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Furball's Greatest XI
- Thread starter Furball
- Start date
honestbharani
Whatever it takes!!!
I think his breakthrough as a bowler happened in India under Nasser Hussain..
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honestbharani
Whatever it takes!!!
It is what you get when yo quote.. And I was replying at lunch.. so was not exactly looking at how it landed up on the page.. Have corrected it now.
Agent Nationaux
International Coach
Shouldn't you then be called FIMH?
Furball
Evil Scotsman
Graeme Swann
Completing the XI and my spin bowling attack is Graeme Swann. In an era of mystery spinners/baseball pitchers, it’s refreshing to see that the best exponent of the art of spin bowling is an orthodox offie. Like the latter-career Warne, Swann’s box of tricks is fairly limited; there’s the off-break, the big turning off-break and the “lol, you thought that was turning, guess what, you’re lbw” straight ball. The latter has proven particularly effective to left handers of all nationalities. Swann’s hold over Australia’s left handers is approaching Warne over England levels, and he averages something stupid like 5 against Pakistan’s left handers. Ok, right-handers get a slightly easier ride against Swann, but he’s not perfect. If he was, he’d be...Shane Warne.
What makes Swann great is that he’s great value on and off the field. On it, he’s a demon off-spinner (as already discussed), a nuisance batsman (although I will always maintain he’s underachieved as a batsman, although I’m perhaps judging him by his ICC 2005 career) and a good slipper. He’s a brilliant all-round cricketer to have in your side. Not only that, but he’s great in the dressing room and in the media, as his Ashes Diaries from 2010/11 will attest to. And in the media he’s about the only bloke in the game currently who successfully manages to not be a slick, well drilled in PR, cliché-spouting clone, without going too far the other way and coming off as a complete ****. That takes talent.
Why else does Swann get in this team? Well, the highest compliment I can pay him is that he’s probably the closest thing cricket has to a replacement for Shane Warne. No-one will ever replace Warne as a cricketer, but there’s a lot of similarities between the two in what they bring to a side (bowling, batting and slip catching) and just as every Warne delivery was an event, Swann is one of the few cricketers who carries that “oooh, better keep watching, something’s going to happen” aura around him – at least he does when there’s a leftie at the crease. Like I said, nobody’s perfect. Maybe he’s the poor man’s Warne...but I’ll quite happily take that.
Completing the XI and my spin bowling attack is Graeme Swann. In an era of mystery spinners/baseball pitchers, it’s refreshing to see that the best exponent of the art of spin bowling is an orthodox offie. Like the latter-career Warne, Swann’s box of tricks is fairly limited; there’s the off-break, the big turning off-break and the “lol, you thought that was turning, guess what, you’re lbw” straight ball. The latter has proven particularly effective to left handers of all nationalities. Swann’s hold over Australia’s left handers is approaching Warne over England levels, and he averages something stupid like 5 against Pakistan’s left handers. Ok, right-handers get a slightly easier ride against Swann, but he’s not perfect. If he was, he’d be...Shane Warne.
What makes Swann great is that he’s great value on and off the field. On it, he’s a demon off-spinner (as already discussed), a nuisance batsman (although I will always maintain he’s underachieved as a batsman, although I’m perhaps judging him by his ICC 2005 career) and a good slipper. He’s a brilliant all-round cricketer to have in your side. Not only that, but he’s great in the dressing room and in the media, as his Ashes Diaries from 2010/11 will attest to. And in the media he’s about the only bloke in the game currently who successfully manages to not be a slick, well drilled in PR, cliché-spouting clone, without going too far the other way and coming off as a complete ****. That takes talent.
Why else does Swann get in this team? Well, the highest compliment I can pay him is that he’s probably the closest thing cricket has to a replacement for Shane Warne. No-one will ever replace Warne as a cricketer, but there’s a lot of similarities between the two in what they bring to a side (bowling, batting and slip catching) and just as every Warne delivery was an event, Swann is one of the few cricketers who carries that “oooh, better keep watching, something’s going to happen” aura around him – at least he does when there’s a leftie at the crease. Like I said, nobody’s perfect. Maybe he’s the poor man’s Warne...but I’ll quite happily take that.
GIMH
Norwood's on Fire
Shouldn't you be called Agent ****?
HeathDavisSpeed
Cricket Web: All-Time Legend
None of 'em would be in my equivalent XI, but I think that the line-up encapsulates all that is Ginger Furball. Probably not quite enough ****s in there for the team to really reflect your personality, but it is still quintessentially Furball.
bagapath
International Captain
Absolutely love your enthusiasm, always enjoy reading your write-ups and totally detest your team.
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fredfertang
Cricket Web: All-Time Legend
That brought it all back - not seen it for a while - actually on reflection that was the greatest ever series, and by a distance - can't think really why I ever thought '81 was betterAndrew Flintoff
If ever there someone personified the “stats don’t tell the whole story” argument, that someone would have to be Andrew Flintoff. In 20 years time when a new generation of CWebbers come along and try to work out what the fuss is over someone averaging 32 with the ball and 31 with the bat. Those of us who watched him play know that he was more, so much more than that.
His defining series will always be the 2005 Ashes series, and with good reason – he was mighty with both bat and ball – but his breakthrough series occurred 2 years earlier against South Africa where he played a number of superb innings at 7. He proved himself to be a hard hitting, clean striker of the ball and batted extremely well with the tail. His 142 at Lord’s was a cracking innings, bettered IMO by his 95 at The Oval. Flintoff came to the wicket with England still 4 in arrears, and 3 more wickets quickly fell to leave England 502/8, a lead of just 18 runs. Flintoff was the next man out having scored 85 of the 99 runs the 9[SUP]th[/SUP] wicket partnership had brought, giving England a crucial lead and allowing them to chase a series levelling victory.
His coming of age as a bowler occurred that winter, but where we will always remember him is the Ashes 2005. That marathon spell at the Oval on day 4. The fire and hostility every time he bowled. The way things just seemed to happen for him every time he had the ball in his hand. And of course, THAT over at Edgbaston.
I still get goosebumps watching that. Just listen to the crowd. Cricket, in fact all sport, is about theatre, drama and emotion. It’s the big moments that we remember. There’s no way in hell Flintoff would swap bowling that over for a bowling average of 27 over his career. We loved Freddie because he had us on the edge of our seats, with him every step of his run up, willing him on because he was our hero. You don’t get the crowd with you the way Freddie did without being a great player. Statistics can only tell you so much about the story that unfolds during a game. Some people can point to the fact that yes, Flintoff perhaps didn’t get the wickets that he really should have in Test cricket. For all his talent as a bowler he didn’t run through sides the way he should have, as his three 5 wicket hauls will attest to. Stats be damned though. I’ve never seen a player lift a crowd the way Flintoff did that summer or would continue to do every time he bowled until his body got the better of him. You don’t do what he did on the final morning of the 2009 Lord’s Ashes Test without being great.
Incidentally, in this team I’ve accidentally created the perfect role for Flintoff. His batting IMO was always better suited to 7 than it was to 6. It should give him a license and a freedom to play his natural attacking game and go after the bowlers. And as a bowler, McGrath, Anderson, Warne and AN Other can do the grunt work. Flintoff can bowl short, sharp, hostile spells that get the crowd on their feet and the opposition batsmen jumping around their crease, a role that should be perfect for him. Perhaps having that sort of role would have given Flintoff the numbers to match his greatness.
Red
The normal awards that everyone else has
Keep it clean. Family forum and all (I'd make a great mod!)
NUFAN
Y no Afghanistan flag
Well in fairness he was including the family in his post.
Really well done Furball, I'm not going to lie but I thought you would struggle to find 11 players that you like. I think the 5 man bowling unit you've picked is epic considering the era that you were selecting your players from. Great job.
