Clause-Mystery-Choice Draft Thread 2014

[harsh.ag]

Ftr Harsh, why did you consider Pollock a bowler as oppose to an allrounder? Bloke has plenty of runs at a solid average (comparable to Cairns or Haddin, for example). Bit weirded out by the criteria.

I don't know. You are right perhaps. But I have always thought of Pollock as a bowler in tests. Don't know why. Maybe because he became an all-rounder later on, and didn't win matches with the bat per se. Tbh, I think I would rate even Hadlee, Benaud, Davidson as bowlers, but I recognize I should not be using my own criteria in the context of a draft like this. Honest overlook.

 

[Howe_zat]

Well I compared spinner to spinner which I won, and then Reid v Amir becomes pretty even on the lost talent side of things. Also you don't need Armstrong's bowling when Kallis gets in the team.

@weeman

 

[Jarquis]

Hobbs
Hutton
Hammond
Tendulkar
Kallis
Walcott
Gilchrist
Hadlee
Lindwall
Turner
O'Reilly

So Howe has 7 in the XI but I reckon only 8 of a 15 man squad.

 

[Howe_zat]

I don't know. You are right perhaps. But I have always thought of Pollock as a bowler in tests. Don't know why. Maybe because he became an all-rounder later on, and didn't win matches with the bat per se. Tbh, I think I would rate even Hadlee, Benaud, Davidson as bowlers, but I recognize I should not be using my own criteria in the context of a draft like this. Honest overlook.

I'm not going to argue this one too much because on second thoughts using records is actually pretty useless for the question anyway. Scoring a few runs doesn't really change whether or not someone is picked as a bowler alone (consider Swann, G) for the same reasons that not scoring runs wouldn't change whether or not someone is picked as a batsman (consider Hughes, P). If you came to the conclusion that Pollock didn't have any batting responsibility in Tests then I'll go with that.

I definitely wouldn't go with that on Benaud or Hadlee though. Those guys were relied upon for runs.

 

[watson]

I would have classified Shaun Pollock as allrounder as he averages 32, and has hit 2 centuries, plus 16 fifties. Sure he was primarily a bowler because of his great partnership with Allan Donald, but anyone who averages more than 30 with the bat is a competent batsman. Therefore, perhaps there should be two categories of allrounder for future 'mystery' picks - 'bowling allrounder' and 'batting allrounder'.

However, that's all by-the-by as I'm sure no one minds Monk scoring Shaun Pollock anyway.

 

[Red]

Monk's XI

- Barry Richards ^
- Bruce Mitchell (7)
- Charlie Macartney (6)
- Brian Lara ^
- John Wright
- Shane Watson (5) ^
- Wilfred Rhodes (4)
- Shaun Pollock (2)
- George Fullerton +
- Joel Garner (3)
- Dennis Lillee (1)


So, in the end I'm fairly happy. Decent, solid team who would be hard to beat. High quality pace bowling trio backed up by Watson. Rhodes, Macartney and Mitchell form a spin trio with some variety. Top four is strong as an ox.

Thanks to Harsh for a well run and fun draft.

 

[Red]

I'd actually have taken Pollock or Paul Adams over any of the Australian options anyway. Obv much happier with Pollock.

 

[watson]

01. Eddie Barlow*
02. Conrad Hunte
03. Stan McCabe
04. Graeme Pollock
05. Tom Graveney
06. Aubrey Faulkner
07. Mike Procter
08. George Thompson
09. Jackie Hendriks +
10. Malcolm Marshall
11. Courtney Walsh

Happy with this team in the end after being handed a relative unknown. Bats all the way down to 10 and would clean-up on any wicket with a bit of bounce n' seam.

Thanks as well to harsh for an enthralling draft and all the usual hard work.

 

[AldoRaine18]

01. Virender Sehwag
02. Saeed Anwar
03. George Headley
04. Greg Chappell (6)
05. Keith Miller (2)
06. Archie Maclaren
07. Imran Khan* (1)
08. Deryck Murray†
09. Bert Vogler (5)
10. Dale Steyn (3)
11. Bob Willis (4)


Quite happy with this, more than some of the sides I've built in the regular format drafts. The opening partnership has a genuine match winner and a graceful and elegant stroke player. Together they can get the team to good starts with scoring good amount of runs, specially on subcontinent surfaces. At number 3 I have just the man needed to steady the ship in case of an early wicket in Headley who can be relied upon in the most difficult of situations. Him, Chappell and Miller form a spectacular middle order.

The bowling unit is strong, particularly the pace battery of Miller, Imran, Steyn and Willis. The four of them provide everything you can ask for from a pace attack in genuine pace, aggression, skill, quality match winning ability in most circumstances and surfaces. Backing them up would be Vogler and Chappell.

 

[AldoRaine18]

And thanks a lot to harsh for organizing a fantastic draft.

 

[bagapath]

Bagapath's XI

Bob Simpson (c)
WG Grace
Kumar Ranjitsinhji
Sir Everton Weekes
Sir Garfield Sobers (5)
Gilbert Jessop
Prasanna Jayawardene (wk)
John Snow (2)
Sir Curtley Ambrose (1)
Ken Higgs (3)
Clarrie Grimmett (4)

Thanks for running this draft, Harsh. It was fun.

This is a very good team. In fact, I think I have never got a better team in any of the drafts I have been part of.

I love the top 5. It is of ATG quality with plenty of stroke makers and stylists and stubborn gluttons for runs. When the opposition finally gets them out, Jessop with his big hitting and Jayawardene with his pluck can give the bowlers more headache.

Ambrose and Grimmett are dream bowlers. Any cricket fan of any era would want them in his team. John Snow is a great fast bowler too. Higgs, with an average of 20 is the perfect third seamer. Of course, Sobers is there for some more swing bowling, or left arm spin.

Bob Simpson and Gary Sobers are among the greatest fielders of all time. And I trust Bob Simpson to lead them well.

All in all, I am quite pleased with how things turned out in the end.

 

[morgieb]

Michael Slater
Marvan Atapattu
Viv Richards*
Javed Miandad
Dudley Nourse
Brian McMillan (4)
Billy Barnes (3)
Ken Wadsworth+
Fred Trueman (2)
Muttiah Muralitharan (5)
Glenn McGrath (1)

A lot of stars but also quite a few average players. Interesting.

 

[bagapath]

Michael Slater
Marvan Atapattu
Viv Richards*
Javed Miandad
Dudley Nourse
Brian McMillan (4)
Billy Barnes (3)
Ken Wadsworth+
Fred Trueman (2)
Muttiah Muralitharan (5)
Glenn McGrath (1)

A lot of stars but also quite a few average players. Interesting.

superb middle order. great opening bowlers and, obviously, the best spinner possible. atapattu, mcmillan and wadsworth kinda dilute the star quality, though.

 

[watson]

superb middle order. great opening bowlers and, obviously, the best spinner possible. atapattu, mcmillan and wadsworth kinda dilute the star quality, though.

Disagree regarding Wadsworth as he was a class act, and couldn't help dying of melanoma as he was approaching his peak at aged 29.

 

[bagapath]

Disagree regarding Wadsworth as he was a class act, and couldn't help dying of melanoma as he was approaching his peak at aged 29.

my bad. I should not've have passed lazy comments.

 

[harsh.ag]

Barnes should bat above McMillan IMO

 

[harsh.ag]

ALL PICKS AS THEY HAPPENED AND GOOD PLAYERS MISSED OUT ON

Round I
Morgieb - Glenn McGrath
Watson - Courtney Walsh
Bagapath - John Snow
G.I.Joe/Monk - Wilfred Rhodes
ohnoitsyou - Chris Cairns
Howe_zat - Sachin Tendulkar
AldoRaine18 - Bob Willis
Weeman27bob - Warwick Armstrong
Players missed: Morne Morkel, Jason Gillespie, James Anderson, Mushtaq Ahmed

Round II
Weeman27bob - Gordon Greenidge
AldoRaine18 - Virender Sehwag
Howe_zat - AB de Villers
ohnoitsyou - Geoff Boycott
Monk - Shane Watson
Bagapath - Bob Simpson
Watson - Eddie Barlow
Morgieb - Michael Slater

Round III
AldoRaine18 - Dale Steyn
Monk - Joel Garner
Morgieb - Fred Trueman
ohnoitsyou - Wasim Akram
Weeman27bob - Sir Jack Hobbs
Howe_zat - Bill O'Reilly
Watson - Mike Procter
Bagapath - Clarrie Grimmett
Players missed: Sir Andy Roberts, Abdul Qadir, Hedley Verity (who was picked later)

Round IV
Bagapath - Gilbert Jessop
Watson - Tom Graveney
Howe_zat - Lawrence Rowe
Weeman27bob - Bruce Reid
ohnoitsyou - Khan Mohammad
morgieb - Brian McMillan
Monk - George Fullerton
AldoRaine18 - Saeed Anwar
Player missed: John R Reid

Round V
Monk - Charlie Macartney
Weeman27bob - Daryll Cullinan
Watson - George Thompson
AldoRaine18 - Deryck Murray
ohnoitsyou - Kris Srikkanth
morgieb - Marvan Attapattu
Bagapath - Ken Higgs
Howe_zat - Mohammad Amir
Player missed: Mohinder Amarnath

Round VI
Howe_zat - Charlie Turner
Bagapath - Prasanna Jayawardene
morgieb - William Barnes
ohnoitsyou - Arthur Shrewsbury
AldoRaine18 - Bert Vogler
watson - Sir Conrad Hunte
Weeman27bob - Frank Foster
Monk - John Wright
Player missed: Mushtaq Mohammad

Round VII
Bagapath : Sir Garfield Sobers
ohnoitsyou : Shane Warne
watson : Malcolm Marshall
Weeman27bob : Adam Gilchrist
AldoRaine18 : Imran Khan
Howe_zat : Sir Len Hutton
Monk : Dennis Lillee
Morgieb : Muttiah Muralitharan

Round VIII
Morgieb - Sir Vivian Richards
Monk - Brian Lara
Howe_zat - Wally Hammond
AldoRaine18 - Greg Chappell
Weeman27bob - Sir Richard Hadlee
watson - Graeme Pollock
ohnoitsyou - Ricky Ponting
Bagapath - Sir Curtly Ambrose

Round IX
Monk - Barry Richards
watson - Aubrey Faulkner
morgieb - Javed Miandad
ohnoitsyou - Sunil Gavaskar
Howe_zat - Jacques Kallis
Weeman27bob - Hedley Verity
AldoRaine18 - Sir George Headley
Bagapath - WG Grace

Round X
Bagapath - Sir Everton Weekes
AldoRaine18 - Keith Miller
Weeman27bob - Sir Clyde Walcott
Howe_zat - Ray Lindwall
ohnoitsyou - Denis Compton
morgieb - Dudley Nourse
watson - Stan McCabe
Monk - Bruce Mitchell

Round XI
Weeman27bob - Misbah ul-Haq
morgieb - Ken Wadsworth
Bagapath - Kumar Ranjitsinghji
AldoRaine18 - Archie Maclaren
watson - Jackie Hendriks
ohnoitsyou - Budhi Kunderan
Howe_zat - Ashwell Prince
Monk - Shaun Pollock
Player missed: Max Walker

 

[harsh.ag]

Anybody who wishes to know more about some of the more eclectic players I have handed out in the draft, here is a beautiful article on Budhi Kanderan -

Rahul Bhattacharya on meeting Budhi Kunderan and Subhash Gupte | Cricinfo Magazine | ESPN Cricinfo

 

[bagapath]

are you setting up a poll with all the teams?

 

[bagapath]

Hobbs
Hutton
Hammond
Tendulkar
Kallis
Walcott
Gilchrist
Hadlee
Lindwall
Turner
O'Reilly

So Howe has 7 in the XI but I reckon only 8 of a 15 man squad.

pretty close to an ATG XI. not too many XIs can beat this awesome team. great great job.