**Official** 'My Current World XI' Thread

[RMF]

1.M Hayden
2.A Gilchrist
3.R Dravid
4.R Ponting (c)
5.J Kallis
6.B Lara
7.C Cairns
8.S Pollock
9.S Warne(better lower order batsman than murali)
10.B Lee or Akhtar
11.G McGrath

Couldnt decide between lee and shoiab
feel free to criticise

 

[bhooth nath]

i would go with -

Sehwag - clean hitter of the ball and plays his natural game irrespective of the situation and can tear apart any bowling attack on his day on way to a big score.

Hayden - A top-class batsman and has tons of runs. did well against teams like india.

Dravid - The wall. can bat around with even the wickets down and gets well with almost everyone. Averaged a massive 100.37 in 2003 and has had a great 2004 as well.

Ponting (c) - 2 conseutive double-centuries against india and scoring well too.

Kallis - A top-class all-rounder, but can get into a world xi on his batting ability alone. hit 5 consecutive test 100s.

Laxman - Highly under-rated and a top-class batsman having more strokes than any other batsman. he can hit even widish balls outside off-stump for 4s towards the mid-wicket region.

Gilchrist (w) - An explosive wicket-keeper batsman from australia having a 80+ strike rate in tests as well.

Zaheer - has had an impreesive bowling record taking 3-consutive 5-fers in away tests in new zealand and australia, if injury free, can be in the team, otherwise i would replace him with Irfan Pathan.

Akhtar - a devastating fast bowler having it in him to turn any match round in just 1 session. he showed it in the 2nd test against bangladesh and the 2nd test against new zealand.

Ntini - A wicket-taking fast bowler from south africa.

Murali - The greatest spinner ever, no exxplanation needed

 

[Andre]

Here goes: (Note: assuming all players are fully fit)

M. Hayden
G. Smith
R. Ponting (c)
B. Lara
R. Dravid
J. Kallis
A. Gilchrist +
S. Warne
J. Gillespie
M. Muralitharan
G. McGrath

12th man: Shaun Pollock.

Pollock was the only really difficult decision for mine - despite the fear of being branded an idiot by all, I don't think he's the bowler he once was and with McGrath in the side it was much of a muchness really. I feel Gillespie is a superb bowler capable of excelling in all conditions as he has shown now over a number of years when he has been fit. I see no reason not to play 2 spinners in Warne and Murali, especially with Kallis at 6.

Smith selected just ahead of Gibbs and Vaughan. Sehwag, for mine, is not a geniune opener and hence fell into the middle-order bracket where he simply can't make a the side. SRT is an unlucky omission.

 

[Lions81]

Here goes: (Note: assuming all players are fully fit)

M. Hayden
G. Smith
R. Ponting (c)
B. Lara
R. Dravid
J. Kallis
A. Gilchrist +
S. Warne
J. Gillespie
M. Muralitharan
G. McGrath

12th man: Shaun Pollock.

Pollock was the only really difficult decision for mine - despite the fear of being branded an idiot by all, I don't think he's the bowler he once was and with McGrath in the side it was much of a muchness really. I feel Gillespie is a superb bowler capable of excelling in all conditions as he has shown now over a number of years when he has been fit. I see no reason not to play 2 spinners in Warne and Murali, especially with Kallis at 6.

Smith selected just ahead of Gibbs and Vaughan. Sehwag, for mine, is not a geniune opener and hence fell into the middle-order bracket where he simply can't make a the side. SRT is an unlucky omission.

And what makes Sehwag not a genuine opener?

 

[Andre]

And what makes Sehwag not a genuine opener?

He's not comfortable opening, he bats in the middle order domestically and claims that he doesn't want to open the batting. He's only opening becauser they have to find a place for him.

 

[Lions81]

He's not comfortable opening, he bats in the middle order domestically and claims that he doesn't want to open the batting. He's only opening becauser they have to find a place for him.

Well he does say he envisions himself ultimately as a middle-order batsman, but he's been so successful that I think despite what he fancies himself, reality should apply! After all, Tendulkar fancies himself a leggie, an offie and a seam bowler! 309 as an opener should mean something.

 

[Swervy]

I disagree with Taibu as keeper. What exactly makes everyone so enamored of him? Must be his wily off-spinning ways. Sangakkara, Boucher, Moin Khan, these are all better keepers than Taibu. I suppose if there was a restriction that Zimbabwe needed a representative, then it would have to be Taibu now, but otherwise, why him?

I think you are being a bit harsh on Taibu there...Boucher hasnt kept that well for a while now.Sangakara isnt that good...I think Taibu is right up there with the best

 

[Lions81]

I think you are being a bit harsh on Taibu there...Boucher hasnt kept that well for a while now.Sangakara isnt that good...I think Taibu is right up there with the best

Sangakkara averages 43, Taibu 24, so batting-wise, there's no comparison whatsoever,

Fielding-wise, I really can't say, and I'd appreciate it if anyone whose really watched Sri Lanka or Zimbabwe cricket could weigh in on the quality of the two players' keeping. Taibu seems to be held in high regard, but what about Sangakkara? He does keep to the best spinner in the world, so that must be a high-pressure situation which seems to handle without major trouble.

 

[Swervy]

Sangakkara averages 43, Taibu 24, so batting-wise, there's no comparison whatsoever,

Fielding-wise, I really can't say, and I'd appreciate it if anyone whose really watched Sri Lanka or Zimbabwe cricket could weigh in on the quality of the two players' keeping. Taibu seems to be held in high regard, but what about Sangakkara? He does keep to the best spinner in the world, so that must be a high-pressure situation which seems to handle without major trouble.

well obviuosly Neil hasnt chosen the keeper on batting performance,otherwise Gilchrist would be in there without a doubt. I think it is fair enough to have Taibu in a world XI just on keeping abilty.

 

[Lions81]

well obviuosly Neil hasnt chosen the keeper on batting performance,otherwise Gilchrist would be in there without a doubt. I think it is fair enough to have Taibu in a world XI just on keeping abilty.

Is Taibu worth the 30 runs difference between his and Gilchrist's average? That must mean Gilchrist is one bad keeper.

 

[luckyeddie]

Is Taibu worth the 30 runs difference between his and Gilchrist's average? That must mean Gilchrist is one bad keeper.

If you are picking a true World XI, you might as well pick Taibu because Gilchrist's runs would never be required.

 

[Jamee999]

M Hayden
V Sehwag
B Lara
S Tendulkar
J Kallis
N Astle
A Gilchrist+
S Pollock*
S Warne/M Ntini (depends on pitch)
M Murali
G McGrath

will do ODI team now

A Gilchrist+
M Hayden
S Tendulkar
M Bevan
R Ponting*
J Kallis
S Pollock
S Warne
M Murali
G McGrath

Any comments?

 

[tooextracool]

Absolute balderdash

He is a good and improving player, who is worthy of his England place, but you cant average 25 with the bat and 40+ with the ball and be one of the best in the world.. Id put these guys ahead of him in the all rounder stakes..

Shaun Pollock
Jacques Kallis
Abdur Razzaq
Chris Cairns
Sanath Jayasuriya (massively under rated bowler)
Heath Streak

i'll tell u why i picked flintoff ahead of all these guys

shaun pollock- well it was pollock/flintoff, but for me pollock is not good enough to bat at 6 in a test match for the best team in the world and with mcgrath in the side he provides too much of a sameness.(unless they are playing in england or nz)
kallis- not good enough a bowler, with only 2 other pacemen he is not a good enough 3rd one in bowling conditions and too defensive a batsman to bat at no 6
razzaq-barely merits a place in the pakistan test side let alone a world XI. his bowling has gotten progressively worse and his batting is not upto test standard.
chris cairns- nearly retired and too far from his peak. cairns in his prime would have been the first player on my team.
jayasuriya- an all rounder?not good enough a test batsman and his bowling wont get him into the SL test team.
heath streak - past his prime for me,and definetly not good enough a batsman to make it into the world XI

 

[tooextracool]

M Hayden
V Sehwag
B Lara
S Tendulkar
J Kallis
N Astle
A Gilchrist+
S Pollock*
S Warne/M Ntini (depends on pitch)
M Murali
G McGrath

will do ODI team now

A Gilchrist+
M Hayden
S Tendulkar
M Bevan
R Ponting*
J Kallis
S Pollock
S Warne
M Murali
G McGrath

Any comments?

decent teams except that uve got astle in the wrong team and the bowling lineup in the ODI side leaves a lot to be desired.2 spinners in ODIs is not a good option and mcgrath and pollock arent that good odi bowlers...both bowl exactly the same thing so if one gets smashed so will the other(pollock though merits a place with his batting). i would have gone with someone with good pace like a bond or a lee.

 

[luckyeddie]

To select Andrew Flintoff in the world XI and then to justify that selection by stating that Jayasuriya's BATTING lets him down is truly remarkable.

The guy averages nearly 42, for Chrissakes.

 

[tooextracool]

no jayasuriya is not a good test bowler so i have to assess him on his batting abilities. flintoff on the other hand might not be as good as jayasuriya as a batsman but his all round abilities more than make up for it.
that being said jayasuriya averages 47 at home and 34 abroad....classic case of a home oriented batsman. not good enough

 

[Loony BoB]

Smith
Hayden
Dravid
Lara
Ponting
*Fleming
Kallis
+Gilchrist
Pollock
Akhtar
Murali
McGrath/Bond (depending on how Bond goes in England)

Yeah, 12 players, and I don't know who to drop. Bugger. If I could get by with only four bowlers, I'd drop either Kallis or Pollock, but four bowlers always seemed too short for me. I'm not sure if Lara and Ponting can really qualify. I also refuse to let go of Fleming, although he's obviously the weaker batsman I still have him shortlisted for his ability to gain the upper hand on teams that should technically beat him to a pulp. I throw him an extra 50 runs merely for captaining the side - I figure that's accurate considering what certain teams should have beaten NZ by but didn't. And I'm incredibly bias and stubborn amongst other things.

 

[badgerhair]

Absolute balderdash

He is a good and improving player, who is worthy of his England place, but you cant average 25 with the bat and 40+ with the ball and be one of the best in the world..

No, you can't. but you're going to condemn Fredie to being not up to standard for a good few years if you use his career averages - to get his figures to "acceptable" levels, he would have to perform absolutely awesomely in the next couple of years.

To get his batting average up to 40 by the end of the tour of South Africa, he needs to average over 50 between now and then - and to reach 100 wickets at an average of 30 by then, he'd need to be taking tham at 9.02.

So, if you use the career averages, you will never feel like picking him.

His figures for his last 10 games are:

Bat 573 @ 38.20 Bowl 29 @ 30.41

Id put these guys ahead of him in the all rounder stakes..

As I write this line, I have no idea what the folowing figures are, I'm just going to look them up. But, your guys' figures over their last 10 games:

Shaun Pollock .......... 324 @ 29.45 .... 40 @ 28.65
Jacques Kallis .......... 1267 @ 84.46 .... 15 @ 54.73
Abdur Razzaq ........... 387 @ 25.80 .... 19 @ 36.78
Chris Cairns ................ 588 @ 42.00 .... 35 @ 29.60
Sanath Jayasuriya ....... 763 @ 44.88 .... 7 @ 46.71
Heath Streak ........... 426 @ 32.76 .... 28 @ 34.53

As far as I can see, the only one of those who has performed better is Cairns, although it might be relevant to point out that for him 10 games ago takes you back to late 2001.

Other than him, Flintoff has outbatted all but Kallis and Jayasuriya (and if an average of 46.71 makes him massively underrated, I have no idea what an average of 30 makes Flintoff in your book), but their bowling figures are jokes. Shaun Pollock has done more with the ball, though not stellarly so, and his batting really hasn't been up to much lately either. Absurd Razzaq doesn't even make the Pakistan team these days, and Middlesex were fairly keen to see the back of him as well, so why you want to pick him is entirely beyond me.

Of course, if you want to pick players for a team because of what they were able to do a few years ago, that's up to you, but it tends to be a better policy to pick the players who are performing in the present.

None of that means I'd necessarily pick him in a World XI, but he'd justify his place better than any of the jokers you put up except Cairns.

Cheers,

Mike

 

[Loony BoB]

If you're going by the last ten games, keep in mind their opposition as well, and where they're playing (some places suit the bat more than the ball etc). I'm not taking a side in this one but I do think you shouldn't go by only ten matches without at least noting where they were playing.

 

[Majin]

Hokai, My Test Team would be:

1. M. Hayden
2. M. Vaughan (c)
3. R. Dravid
4. R. Ponting
5. B. Lara
6. J. Kallis
7. C. Read (wk)
8. S. Warne
9. S. Pollock
10. S. Akhtar
11. M. Muralitharan

I know I'm gonna get blantant mocking for that, but meh. Vaughan can be a great batsman on his day, and he's a pretty good captain. Read I picked purely for his glovework. I don't get why when you have the Top order of death, the rest of the team should even need to score runs. With a world bowling attack you know they're gonna get lots of chances, so you want a tidy keeper. Yeah. Anyway, now my One Day team.

1. A. Gilchrist (wk)
2. S. Jayasuria
3. R. Ponting (c)
4. R. Dravid
5. S. Tendulkar
6. B. Lara
7. J. Kallis
8. S. Warne
9. W.P.U.J.C Vaas
10. J. Gillespie
11. B. Lee

Yeah. And before people go "omg if u r haev glichrsit in ur oen day taem y not in test!!!!??!?!?!?!11/1//1/1/1one", It's 'cause I'm picking him purely for his batting in the One Dayers, and it just helps that he is also a keeper, It makes for a long batting order. Jayasuria because on his day he can be an evil batsman in ODI's, and his ODI bowling record is very good for a part time bowler.

Hokai. *gets ripped apart by tooextracool* :}