CW Decides The XI of the Decade

[Spark]

Cribb makes a good point but nonetheless I think in these exercises you have to go on record, not potential or should-have-beens, and it's pretty clear that at Test level Azhar has not been an opening batsman predominantly. I don't think he should be treated as eligible to open in this exercise, really, so long as Warner exists. That sort of interchangeability between two fundamentally different role (opening and #3) should only be done if the opening choices you have are all really crap, and Warner hasn't been that.

 

[Prince EWS]

Cribb makes a good point but nonetheless I think in these exercises you have to go on record, not potential or should-have-beens, and it's pretty clear that at Test level Azhar has not been an opening batsman predominantly. I don't think he should be treated as eligible to open in this exercise, really, so long as Warner exists. That sort of interchangeability between two fundamentally different role (opening and #3) should only be done if the opening choices you have are all really crap, and Warner hasn't been that.

Yeah, I'd usually agree entirely. It's just that even on debut I considered Azhar an opener batting #3 for reasons, and so I still largely do. I'd probably have more reservations to him batting #3, he's just locked in as an opener in my head, and not done anything in his two positions to change that other than get selected in one more than the other. I totally get people not treating him as such, especially if like all normal non-Pakistani members they didn't follow Pakistani domestic cricket in the mid 2000s.

Azhar's been marginally better than Warner when opening all while only playing a third of his games at "home" (and it's a fake home), but Warner's been marginally better overall, opened more regularly and probably compliments Cook better despite batting with the same hand. Logically it's a bit of a toss-up for me so I picked one of my favourites who will probably lose. No issue with Warner being picked here though.

 

[NUFAN]

For this decade ill go David Warner and I think the opener who made the biggest difference was Phil Hughes so thats my votes

 

[honestbharani]

Cook and Azhar

 

[ankitj]

Cook and Warner

23 and 21 hundreds for them respectively while opening. Next best is Murali Vijay with 12. Easy choice.

 

[OverratedSanity]

Vijay was genuinely excellent for a couple of years. Got some very difficult runs overseas. Would make the first xi here if ranked on aesthetics.

 

[GoodAreasShane]

I will go Warner and Azhar pretty much because it has worked out alright for me in the CWPL

 

[Prince EWS]

I will go Warner and Azhar pretty much because it has worked out alright for me in the CWPL

Haha I was even going to make a post saying the Warner/Azhar debate should be settled by you because you "coached" both of them, but you picked both. WAG.

 

[vcs]

Cook and Warner.

Agarwal unlucky to debut too late in the decade or else he'd have walked in.

 

[vcs]

I'd pick Elgar, Karunaratne and Vijay ahead of Azhar FWIW. Azhar had a brief good period which happened to come when he was opening, but wasn't too great either side of it.

 

[CricAddict]

I'd pick Elgar, Karunaratne and Vijay ahead of Azhar FWIW. Azhar had a brief good period which happened to come when he was opening, but wasn't too great either side of it.

Agreed on the above. Azhar will have to prove himself more. The above 3 were also very good openers, especially Karunaratne who had to save a terrible Srilankan team time and again and will probably qualify to ATVG but lose out to Cook and Warner who are borderline ATG openers.

 

[Starfighter]

Cook Warner

 

[stephen]

Warner and Cook.

It's easy to forget how good Warner has been after his antics of the last couple of years. But he's a solid opener and has done way better than the other options at home and about as well away.

 

[CricAddict]

Warner and Cook.

It's easy to forget how good Warner has been after his antics of the last couple of years. But he's a solid opener and has done way better than the other options at home and about as well away.

Really?

 

[stephen]

Really?

Cook aside, since he's the obvious pick, no other opener scored more overseas runs than Warner.

Dhawan scored the same number of centuries at a higher average and was probably better overseas.

Vijay was worse.
Karunaratne was worse.
Brathwaite was worse.
Elgar was statistically similar, but with less runs.
Iqbal scored less centuries but had a higher average.
Ditto for Latham.
Smith played less than 20 tests, but had a much higher average and scored 4 hundreds.

Every other batsman scored less than half the overseas runs Warner did. I'd say that Dhawan was a bit better overseas, Elgar the same and the rest worse. Latham (17) and Smith (14) didn't play enough tests to really count.

 

[Coronis]

Really?

Think Warner averages like 35 away? iirc there Aren’t many openers significantly better than that, I don’t believe there are many averaging over 40 away.

 

[OverratedSanity]

Cook aside, since he's the obvious pick, no other opener scored more overseas runs than Warner.

Dhawan scored the same number of centuries at a higher average and was probably better overseas.

Vijay was worse.
Karunaratne was worse.
Brathwaite was worse.
Elgar was statistically similar, but with less runs.
Iqbal scored less centuries but had a higher average.
Ditto for Latham.
Smith played less than 20 tests, but had a much higher average and scored 4 hundreds.

Every other batsman scored less than half the overseas runs Warner did. I'd say that Dhawan was a bit better overseas, Elgar the same and the rest worse. Latham (17) and Smith (14) didn't play enough tests to really count.

The entire post, but especially the bolded part makes it clear all you've done is apply away as a filter and sorted by average. Dhawan was rubbish overseas.

 

[stephen]

The entire post, but especially the bolded part makes it clear all you've done is apply away as a filter and sorted by average. Dhawan was rubbish overseas.

Yeah I was looking statistically.

Having said that, he's got Ann average of 40 overseas, which is a higher overseas average than most other openers who are averaging low 30s.

 

[OverratedSanity]

Yeah I was looking statistically.

Having said that, he's got Ann average of 40 overseas, which is a higher overseas average than most other openers who are averaging low 30s.

Vijay was much better than Dhawan overseas even though the averages will tell you otherwise. He was so great in the 2014-15 overseas leg that he was brought back in 2018 in the hope he'd replicate that form. Dhawan was bad enough to not be persisted with.

 

[stephen]

Vijay was much better than Dhawan overseas even though the averages will tell you otherwise. He was so great in the 2014-15 overseas leg that he was brought back in 2018 in the hope he'd replicate that form. Dhawan was bad enough to not be persisted with.

Fair enough. Statistically nobody was outstanding overseas aside from Cook and to a lesser extent Smith.