs for Lancashire at 47. Often raising his game for the big occasion, he struck 126 against Warwickshire at Lord's to help Lancashire to the Gillette Cup (1972), and hit a wonderful century in the first ever World Cup Final at Lord's in 1975 to take the West Indies to victory.

Strike-rate above 80 in ODIs in that era was very good along with smart mind. He will be the captain of my XI

@Villain

great pick

 

[Villain]

SIR IAN BOTHAM ​

First man to pick up 10 wickets and score a century in a Test, one of the greatest all-rounder of all time. 5000 plus runs with one of the best strike rate of 60.7 along with 383 wickets only in 102 Test matches. He's the perfect all-rounder one needs in the shortest form of the game, 600+ boundaries along with several centuries under 100 balls plus several 5 and 10 wicket hauls, and so many more records I can keep writing. His batting was way way ahead of his time while his bowling still overshadowed it, a perfect combination. Ben Stokes and Hardik Pandya are decent modern day comparisons but both have a very very long way to go and match up. ​

[DOUBLEPOST=1563699030][/DOUBLEPOST]@Rebel2k19 to go next.

 

[Gaurav_7]

I somehow hoped you don't pick Botham. Would have been very nice to get him in the XI at this stage. Brilliant pick! I will pick in a while.

 

[Bevab]

Might have to post my Dev selection quickly in that case.