Combined XI

[honestbharani]

I'll accept that.

What I will say though is that Pietersen is very much a confidence player. The first score is often what's needed to get him playing like himself. He looked like the KP we all love/hate (delete as appropriatey yesterday after gradually gaining confidence in the second dig at Lord's.

your captain is doing a horrible job keeping him at 4 in the limited overs games.. Either he should open with Cook and let Kieswetter do his stuff at the back end of the game, where your team still lacks a big hitter IMO or he should at least be batting 3. 4 is a horrible position for a player like him IMO.

 

[Spark]

The problem is England don't have a natural #4 in ODIs. Someone who is good at rotating the strike but is also capable of finding the boundaries when necessary. Maybe Eoin Morgan fits this role but he's better utilized lower down where he can "finish" innings more effectively.

 

[honestbharani]

Haha so true. Baffling.

Acceptable if you choose KP because he dominates more or can score at a faster rate. But saying Laxman doesn't score enough centuries as a knock on him being in the team is crazy and screams of choosing a player based on StatsGuru. Especially when the guy has three innings from last year alone which can be argued as the best innings from any batsman in 2010.

There is a strong argument that Laxman was India's MVP in 2010.

For me, it is no argument. He WAS our MVP in tests last year. And one of the main reasons we rose to be a clear #1, at least in the rankings.

 

[honestbharani]

No, the point is, there's zero argument for picking Sree over Tremmers because Sree has never been as good as him.

KP could be selected ahead of Laxman for large parts of his career. So if someone backs KP to do better than Laxman, it can feasibly be based on the basis of what KP has previously achieved.

Of course Pietersen has to do more than look good to show he's back to himself, but as I said yesterday, for his whole career when KP has played in the way he did on Saturday he's been a routine 50 average player. It's fair enough if you don't want to base your judgements on what a player looks like, but with Pietersen I have always trusted what I see.

All that being said, I did put Laxman in my XI because I picked on the 'then and now' basis. I am confident that KP will score a run or two against you lot though.

As an aside, I feel it's worth pointing out that zaremba only mentioned Laxman's number of hundreds because Bun specifically brought up something about comparing their number of hundreds in the last two years. He wasn't talking him down.

Hate to be pedantic but taking out Laxman's years of opening and shunting up and down the order (that is, from 2001) he averages 50+ as well...

 

[honestbharani]

Sponsored by Blackberry, here is my 'Turn Off the Computer XI' for this series:

1. Bun
2. Cevno
3. Dasa
4. Blaze18
5. Centurymaker
6. silentstriker
7. vcs +
8. Turbinator
9. Gi joe
10. Jono
11. Shri

I m not even 12th Man????

 

[Bun]

Would I be leading the market for the most likely mod to get sacked and banned?

That'll depend on your promptness in updating Ishant's standardised averages

 

[Daemon]

That'll depend on your promptness in updating Ishant's standardised averages

Because you have the power to ban him?

 

[Cevno]

I m not even 12th Man????

You are the team Mascot

 

[Bun]

Because you have the power to ban him?

No, I'll make him an offer he can't refuse

 

[Spark]

Please. If the rest of us couldn't even get a World Cup running, what hope do you have?

 

[honestbharani]

You are the team Mascot

Ah well.. every man finds his limitations.

 

[GIMH]

I think we can definitively say Pietersen is better than Laxman now on the basis that he's never got out to Chanderpaul

 

[honestbharani]

I think we can definitively say Pietersen is better than Laxman now on the basis that he's never got out to Chanderpaul

nah.. Laxman never gets out to Yuvi though..

 

[GIMH]

A few of us did these in one of the threads in CC. Be interesting to see what people put now and then how they evolve as the series progresses.

Cook
Sehwag
Trott
Tendulkar
Laxman
Bell
Prior+
Swann
Khan
Tremlett
Anderson

Prior V Dhoni the closest call for me.

With Sehwag out, I need a new opener. Gambhir or Strauss?

 

[Daemon]

Hmm. Strauss based on form and the fact that he's playing at home, though he was facing what I can only presume to be **** bowling from Sreesanth.

 

[Howe_zat]

Either, really. Strauss gives you a captain and has a lot more games under him. Gambhir averages something stupid as an opener though, so fair enough to pick him.

 

[flibbertyjibber]

The problem is England don't have a natural #4 in ODIs. Someone who is good at rotating the strike but is also capable of finding the boundaries when necessary. Maybe Eoin Morgan fits this role but he's better utilized lower down where he can "finish" innings more effectively.

James William Arthur Taylor.

 

[Uppercut]

Gambhir. Because he's far better than Strauss.

 

[Spark]

James William Arthur Taylor.

I've heard he's not that great at finding the boundary. Possibly an option though. What's his running between the wickets like?

 

[Howe_zat]

Excellent, probably the most well covered part of his game. The only question mark over him for one-day cricket is whether he can clear the ropes when he needs to.