CricketWeb Draft League - Reserves Voting Thread (Pre WWII)

[Dan]

Pre World War II Draft

Camo999's XI

1. Sidney Barnes
2. WG Grace [5] *
3. KS Duleepsinhji
4. Phil Mead
5. Victor Trumper
6. Bill Ponsford
7. Learie Constantine [3]
8. Fred Spofforth [2]
9. Manny Martindale [1]
10. Herbert Strudwick +
11. Bert Ironmonger [4]

(Bernie Bosanquet)



Agent TBY's XI
Dies Irae CC

1. Vijay Merchant
2. Stewie Dempster
3. Charles Macartney [6]
4. Lindsay Hassett
5. Douglas Jardine *
6. Aubrey Faulkner [5]
7. Les Ames +
8. Maurice Tate [1]
9. Bill Voce [4]
10. Jack Cowie [2]
11. Tom Richardson [3]

(Arthur Mailey)



8ankitj's XI

1. Arthur Shrewsbury
2. Herbie Collins *
3. KS Ranjitsinhji
4. George Headley
5. Dudley Nourse
6. Stanley Jackson
7. Jack Gregory
8. Jock Cameron +
9. Bobby Peel
10. JJ Ferris
11. Sydney Barnes

(Tich Freeman)



MrPrez's XI

1. Archie Jackson
2. Bill Woodfull
3. Denis Compton
4. Stan McCabe
5. Tom Hayward
6. Jack Ryder
7. Billy Murdoch +
8. Wilfred Rhodes
9. Frank Foster
10. Bill O'Reilly
11. Bill Bowes

(George Geary)



morgieb's XI

1. Herbert Sutcliffe
2. Len Hutton
3. Warren Bardsley
4. Herbie Taylor
5. Frank Woolley
6. George Giffen
7. Hugh Trumble
8. Dick Lilley +
9. Jack Saunders
10. Charlie Blythe
11. George Lohmann

(CB Fry)



Cabinet96's XI

1. Jack Hobbs
2. Cyril Walters
3. Ernest Tyldesley
4. Eddie Paynter
5. Patsy Hendren
6. Charles Kellaway
7. Warwick Armstrong
8. Bert Oldfield +
9. Charlie Turner
10. Headley Verity
11. Johnny Briggs

(Tip Foster)
Cabinet96, please let me know if the batting order needs alteration.



rvd619323's XI

1. Bruce Mitchell [6]
2. Cyril Washbrook
3. Clem Hill
4. Walter Hammond [5]
5. Maurice Leyland
6. Martin Donnelly
7. Monty Noble [3] *
8. George Hirst [2]
9. Jack Blackham +
10. Harold Larwood [1]
11. Clarrie Grimmett [4]

(Walter Robbins)

---

Please vote for your top 3 teams.

 

[MrPrez]

MrPrez's XI

1)Archie Jackson
2)Bill Woodfull (captain)
3)Denis Compton
4)Stan McCabe
I'm not going to waste time trying to sell these batsmen to you. Their genius is well known.

5)Tom Hayward

Tom Hayward, who died on July 19, 1939, aged 68, at his Cambridge home, was one of the greatest batsmen of all time.
...
For 20 years in succession, 1895-1914, he scored over 1,000 runs each season in first-class cricket. In 1904 he made 3,170, and in 1906, 3,518, which still stands as the record aggregate in first-class cricket. Hayward, 273, and Abel, 193, made a world record for the fourth wicket, 448 against Yorkshire at The Oval in 1899.

A truly underrated genius if there ever was one.

6)Jack Ryder

Averaged over 50 in Tests and nearly 45 in a long FC career with the bat. At that time such an average was arguably worth a fair bit more than a modern-day 45.
Also averaged under 30 with the ball in FC cricket - very useful indeed.

7)Billy Murdoch +

Murdoch had a long career as a cricketer but his fame will rest mainly on what he did for the Australian teams of 1880, 1882, and 1884. He captained the three elevens, and in all three he was incontestably the finest batsman. Within the last ten years his performances have been to some extent eclipsed by Victor Trumper, but comparison between the two men would hardly be fair, their methods being so different. Sufficient that in his own day Murdoch had no serious rival among Australian batsmen, and except WG Grace scarcely a superior in England.

Besides all that, he was a very useful keeper indeed.

8)Wilfred Rhodes

Nearly 40000 runs at more than 30. 4204 wickets at 16.72 The guy was a bit special.

9)Frank Foster

A fine allrounder, a superb medium fast left arm bowler, and a natural hitter. He is best remembered, perhaps for his partnership with Sid Barnes on the 1911-12 Ashes tour, where their pairing was all but unstoppable. His bowling was characterised by pace off the pitch, good length, and generally a leg stump line, backed by a packed leg-side field. He bowled mostly left arm round with considerable swing, and could break the ball back to hit the stumps, but most of his victims were caught in the leg trap. He was at his best when partnered with "Tiger" Smith, his county wicket-keeper, who made some astonishing leg side stumpings from his bowling. He was a free hitter with the bat, but based on sound foundations. He attacked the bowling from the outset, and his finest innings was possibly his triple hundred in a day for his county (a county record that stood until passed by LaraÕs 501). He had contemplated giving up first-class cricket in 1911, but on changing his mind, captained Warwickshire to their first Championship. Only 25 when cricket halted for the first world war, his career was ended by a war-time motor-cycle accident. "..there was about all his cricket an atmosphere of supreme confidence and inexhaustible vitality" wrote HS Altham.

717 FC wickets at 20.75 and averaged nearly 27 with the bat, Frank was one of the best pacers of his time.

10)Bill O'Reilly

I think it's safe to say that a majority believe he was the best leg spinner the world had seen until Shane Warne created his legend.

11)Bill Bowes

William Eric "Bill" Bowes, who died in hospital on September 5, 1987, aged 79, was one of the great bowlers of his day. He is often, for convenience, loosely classed as fast, but Robertson-Glasgow, writing in the early days of the war, described him, correctly, as the most difficult fast-medium bowler in England. It was, no doubt, partly because he never tried to acquire the extra yard or two of pace which would have put him indisputably in the ranks of the fast that he was such a fine bowler. And like most of the great, he came off the pitch faster than the batsman expected.

1639 wickets at 16.76 - you can't ask for much more than that.

(George Geary)
2063 wickets at 20 is very, very useful to have waiting in the wings for a pacers pitch.


So there you have it. A team that genuinely bats to 9, and contains 4 high-quality specialist bowlers as well as two very good batting allrounders who can chip in with the ball with ease (McCabe and Ryder).

 

[Camo999]

Perhaps we should clarify that it was pre-WWII debuts, not necessarily entire careers (I think).

 

[Himannv]

Got to love Pre-war drafts like this. Looking through the teams and there are a few that are a bit better than others. Will have a closer look once I get home, but good job everyone. Some great looking teams here.

 

[Howe_zat]

Voted for TBY, morgie and rvd.

Slayed me to leave out Cabinet's, but that's the way the garibaldi crumbles

 

[Eds]

Agent narrowly ahead of RVD who are both streaks ahead of the rest of the competition. MrPrez steals third ahead of morgie and Cabinet.

 

[MrPrez]

Voted for TBY, morgie and rvd.

Same.

 

[Himannv]

Voted for TBY, 8ankitj and rvd. Couple of others unlucky to miss out.

 

[Jager]

Gee that's a tough call. Rvd just edges out Ankit... so close though! Love Camo and Agent's sides the most though.

 

[Jager]

Dan, if you win are you going to come to the draft league or stay down again?

 

[Red]

Cabinet, MorgieB and MrPrez for me.

MrPrez got me with the combination of McCabe, Jackson and Compton as one of the most dynamic and elegant batting orders in a draft ever. As well as that he has O'Reilly, who I consider a truly great bowler, and Woodful, a great captain and obstinate opener.

MorgieB has the best opening combo of the lot, as well as the great Woolley in the middle order. A very versatile attack too, spearheaded by George Lohmann.

Cabinet has a lot of quality across the boards, Hobbs, Turner, Paynter, Oldfield, Armstrong and Verity are all favourites of mine.

Incredibly tough to rate though.