Your Favourite Obscure Selection

[vic_orthdox]

Every now and then, a selection panel comes up with a "bolter", someone gets picked and no-one saw it coming, e.g. Peter Taylor in 1987, where everyone was asking if they really meant to pick Mark Taylor.

What's your favourite obscure selection, not necessarily on the basis of performance, but that we look back on and have a bit of a chuckle.

Up there for me is Gavin Robertson being picked, virtually from club cricket to go to India, and he performed rather admirably IIRC when taking into account his complete lack of talent.

Another one that can sneak a mention is Bob Holland, the 38 year old legspinner. Not that I was around then, but it seems obscure enough for me.

Your thoughts.

 

[southern man]

David Sewell, was very young.

Once again we had a lack of pace bowlers so he was chucked in for a tour of Zim, he failed and has played like crap ever since. Only started to take wickets again this season.

 

[Mr Casson]

The "Peter Who?" thing must have been pretty good!

Apart from him, I don't know... If Hasan Raza was really 14, I'd like to hear a selector justify it...

 

[Dydl]

I think it was kind of weird when Nathan Hauritz was called up for the final test against India last year instead of MacGill.

 

[chaminda_00]

Colin Miller would have to be my one, when i first saw him selected i just thought to my self this just shows the lack of depth in spin bowling in Australia. A guy that bowls spin for a season or two gets picked for the nation team. But he proved he was more then a capable bowler, won test player of the year a couple of years a ago.

I interesting that most left field selections in Australia are spin bowlers, Peter Taylor, Bob Holland, Hauritz, Roberston, Hogg (back in 95), Warne (when he first started) and Miller.
I can since another one coming up for the Ashes if MacGill isn't picked, Dan Cullen.

 

[vic_orthdox]

I think it was kind of weird when Nathan Hauritz was called up for the final test against India last year instead of MacGill.

i think it's generally accepted that if warne hadn't have done the injury so close to the start of the test, macgill probably would have been flown over. i guess the obscure part was that hauritz and white were both over there in the first place.

 

[chaminda_00]

The "Peter Who?" thing must have been pretty good!

Apart from him, I don't know... If Hasan Raza was really 14, I'd like to hear a selector justify it...

Well the guy does average 50 in FC cricket now, i think that justifies it to some excent.

 

[masterblaster]

Sachin Tendulkar at 16 back in 1989 really takes the cake.

 

[Mr Casson]

Well the guy does average 50 in FC cricket now, i think that justifies it to some excent.

It was still an obscure selection... He was 14! (Apparently)

 

[vic_orthdox]

I interesting that most left field selections in Australia are spin bowlers, Peter Taylor, Bob Holland, Hauritz, Roberston, Hogg (back in 95), Warne (when he first started) and Miller.
I can since another one coming up for the Ashes if MacGill isn't picked, Dan Cullen.

generally spin bowlers haven't really been that successful post-WW2 in the sheffield shield (and lately the pura cup) competition. even someone like ray bright, who played 25 tests, averaged 32 over 184 first class games. ditto greg matthews.

EDIT: not that these guys were not successful, just that these are probably top 5/10 Australian spinners post-WW2 and there statistics aren't all that eye-catching.

 

[chaminda_00]

generally spin bowlers haven't really been that successful post-WW2 in the sheffield shield (and lately the pura cup) competition. even someone like ray bright, who played 25 tests, averaged 32 over 184 first class games. ditto greg matthews.

EDIT: not that these guys were not successful, just that these are probably top 5/10 Australian spinners post-WW2 and there statistics aren't all that eye-catching.

Allot of that has to do with the pitches and not nessary the quailty of the indiviual bowlers. From reports pitches in Australia pre WW2 were more responsive to spin bowling. But in saying that they have produced 3 world class leg spin bowlers since then in Benaud, Warne and MacGill.

 

[cameeel]

If dan cullen gets picked for the ashes series, that would be pretty obscure

 

[social]

Wasim Akram - picket to play for Pakistan on basis of a net session. Not sure whether he had played fc cricket before.

Terrorised Australia in his first appearance at the MCG, which coincidentally was one of the first times he had ever played in spikes of his own.

Also a young WI batsman was selected on the last tour of Australia on the basis of his performances in u19 World Cup.

Ian Healy was picked for Aus after only a couple of matches.

Incidentally, it was generally acknowledged that Peter Taylor wasnt even the best spinner at his club when he was picked.

 

[vic_orthdox]

Also a young WI batsman was selected on the last tour of Australia on the basis of his performances in u19 World Cup.

xavier marshall, i believe. hope he doesn't get written off just because he had a hard time of it during the tour. talk about being thrown in the deep end...with concrete floaties on.

 

[mavric41]

xavier marshall, i believe. hope he doesn't get written off just because he had a hard time of it during the tour. talk about being thrown in the deep end...with concrete floaties on.

Its funny with all the players not picked because of contracts, that he was not picked for the first test. He looked a good prospect who needs experiance.

 

[chaminda_00]

Its funny with all the players not picked because of contracts, that he was not picked for the first test. He looked a good prospect who needs experiance.

Maybe he is contracted to C&W himself.

 

[FaaipDeOiad]

Glenn McGrath was picked off the back of 8 FC games and turned out to be one of the best bowlers ever seen. Not sure if it was obscure as such, but it was certainly a good call!

 

[Arjun]

As captain of the West Indian side, Brian Lara had seen Fidel Edwards bowl in a net session and immediately had him picked. That made a difference in his debut Test.

 

[tooextracool]

selecting bracken over kaspa, selecting symonds over katich, selecting hauritz over any bowler, selecting robert key, geraint jones, rikki clarke, ian blackwell and anthony mcgrath in the same series, dropping asim kamal, picking sujith somasundar, selecting anderson over jones etc etc

my favorites? yes, because the results(or what happened after that) made the selectors look even more stupid.

 

[BoyBrumby]

My all-time fav obscure selection was "the bank clerk who went to war" Northants' redoubtable David Steele. A 33 year-old with an FC average of 31, plucked from obscurity on a Tony Greig whim he defied Thomson & Lillee and then Roberts & Holding in successive summers.The grey-haired speccy so impressed the British sporting public he won the BBC sports personality of the year in 1975. Botham in '81 & Laker in '56 are the only other cricketers to be afforded this honour!

Before big Dunc took over & brought some consistancy to selection we seemed to pick a succession of random seamers to tour. Instances include:

Alan Igglesden (decent med/fast seamer in English conditions, hadn't played a test for 4 years, obvious selection for The Windies!) Windies 93/94
Martin McCague & Joey Benjamin (Gus Fraser & Chris Lewis left at home in favour of a tubby Anglo-Aussie & a 33 year old!) Australia 94/95
Ashley Cowan (FC average 32.63, back to honest toil for Essex afterwards) Windies 97/98