Welcome to the Cricket Web Test Draft voting thread!
There will be two votes:
1. The above poll. Simply vote for the team you think is the best. The team with the most votes wins this poll.
2. A more comprehensive poll conducted by email. Send an email to cricketwebdraft@googlemail.com listing your top three teams in order and your cricket web user name. e.g
Anyone can vote in either or both polls regardless of if they took part in the draft itself. If you took part in the draft please do not vote for your own team in either of the polls.
Vote for the team you think would perform the best in test cricket against the other teams, taking into account the skill of the players in batting, bowling and fielding, how they compliment each other, the balance of the team, how good the captain is and how they suit their chosen home ground.
These teams have been selected from players who appeared in an official test post-WWI, but their whole career is taken into consideration, including matches played prior to WWI.
Each player was given the opportunity to write a few paragraphs supporting their team. Where that player hasn't sent one in yet I have just listed the team and ground. If they can send me a write-up whilst I can still edit this post I will paste it in.
The email poll will close in two weeks on midnight GMT, Friday 13th,
February.
HERE ARE THE TEAMS
Team A
Greame Smith
Gordon Greenidge
Rohan Kanhai
Martin Crowe
Graeme Pollock
Tony Grieg*
Brendon McCullum+
Peter Pollock
Johnny Wardle
Curtly Ambrose
Frank Tyson
Ground: Basin Reserve, Wellington, New Zealand
A pair of Pollocks and some great cricketing minds combine in my XI.
My favourite cricketers have always been fast bowlers with that ability to uproot the stumps and send them cartwheeling. By selecting Ambrose, Tyson and Pollock not only have I got three bowlers with the pace to do just that, they also have the supreme accuracy required to take 20 wickets over five days.
The team offers explosive and highly skilled batting from places 1 through to 7, with some of the greatest batsmen of today (Smith) and of the past (Graeme Pollock, Martin Crowe). None of the team are deadweights either with the bat or the field.
Whilst Smith and Greig at their pomp may suggest the beginnings of a personality clash, in reality I would hope that they abilities would firmly compliment each other; devising the strategies and field settings to exploit the slightest weakness in the opposition batting line up.
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Team B
Jack Hobbs
Bill Lawry
Eddie Paynter
Denis Compton
Inzamam-ul-Haq
Steve Waugh*
Jeff Dujon+
Shaun Pollock
Michael Holding
Dale Steyn
Glenn McGrath
Ground: Lord's, London, England
It is my belief that batting is very important, but ultimately it is bowling that wins you test matches. If you can't consistently take 20 wickets you won't get very far. That is why I decided to build this team around a pace quartet from the beginning and was fortunate enough to get a stunning combination, in my opinion the deadliest pace attack of any team drafted.
Pollock with his unerring accuracy, Holding's flamboyant pace, Steyn's lethal late swing and McGrath's unquenchable thirst for wickets any way he can get them all ensure that this team has the tools to tear apart even the greatest batting line-ups. They will be marshaled by Steve Waugh, one of the greatest test captains who has great experience in using great bowlers to destroy the opposition, and Jeff Dujon who was consistently exceptional in his keeping the West Indies pacemen of the 80s.
But a tremendous bowling attack is not all this team possesses. Jack Hobbs is unquestionably the finest opening batsman ever to play the game and in this tournament he wont be giving his wicket away after reaching three figures. Bill Lawry's rock solid technique and battling mentality is a great compliment. Following them are three top drawer strokeplayers, with one of the great geniuses of test batsmanship at four in Denis Compton, all anchored by one of the most extraordinary run accumulators in history in Waugh.
Lord's is the place fit for such titanic players, plus it helps that McGrath has such a fabulous record there. Beware that pace attack on the infamous slope!
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Team C
Virender Sehwag
Conrad Hunte
Donald Bradman*
Patsy Hendren
Kevin Pietersen
Clyde Walcott+
Wilfred Rhodes
Andy Roberts
Shane Bond
Bill Johnston
Colin Croft
Ground: Newlands, Cape Town, South Africa
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Team D
Len Hutton
Justin Langer
Ian Chappell
Jaques Kallis
Norm O'Neil
Kumar Sangakkara+
Clive Lloyd*
Harold Larwood
Ian Bishop
Alec Bedser
Muttiah Muraliatharan
Ground: Galle International Stadium, Galle, Sri Lanka
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Team E
Mark Richardson
Graham Gooch*
Mohammad Yousuf
Alan Border
Aravinda de Silva
Mark Boucher+
Chaminda Vaas
Wasim Akram
Bret Lee
Anil Kumble
BS Bedi
Ground: WACA, Perth, Australia
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Team F
Matthew Hayden
Sunil Gavaskar
Viv Richards*
Archie Jackson
Mahela Jayawadrene
Aubrey Faulkner
Alec Stewart+
Kapil Dev
Neil Adcock
Bob Willis
Dennis Lillee
Ground: Headingley, Leeds, England
Flair, genius, depth, variety and excellence combine to make up this all-world XI. From possibly the two greatest openers in history at the top of the order, the list of cricketing giants continues all the way throughout the team to possibly the greatest fast bowler the game has ever seen at number eleven.
The top order intimidates with bats like cudgel and blade and there is Mariana Trench-ian depth to further bully opponents. Separate from the talents and achievements of the likes of Richards and Jayewardene, numbers 7 and 8 have a total of 23 Test centuries combined.
The five-headed bowling attack fuses pace, craft, guile, aggression, height, spin, experience and achievements and records by the oil tanker load.
As an XI, it is a team of balance, power, grace, talent and resilience and possesses no weakness.
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Team G
Arthur Morris
Desmond Haynes
Rahul Dravid
Sachin Tendulkar
David Gower
Gary Sobers*
Rod Marsh+
Maurice Tate
Fred Trueman
Jim Laker
Courtney Walsh
Ground: Old Trafford, Manchester, England
Captained by the best all rounder ever Garry Sobers the team has a gritty determined top three, followed by some gorgeous middler order batsman in Tendulkar, Gower and Sobers.
The RH LH opening partnership up the top of the order is ideal, and if any early wicket was to fall early having the wall batting at 3 is a bonus.
141 Test 100s from the top 6 should ensure that on average at least one of my batsman should score a century each innings. My team loves scoring runs really, does anyone else have 4 batsman in the top 18 batsman in total runs scorer in the history of Test Cricket?
My wicket keeper Rod Marsh is a terrific gloveman and his brilliant work should see all chances taken, which is vital in these games where so many brilliant bowlers are in action.
The bowling will see Fred Trueman given the new pill with the ever reliable and often underrated Courtney Walsh. Maurice Tate with his swing and depending on conditions Garry Sobers will be first change.
The trump card is the brilliant Jim Laker, who took the best match figures [by far] in Test Cricket when he took 19 for 90. And the venue? None other than Old Trafford..
The team will attack at home and always play for the win, a draw will feel like a lose. Away from home, it wont be so easy all the time, but the XI picked should be able to handle all conditions really.
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Team H
Saeed Anwar
Geoff Boycott
Ricky Ponting
Ken Barrington
Shivnarine Chanderpaul
Damien Martyn
MS Dhoni*+
Malcolm Marshall
Joel Garner
Brian Statham
Alan Donald
Ground: Kensington Oval, Bridgetown, Barbados
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Team I
Bill Ponsford
Charlie Macartney
George Headley
Everton Weekes
Stan McCabe
Andy Flower+
Mike Procter
Ian Botham
Shane Warne*
Jeff Thomson
Lance Gibbs
Ground: The Gabba, Brisbane, Australia
I based my team around plenty of depth in both the batting and bowling departments, and attacking cricketers that, whilst on a simulation might not prove the best would, in real life, have every chance of winning a series against any of the other sides on display. Australians McCabe and Ponsford, picked up late in the draft, were key to ensuring that the side had enough batting talent to back up the West Indian combination of Headley and Weekes at the top of the order. Botham and Proctor were extremely aggressive allround cricketers, and with Thomson's pace, the side's bowling unit is hardly likely to take a back step. Shane Warne was voted one of the five cricketers of the century so hardly needs an introduction and his partnership with Gibbs would be an exciting one. Of all wicket keepers, Andy Flower averages the highest so securing a wicketkeeper-batsman of his quality was a huge bonus. Macartney may look ordinary on paper (41.8 with the bat and 27.55 with the ball) but after the Second World War he was immense – possibly a Viv Richards of the 1920s. His bowling (slow left am) allows another option for Warne, who also has McCabe's medium pace for variety.
The Gabba was chosen as the home ground as Warne, Gibbs and Thomson all performed well in Brisbane throughout their career. With five Australians in the team, playing in front of home crowds for half the side would also be an added bonus. Warne was chosen as skipper because of his aggressive streak and his fearlessness as a leader – to captain a side filled with such talent would, in my opinion, require a captain with supreme confidence in his own ability and the desire to challenge his own team mates to perform at their best. I believe Warne fits this category as good as any captain.
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Team J
Hanif Mohammad
Herb Sutcliffe
Ted Dexter*
Javed Miandad
Richie Richardson
Doug Walters
Adam Gilchrist+
Ray Lindwall
Wes Hall
Clarrie Grimmett
John Snow
Ground: Adelaide Oval, Adelaide, Australia
Playing at the Adelaide oval Australia, I have put togather a team that should be able to compete on all surfaces and in all conditions. Adelaide oval is a splendid place to play cricket and it gives everyone a chance to perform, in a way I'm bringing my opposition closer to me in home gomes by playing there but I'm after a fair contest. Good batting line ups should be able to post first innings scores of around 500, while there is enough pace, spin and bounce to help all bowlers achieve some success.
My team looks impressive as a unit. My first pick I went for Adam Gilchrist, you only have to think how often he won test matches in the space of a session, I'm hoping to get that from him. My top order is impressive, having an opener like Sutcliffe averaging over 60 partnered with a guy who can bat forever in Hanif Mohammad will give us lots of good starts. Theres plenty of quality in the middle order with Ted Dexter, Javed Miandad, Richie Richardson and Doug Walters. All these guys are vastly experienced batsmen with more than 5000 runs each or average over 45 and have all played many great test innings. By names I don't have the best bowling line up but I think they are great. With three of my four bowlers having over 200 test wickets (Wes Hall has 192) it proves they were at the top of the tree for a long time. All these guys showed time and time again why they were among the best in the world from their generation.
I mostly looked at experienced influential players, guys that could win matches and guys that could save matches, players that played big when it was needed, I've got a great mix of flair and poise, I'm confident I have one of the best teams in the draft.
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Team K
Sid Barnes
David Boon
Alvin Kallicharran
Brian Lara
Michael Hussey
Andrew Flintoff
Richard Hadlee
Richie Benaud*
Ian Healy+
Daniel Vettori
Darren Gough
Ground: SCG, Sydney, Australia
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Team L
Bob Simpson
Mark Taylor*
Wally Hammond
Greg Chappell
Neil Harvey
Vijay Hazare
Imran Khan
Alan Knott+
Waqar Younis
Bill O’Reilly
Bruce Reid
Ground: National Stadium, Karachi, Pakistan
My team was built around a balanced bowling attack with no weak links, and a great middle order. The openers/slipsmen, and wicketkeeper were selected to compliment them.
O’Reilly is the attack’s lynchpin. His ability to bowl all day, posing a constant threat while keeping things very tight (E/R: <2) allowed me to be comfortable having only 4 frontline bowlers. He bowled all day to batsmen like Bradman and Hammond on dead tracks and never tired or gave an inch.
Imran and Waqar are my opening bowlers – genuine express pace, the ability to move the ball late, heart to bowl all day if required, and generating reverse swing later on. Geniuses who pose a threat to any batsman, anywhere. Reid compliments them, angling across right-handers with steep bounce from 9’ up or move the ball back in. Hammond and Simpson are ok fifth bowlers, for rare occasions I need/want an extra seamer or spinner.
I picked batsmen who had proven successful in adverse conditions – Hammond on wet/drying wickets, Chappell excelling during the greatest era of fast bowling, Harvey succeeded in all conditions, often when none of his team-mates could. And they could all feast when conditions eased. Simpson and Taylor with proven success in all conditions, against great new-ball bowlers, will provide a very solid platform for this middle order. Both alltime great slips, and Taylor was a brilliant tactical captain.
Once I missed the 3-4 genuine wicketkeeping allrounders, I decided to simply get the best gloveman I could who could also contribute in the tail. By taking catches/stumping chances, and preventing byes, a “batsman who keeps” might miss, yet also averaged 32 against some great attacks, Knott is to my mind no compromise. Having Imran in the team at 7 also allows him the luxury of batting at 8, giving my team a very long tail.
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Team M
Bill Woodfull
Barry Richards
Dudley Nourse
Frank Worrell*
Lindsay Hassett
Keith Miller
Leslie Ames+
Jack Gregory
Alan Davidson
Hedley Verity
Ernie Toshack
Ground: MCG, Melbourne, Australia
Bill Woodfull - Openning batsman who had great stickability, reliability and courage.
Barry Richards - Highly skilled South African openner who was denied by the Apartheid boycott from playing more than 4 official tests averaging 72 although he did well in Packer's World Series Supertests.
Dudley Nourse - Highly consistant and most feared batsman in South African team in post war years who did well even against an attack featuring Lindwall, Miller and Johnston in South Africa in 1949-50
Sir Frank Worrell - Top quality reliable batsman who had all the strokes and a top quality captain who was an expert in forging a team out of players from diverse backgrounds.
Lindsay Hassett - Top quality batsman against pace (Was often used as an openner) and spin (one of the few batsman to get on top of O'Reilly with any degree of regularity).
Keith Miller - Highly explosive and entertaining allrounder who usually batted at his best on a big occasion or when his team needed it. He was also a highly skilled if some what unpredictable fast bowler who usually got the opposition dangerman quickly. Also a top quality fielder in the slips.
Leslie Ames - Top quality batsman-keeper who averaged over 40 with the bat in the 1930's for England playing good orthodox cricket shots and is probably the best keeper out of the keeper-batsman as is shown by his great success behind the stumps.
Jack Gregory - good fast bowler who adds an extra dimension to my pace attack (Speed) as well as his brillant slips fielding and his explosive batting also adds extra depth to my batting lineup.
Alan Davidson - Tight accurate LMF bowler who could move the ball both in the air and off the pitch. Also a handy lower order batsman who often dug his side out of trouble and was known as "The Claw" for his ability to snare catches close to the wicket
Hedley Verity - Left Arm spinner with great control and brain particularly lethal on wet wickets. His ability to step uo to this level is shown by the fact that he dismissed Sir Donald Bradman more often than any other bowler.
Ernie Toshack - Left Arm Medium Pacer whose tight economical bowling (Economy Rate: 1.88) will allow my other bowlers to attack from the other end.
There will be two votes:
1. The above poll. Simply vote for the team you think is the best. The team with the most votes wins this poll.
2. A more comprehensive poll conducted by email. Send an email to cricketwebdraft@googlemail.com listing your top three teams in order and your cricket web user name. e.g
Then each 1st place team is awarded three points, 2nd awarded two points and 3rd awarded one point. The team with the most points overall will top this poll.
Anyone can vote in either or both polls regardless of if they took part in the draft itself. If you took part in the draft please do not vote for your own team in either of the polls.
Vote for the team you think would perform the best in test cricket against the other teams, taking into account the skill of the players in batting, bowling and fielding, how they compliment each other, the balance of the team, how good the captain is and how they suit their chosen home ground.
These teams have been selected from players who appeared in an official test post-WWI, but their whole career is taken into consideration, including matches played prior to WWI.
Each player was given the opportunity to write a few paragraphs supporting their team. Where that player hasn't sent one in yet I have just listed the team and ground. If they can send me a write-up whilst I can still edit this post I will paste it in.
The email poll will close in two weeks on midnight GMT, Friday 13th,
February. HERE ARE THE TEAMS
Team A
Greame Smith
Gordon Greenidge
Rohan Kanhai
Martin Crowe
Graeme Pollock
Tony Grieg*
Brendon McCullum+
Peter Pollock
Johnny Wardle
Curtly Ambrose
Frank Tyson
Ground: Basin Reserve, Wellington, New Zealand
A pair of Pollocks and some great cricketing minds combine in my XI.
My favourite cricketers have always been fast bowlers with that ability to uproot the stumps and send them cartwheeling. By selecting Ambrose, Tyson and Pollock not only have I got three bowlers with the pace to do just that, they also have the supreme accuracy required to take 20 wickets over five days.
The team offers explosive and highly skilled batting from places 1 through to 7, with some of the greatest batsmen of today (Smith) and of the past (Graeme Pollock, Martin Crowe). None of the team are deadweights either with the bat or the field.
Whilst Smith and Greig at their pomp may suggest the beginnings of a personality clash, in reality I would hope that they abilities would firmly compliment each other; devising the strategies and field settings to exploit the slightest weakness in the opposition batting line up.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Team B
Jack Hobbs
Bill Lawry
Eddie Paynter
Denis Compton
Inzamam-ul-Haq
Steve Waugh*
Jeff Dujon+
Shaun Pollock
Michael Holding
Dale Steyn
Glenn McGrath
Ground: Lord's, London, England
It is my belief that batting is very important, but ultimately it is bowling that wins you test matches. If you can't consistently take 20 wickets you won't get very far. That is why I decided to build this team around a pace quartet from the beginning and was fortunate enough to get a stunning combination, in my opinion the deadliest pace attack of any team drafted.
Pollock with his unerring accuracy, Holding's flamboyant pace, Steyn's lethal late swing and McGrath's unquenchable thirst for wickets any way he can get them all ensure that this team has the tools to tear apart even the greatest batting line-ups. They will be marshaled by Steve Waugh, one of the greatest test captains who has great experience in using great bowlers to destroy the opposition, and Jeff Dujon who was consistently exceptional in his keeping the West Indies pacemen of the 80s.
But a tremendous bowling attack is not all this team possesses. Jack Hobbs is unquestionably the finest opening batsman ever to play the game and in this tournament he wont be giving his wicket away after reaching three figures. Bill Lawry's rock solid technique and battling mentality is a great compliment. Following them are three top drawer strokeplayers, with one of the great geniuses of test batsmanship at four in Denis Compton, all anchored by one of the most extraordinary run accumulators in history in Waugh.
Lord's is the place fit for such titanic players, plus it helps that McGrath has such a fabulous record there. Beware that pace attack on the infamous slope!
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Team C
Virender Sehwag
Conrad Hunte
Donald Bradman*
Patsy Hendren
Kevin Pietersen
Clyde Walcott+
Wilfred Rhodes
Andy Roberts
Shane Bond
Bill Johnston
Colin Croft
Ground: Newlands, Cape Town, South Africa
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Team D
Len Hutton
Justin Langer
Ian Chappell
Jaques Kallis
Norm O'Neil
Kumar Sangakkara+
Clive Lloyd*
Harold Larwood
Ian Bishop
Alec Bedser
Muttiah Muraliatharan
Ground: Galle International Stadium, Galle, Sri Lanka
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Team E
Mark Richardson
Graham Gooch*
Mohammad Yousuf
Alan Border
Aravinda de Silva
Mark Boucher+
Chaminda Vaas
Wasim Akram
Bret Lee
Anil Kumble
BS Bedi
Ground: WACA, Perth, Australia
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Team F
Matthew Hayden
Sunil Gavaskar
Viv Richards*
Archie Jackson
Mahela Jayawadrene
Aubrey Faulkner
Alec Stewart+
Kapil Dev
Neil Adcock
Bob Willis
Dennis Lillee
Ground: Headingley, Leeds, England
Flair, genius, depth, variety and excellence combine to make up this all-world XI. From possibly the two greatest openers in history at the top of the order, the list of cricketing giants continues all the way throughout the team to possibly the greatest fast bowler the game has ever seen at number eleven.
The top order intimidates with bats like cudgel and blade and there is Mariana Trench-ian depth to further bully opponents. Separate from the talents and achievements of the likes of Richards and Jayewardene, numbers 7 and 8 have a total of 23 Test centuries combined.
The five-headed bowling attack fuses pace, craft, guile, aggression, height, spin, experience and achievements and records by the oil tanker load.
As an XI, it is a team of balance, power, grace, talent and resilience and possesses no weakness.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Team G
Arthur Morris
Desmond Haynes
Rahul Dravid
Sachin Tendulkar
David Gower
Gary Sobers*
Rod Marsh+
Maurice Tate
Fred Trueman
Jim Laker
Courtney Walsh
Ground: Old Trafford, Manchester, England
Captained by the best all rounder ever Garry Sobers the team has a gritty determined top three, followed by some gorgeous middler order batsman in Tendulkar, Gower and Sobers.
The RH LH opening partnership up the top of the order is ideal, and if any early wicket was to fall early having the wall batting at 3 is a bonus.
141 Test 100s from the top 6 should ensure that on average at least one of my batsman should score a century each innings. My team loves scoring runs really, does anyone else have 4 batsman in the top 18 batsman in total runs scorer in the history of Test Cricket?
My wicket keeper Rod Marsh is a terrific gloveman and his brilliant work should see all chances taken, which is vital in these games where so many brilliant bowlers are in action.
The bowling will see Fred Trueman given the new pill with the ever reliable and often underrated Courtney Walsh. Maurice Tate with his swing and depending on conditions Garry Sobers will be first change.
The trump card is the brilliant Jim Laker, who took the best match figures [by far] in Test Cricket when he took 19 for 90. And the venue? None other than Old Trafford..
The team will attack at home and always play for the win, a draw will feel like a lose. Away from home, it wont be so easy all the time, but the XI picked should be able to handle all conditions really.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Team H
Saeed Anwar
Geoff Boycott
Ricky Ponting
Ken Barrington
Shivnarine Chanderpaul
Damien Martyn
MS Dhoni*+
Malcolm Marshall
Joel Garner
Brian Statham
Alan Donald
Ground: Kensington Oval, Bridgetown, Barbados
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Team I
Bill Ponsford
Charlie Macartney
George Headley
Everton Weekes
Stan McCabe
Andy Flower+
Mike Procter
Ian Botham
Shane Warne*
Jeff Thomson
Lance Gibbs
Ground: The Gabba, Brisbane, Australia
I based my team around plenty of depth in both the batting and bowling departments, and attacking cricketers that, whilst on a simulation might not prove the best would, in real life, have every chance of winning a series against any of the other sides on display. Australians McCabe and Ponsford, picked up late in the draft, were key to ensuring that the side had enough batting talent to back up the West Indian combination of Headley and Weekes at the top of the order. Botham and Proctor were extremely aggressive allround cricketers, and with Thomson's pace, the side's bowling unit is hardly likely to take a back step. Shane Warne was voted one of the five cricketers of the century so hardly needs an introduction and his partnership with Gibbs would be an exciting one. Of all wicket keepers, Andy Flower averages the highest so securing a wicketkeeper-batsman of his quality was a huge bonus. Macartney may look ordinary on paper (41.8 with the bat and 27.55 with the ball) but after the Second World War he was immense – possibly a Viv Richards of the 1920s. His bowling (slow left am) allows another option for Warne, who also has McCabe's medium pace for variety.
The Gabba was chosen as the home ground as Warne, Gibbs and Thomson all performed well in Brisbane throughout their career. With five Australians in the team, playing in front of home crowds for half the side would also be an added bonus. Warne was chosen as skipper because of his aggressive streak and his fearlessness as a leader – to captain a side filled with such talent would, in my opinion, require a captain with supreme confidence in his own ability and the desire to challenge his own team mates to perform at their best. I believe Warne fits this category as good as any captain.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Team J
Hanif Mohammad
Herb Sutcliffe
Ted Dexter*
Javed Miandad
Richie Richardson
Doug Walters
Adam Gilchrist+
Ray Lindwall
Wes Hall
Clarrie Grimmett
John Snow
Ground: Adelaide Oval, Adelaide, Australia
Playing at the Adelaide oval Australia, I have put togather a team that should be able to compete on all surfaces and in all conditions. Adelaide oval is a splendid place to play cricket and it gives everyone a chance to perform, in a way I'm bringing my opposition closer to me in home gomes by playing there but I'm after a fair contest. Good batting line ups should be able to post first innings scores of around 500, while there is enough pace, spin and bounce to help all bowlers achieve some success.
My team looks impressive as a unit. My first pick I went for Adam Gilchrist, you only have to think how often he won test matches in the space of a session, I'm hoping to get that from him. My top order is impressive, having an opener like Sutcliffe averaging over 60 partnered with a guy who can bat forever in Hanif Mohammad will give us lots of good starts. Theres plenty of quality in the middle order with Ted Dexter, Javed Miandad, Richie Richardson and Doug Walters. All these guys are vastly experienced batsmen with more than 5000 runs each or average over 45 and have all played many great test innings. By names I don't have the best bowling line up but I think they are great. With three of my four bowlers having over 200 test wickets (Wes Hall has 192) it proves they were at the top of the tree for a long time. All these guys showed time and time again why they were among the best in the world from their generation.
I mostly looked at experienced influential players, guys that could win matches and guys that could save matches, players that played big when it was needed, I've got a great mix of flair and poise, I'm confident I have one of the best teams in the draft.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Team K
Sid Barnes
David Boon
Alvin Kallicharran
Brian Lara
Michael Hussey
Andrew Flintoff
Richard Hadlee
Richie Benaud*
Ian Healy+
Daniel Vettori
Darren Gough
Ground: SCG, Sydney, Australia
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Team L
Bob Simpson
Mark Taylor*
Wally Hammond
Greg Chappell
Neil Harvey
Vijay Hazare
Imran Khan
Alan Knott+
Waqar Younis
Bill O’Reilly
Bruce Reid
Ground: National Stadium, Karachi, Pakistan
My team was built around a balanced bowling attack with no weak links, and a great middle order. The openers/slipsmen, and wicketkeeper were selected to compliment them.
O’Reilly is the attack’s lynchpin. His ability to bowl all day, posing a constant threat while keeping things very tight (E/R: <2) allowed me to be comfortable having only 4 frontline bowlers. He bowled all day to batsmen like Bradman and Hammond on dead tracks and never tired or gave an inch.
Imran and Waqar are my opening bowlers – genuine express pace, the ability to move the ball late, heart to bowl all day if required, and generating reverse swing later on. Geniuses who pose a threat to any batsman, anywhere. Reid compliments them, angling across right-handers with steep bounce from 9’ up or move the ball back in. Hammond and Simpson are ok fifth bowlers, for rare occasions I need/want an extra seamer or spinner.
I picked batsmen who had proven successful in adverse conditions – Hammond on wet/drying wickets, Chappell excelling during the greatest era of fast bowling, Harvey succeeded in all conditions, often when none of his team-mates could. And they could all feast when conditions eased. Simpson and Taylor with proven success in all conditions, against great new-ball bowlers, will provide a very solid platform for this middle order. Both alltime great slips, and Taylor was a brilliant tactical captain.
Once I missed the 3-4 genuine wicketkeeping allrounders, I decided to simply get the best gloveman I could who could also contribute in the tail. By taking catches/stumping chances, and preventing byes, a “batsman who keeps” might miss, yet also averaged 32 against some great attacks, Knott is to my mind no compromise. Having Imran in the team at 7 also allows him the luxury of batting at 8, giving my team a very long tail.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Team M
Bill Woodfull
Barry Richards
Dudley Nourse
Frank Worrell*
Lindsay Hassett
Keith Miller
Leslie Ames+
Jack Gregory
Alan Davidson
Hedley Verity
Ernie Toshack
Ground: MCG, Melbourne, Australia
Bill Woodfull - Openning batsman who had great stickability, reliability and courage.
Barry Richards - Highly skilled South African openner who was denied by the Apartheid boycott from playing more than 4 official tests averaging 72 although he did well in Packer's World Series Supertests.
Dudley Nourse - Highly consistant and most feared batsman in South African team in post war years who did well even against an attack featuring Lindwall, Miller and Johnston in South Africa in 1949-50
Sir Frank Worrell - Top quality reliable batsman who had all the strokes and a top quality captain who was an expert in forging a team out of players from diverse backgrounds.
Lindsay Hassett - Top quality batsman against pace (Was often used as an openner) and spin (one of the few batsman to get on top of O'Reilly with any degree of regularity).
Keith Miller - Highly explosive and entertaining allrounder who usually batted at his best on a big occasion or when his team needed it. He was also a highly skilled if some what unpredictable fast bowler who usually got the opposition dangerman quickly. Also a top quality fielder in the slips.
Leslie Ames - Top quality batsman-keeper who averaged over 40 with the bat in the 1930's for England playing good orthodox cricket shots and is probably the best keeper out of the keeper-batsman as is shown by his great success behind the stumps.
Jack Gregory - good fast bowler who adds an extra dimension to my pace attack (Speed) as well as his brillant slips fielding and his explosive batting also adds extra depth to my batting lineup.
Alan Davidson - Tight accurate LMF bowler who could move the ball both in the air and off the pitch. Also a handy lower order batsman who often dug his side out of trouble and was known as "The Claw" for his ability to snare catches close to the wicket
Hedley Verity - Left Arm spinner with great control and brain particularly lethal on wet wickets. His ability to step uo to this level is shown by the fact that he dismissed Sir Donald Bradman more often than any other bowler.
Ernie Toshack - Left Arm Medium Pacer whose tight economical bowling (Economy Rate: 1.88) will allow my other bowlers to attack from the other end.
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