11 players who made their test debuts in 11 different decades DRAFT thread

[mr_mister]

really surprised FS Jackson didn't get picked

 

[watson]

So if you had to pick an XI from this squad you'd have Edrich and McCabe as opening bowlers, then switch as fast as possible to O'Reilly and Verity, plus some left-arm wrist-spin from Compton. Sid Barnes keeping wicket, possibly.

Debuted in 1930s - Fast Bowlers
Bill Voce
Gubby Allen
Bill Bowes
Ken Farnes
Ernie McCormick
Manni Martindale
Mohammad Nissar


Probably open with Allen and Martindale.

 

[OverratedSanity]

really surprised FS Jackson didn't get picked

I was seriously considering him. Came down to whether I wanted the middle order bat or the opener from the 70s or the 19th century. Any of the 4 options would've been a great choice.

 

[watson]

The 19th century "squad" is more balanced, though would probably be improved by picking some of all-rounders available from that era (Monty Noble, Stanley Jackson, George Giffen, Billy Bates, Billy Barnes, George Ulyett, AG Steel...):

WG Grace
Victor Trumper
Arthur Shrewsbury
Ranjitsinhji
Clem Hill
Wilfred Rhodes
Jack Blackham
Johnny Briggs
George Lohmann
Fred Spofforth
Tom Richardson
Jack Ferris

Rhodes rarely batted in the middle-order. He either opens the batting and doesn't bowl, or bowls and bats at 9 or lower.

Debuted Pre 1900
01. WG Grace
02. Victor Trumper
03. Clem Hill
04. Kumar Ranjitsinhji
05. Arthur Shrewsbury
06. SF Jackson
07. Monty Noble
08. Dick Lilley
09. Wilfred Rhodes
10. Fred Spofforth
11. Tom Richardson

12th Archie McLaren

 

[The Battlers Prince]

Ah it's not a big stretch ^. He batted a bit at 7 and above and did bowl part timers in those matches. Could be a bit like Viv bowling a few overs after a 4 prong pace attack

 

[watson]

Ah it's not a big stretch ^. He batted a bit at 7 and above and did bowl part timers in those matches. Could be a bit like Viv bowling a few overs after a 4 prong pace attack

Rhodes was an average top order batsman at best, but arguably the greatest left-arm spinner of all time depending on your point of view. Having Rhodes bowl part-timers is a complete waste.

IMO The only way to fit Rhodes into an ATG scenario is to assume that he is a Gold Tier bowler with limited batting skills.

 

[AndrewB]

Round 10
watson: Farokh Engineer / Fazal Mahmood (R11)
AndrewB: Joe Root
honestbharani: Bill Edrich
jimmy101: Denis Lindsay
Howe_Zat: Rahul Dravid
J_C: Johnny Briggs
schearzie: Ian Bishop
AldoRaine18: Lindsay Hassett
Saint Kopite: Hugh Tayfield
OverratedSanity:Arthur Shrewsbury
Red Hill:
mr_mister:

 

[jimmy101]

Since I am the one who selected Wilf, I was considering batting him at 6 or 7 & having him partner up with Laker to form a genuine spin combination. Do you think this would work?

My other choice would be to open the batting with Rhodes/Sutcliffe & drop Hayden down the order, thus creating a unique opening combination featuring two men who both made their name partnering Jack Hobbs at the top of the order.

Where should I bat Wilf & Matt?

 

[AndrewB]

Since I am the one who selected Wilf, I was considering batting him at 6 or 7 & having him partner up with Laker to form a genuine spin combination. Do you think this would work?

My other choice would be to open the batting with Rhodes/Sutcliffe & drop Hayden down the order, thus creating a unique opening combination featuring two men who both made their name partnering Jack Hobbs at the top of the order.

Where should I bat Wilf & Matt?

He batted at 7 or 8 reasonably often in the early 1900s, including the Melbourne 1904 Test when he took 15 wickets (batted #8 in the first innings, #6 with Tip Foster "absent ill" in the second innings). He did still take wickets in his brief spell as a middle-order batsman in the 1909 series, but that wasn't his "golden era" when he was taking 250 FC wickets in a season.

When Rhodes played as an opener for England (with reasonable success, but not outstandingly) he barely bowled at all most of the time.
Basically, the higher in the order Rhodes batted, the less he bowled. I can't see why you'd pick him as an opener when you've got Sutcliffe and Hayden.

 

[mr_mister]

i mean surely in this format we can assume he's at peak batting and bowling form and bat him wherever

 

[Red]

Could someone pls do an updated list and tell me what eras I'm left with? Trying to do this on my phone is a bit of a nightmare

 

[AndrewB]

R1

J_C:- Jack Hobbs (1900-1919)
Saint Kopite:- Garry Sobers (1950s)
mr_mister:- Sydney Barnes (1900-1919)
AldoRaine18:- Imran Khan (1970s)
Red Hill:- Bill O'Reilly (1930s)
OverratedSanity:- Dale Steyn (2000-Present)
schearzie:- Victor Trumper (1877-1899)
AndrewB:- Aubrey Faulkner (1900-1919)
Howe_Zat:- WG Grace (1877-1899)
watson:- Malcolm Marshall (1970s)
jimmy101:- Sachin Tendulker (1980s)
honestbharani:- Richard Hadlee (1970s)


Round 2:-

honestbharani:- Keith Miller (1940s)
jimmy101:- Viv Richards (1970s)
watson:- George Headley (1930s)
Howe_Zat:- Herbie Taylor (1900-1919)
AndrewB:- Len Hutton (1930s)
schearzie:- Wally Hammond (1920s)
OverratedSanity:- Fred Trueman (1950s)
Red Hill:- Dennis Lillee (1970s)
AldoRaine18:- Glenn McGrath (1990s)
mr_mister:- Ranji (1877-1899)
Saint Kopite:- Curtly Ambrose (1980s)
J_C:- Mike Procter (1960s)


Round 3:-

schearzie:- Charles Macartney (1900-1919)
mr_mister:- Alan Davidson (1950s)
Saint Kopite:- Graeme Pollock (1960s)
Red Hill:- Wasim Akram (1980s)
watson:- Waqar Younis (1980s)
AndrewB:- Steve Waugh (1980s)
honestbharani:- Adam Gilchrist (1990s)
OverratedSanity:- Shane Warne (1990s)
AldoRaine18:- AB De Villiers (2000-Present)
J_C:- Kumar Sangakkara (2000-Present)
jimmy101:- Herbert Sutcliffe (1920s)
Howe_Zat:- Clarrie Grimmett (1920s)


Round 4:-

Howe_Zat:- Denis Compton (1930s)
jimmy101:- Wilfred Rhodes (1877-1899)
J_C:- Harold Larwood (1920s)
AldoRaine18:- Ray Lindwall (1940s)
OverratedSanity:- Les Ames (1920s)
honestbharani:- Trevor Goddard (1950s)
AndrewB:- Alan Knott (1960s)
watson:- Brian Lara (1990s)
Red Hill:- Alan Donald (1990s)
Saint Kopite:- Ricky Ponting (1990s)
mr_mister:- Martin Crowe (1980s)
schearzie:- Headley Verity (1930s)

Round 5

ROUND 5
honestbharani - Ryan Harris (2000-present)
jimmy101 - Brian Statham (1950s)
AndrewB - Frank Tyson (1950s)
watson - Frank Woolley (1900-1919)
AldoRaine18 - Richie Benaud (1950s)
mr_mister - Jock Cameron (1920s)
Howe_Zat - Clyde Walcott (1940s)
J_C- Dudley Nourse (1930s)
Red Hill - Bill Lawry (1960s)
Saint Kopite - Vijay Merchant (1930s)
OverratedSanity - Stan McCabe (1930s)
schearzie - Alec Bedser (1940s)

ROUND 6
Schearzie - Michael Holding (1970s)
OverratedSanity - Warwick Armstrong (1900-1919)
Saint Kopite - Bruce Mitchell (1920s)
Red Hill - Everton Weekes (1940s)
J_C - Jacques Kallis (1990s)
Howe_Zat - Ken Barrington (1950s)
Mr_Mister - Arthur Morris (1940s)
AldoRaine18 - Courtney Walsh (1980s)
Watson - George Lohmann (1877-1899)
AndrewB- Murali (1990s)
Jimmy101- Jim Laker (1940s)
Honestbharini- JJ Ferris (19th century)

Round 7
Howe_Zat: Derek Underwood
AndrewB: Frank Worrell
watson: Neil Harvey
honestbharani: Bill Whitty
AldoRaine18: Ian Chappell
Red Hill: Rohan Kanhai
jimmy101: Shane Bond
J_C: Joel Garner
Saint Kopite: Andy Roberts
mr_mister: Shaun Pollock
schearzie: Andy Flower
OverratedSanity: Clive Lloyd


Round 8
OverratedSanity: Mark Taylor
schearzie: Bob Simpson
mr_mister: Ian Botham
Saint Kopite: Fred Spofforth
J_C: Vijay Hazare
jimmy101: Matthew Hayden
Red Hill: Jack Blackham
AldoRaine18: Clem Hill
honestbharani: Maurice Leyland
watson: Graeme Smith
AndrewB: Jack Gregory
Howe_Zat: Kapil Dev

Round 9
mr_mister: Sid Barnes
Red Hill: Dave Warner
OverratedSanity: Bill Johnston
Saint Kopite: Phil Mead
AldoRaine18: Bill Woodfull
schearzie: Doug Walters
J_C: Conrad Hunte
Howe_Zat: Craig McDermott
jimmy101: Eddie Paynter
honestbharani: Bob Cowper
AndrewB: Tom Richardson
watson: Bill Ponsford

Round 10
watson: Farokh Engineer / Fazal Mahmood (R11)
AndrewB: Joe Root
honestbharani: Bill Edrich
jimmy101: Denis Lindsay
Howe_Zat: Rahul Dravid
J_C: Johnny Briggs
schearzie: Ian Bishop
AldoRaine18: Lindsay Hassett
Saint Kopite: Hugh Tayfield
OverratedSanity: Arthur Shrewsbury
Red Hill:
mr_mister:

 

[AndrewB]

Could someone pls do an updated list and tell me what eras I'm left with? Trying to do this on my phone is a bit of a nightmare

Your remaining eras are 1900-1919 and 1920-1929.

 

[mr_mister]

Round 11, though I dunno if the order will matter that much?

OverratedSanity:
AldoRaine18:
mr_mister:
Howe_Zat:
watson:
honestbharani:
schearzie:
jimmy101:
AndrewB:
J_C:
Red Hill:
Saint Kopite:

 

[mr_mister]

since I believe I'm the last to pick from the 60s(certainly RH, OS and Aldo have picked) I'll go Bagwhat Chandrasekhar

and Steve Smith from 2000-now (again, RH, OS and Aldo have picked from that time frame)


giving me a final team of


Sid Barnes
Arthur Morris
KS Ranjitsinhji
Martin Crowe
Steve Smith
Ian Botham (4)
Jock Cameron +
Shaun Pollock (2) *
Alan Davidson (1)
Sydney Barnes (3)
Bagwhat Chandrasekhar (5)


Only 5 specalist bats, but they include the 2 Invincibles openers from '48 and nobody can doubt Ranji, Crowe and Smith's ability. Nice mix of past, present and future(sort of)

Long middle order, with Botham, Cameron, Pollock and Davidson all being solid all rounders, and Davidson averaging 25 down at number 9 compensates for only 5 specalist bats.

3 solid quicks^ along with the other Barnes and Chandrasekhar to bowl the mediums/spin, giving me some good variety


Not many top tier players but no weak spots, I was more focused on making sure I wasn't left with dud players like the 12th best to debut in the 1980s or 1900s

 

[AndrewB]

1960s "squad" is another batsman-heavy (and wicket-keeper heavy) one:

Bill Lawry
Farokh Engineer
Bob Cowper
Ian Chappell
Graeme Pollock
Clive Lloyd
Doug Walters
Denis Lindsay
Alan Knott
Mike Procter
Derek Underwood
Bhagwat Chandrasekhar

 

[The Battlers Prince]

Rhodes was an average top order batsman at best, but arguably the greatest left-arm spinner of all time depending on your point of view. Having Rhodes bowl part-timers is a complete waste.

IMO The only way to fit Rhodes into an ATG scenario is to assume that he is a Gold Tier bowler with limited batting skills.

I was under the impression that the side we're talking about is the pre-1900 side of chosen players here? For if its not a wet track then Rhodes may as well just bowl a few overs to tie an end down to give the quick a a break and bat as best he can

 

[OverratedSanity]

Red Hill's timed out I think.

I'll take Greg Chappell (1970s)

Such a badass pic

Final XI:

Mark Taylor
Arthur Shrewsbury
Stan McCabe (6)
Greg Chappell
Clive Lloyd (c)
Warwick Armstrong (5)
Les Ames (+)
Shane Warne (4)
Dale Steyn (1)
Fred Trueman (2)
Bill Johnston (3)

Had a tough time picking between Lloyd, Taylor and Arrmstrong as captain tbh.

 

[watson]

Both MM and ORS have cracking teams. Interested to see the rest.

 

[Red]

Archie Jackson (1920s)