The All Conditions All-Rounders
01. Colin McDonald
02. Herbert Sutcliffe
03. Peter May *
04. Joe Root
05. Andy Flower +
06. Tony Greig (6)
07. Jack Gregory (5)
08. Shaun Pollock (2)
09. Ravindra Jadeja (4)
10. Vernon Philander (1)
11. Bill Johnston (3)
Exactly the kind of team I was looking to create. Has numbers in both batting and bowling, and quality performers on both ends as well.
Batting strength is headed by Sutcliffe, Root and May at the core scoring a bulk of runs. Colin McDonald picked as an opener specifically for his ability in tough conditions, batting courageously and effectively against the pace and aggression of Hall, and doing exceptionally well on sticky wickets against Laker. But the big draw of the batting lineup is its depth. One of the few ATG wicket-keeper batsman, and true all-rounders down to 9, and even bats down to 10 with Philander. Shout outs to
@honestbharani .
The bowling attack has a plan as well. Basically the idea is to turn the criticism of "conditions dependence" on its head. Teams like India or South Africa struggled without a plan B for bowling in SENA or subcontinental conditions respectively, and so such a criticism can have merit. But what if your plan B, is the plan A of the alternative condition? This was the idea in choosing both Philander and Jadeja together, two of the best ever ( in Philander's case maybe GOAT? ) at abusing seam friendly and spin friendly conditions respectively. You've got Pollock and Johnston rounding out the frontline bowlers, and more all-rounders giving 6ish very useful bowling options ( 2 of them in Johnston and Greig able to provide either pace or spin depending on the need ).
Oh yeah Jadeja's also good at fielding or something, so if we want to meme we can say that is the answer and I selected him just for that.
Anyway, very happy with how it all turned out, and having a good opportunity to research and get into digging into cricket history, so thanks for that guys, and all of the picks that kept me on my toes, and good convo throughout!