Auction draft II - ODI voting thread

[marc71178]

For my penultimate category I rank the captains - like wicket-keepers it's all based on personal viewpoint but for what it's worth I rank them as follows:

Noble One - Fleming
Somerset - Warne
Himannv - Cronje
Pskov - Lloyd
weldone - Waugh
G.I.Joe - Richards
Cevno - Chappell
honestbharani - Ponting
Pothas - Gilchrist
Blakus - Dev

[weldone]

Don't know if this is the right thread to post my All-Time ODI XI, but I'll do that anyway. An All-Time ODI XI is never as straightforward as an All-Time Test XI for me. I have two favorite teams, and I like one of them more depending on my mood. For example, if I'm asked today I'll go with the first team:

Brian Lara
Sachin Tendulkar
Vivian Richards
Zaheer Abbas
Michael Bevan
Mahendra Dhoni
Kapil Dev
Shaun Pollock
Wasim Akram
Richard Hadlee
Muttiah Muralitharan

I love the way this team has 5 specialist bowlers and still bats till 10! An alternative XI, which is probably as good a team as this one, but manages its balance in a more conventional way, is as follows:

Sanath Jayasuriya
Sachin Tendulkar
Vivian Richards
Zaheer Abbas
Michael Bevan
Mahendra Dhoni
Lance Klusener
Joel Garner
Curtly Ambrose
Glenn McGrath
Muttiah Muralitharan

The 6 bolded players are the ones common in both teams. For me, Dhoni is definitely a better wicketkeeper-batsman option than Gilchrist. Also, I consider Gilchrist to be a better batsman than Jayasuriya, but Jayasuriya is there in the 2nd team because he adds so much value as a bowler (and I have Dhoni as a keeper). It might also be interesting to note that I consider Javed Miandad to be a better ODI batsman than Michael Bevan, but I believe he's more suited for a weaker team and Bevan is the better option in a stronger batting lineup (that is, when he's surrounded by All-Time ODI greats). As you see, I have no pace bowler common in both the teams. That's because I find it very difficult to choose 3-4 among those greats. More so, because the ones who seem to be slightly better with the ball are probably slightly worse with the bat.

[marc71178]

My final rating is based on a bit of personal preference, which team would I most like to watch because of the players they have who could do that little bit extra, be it with the bat, the ball or in the field. In order from best to worst:

Pothas - With Gilchrist and Trescothick opening up, you wouldn't want to turn up late to the ground. I do enjoy the innovation of Morgan in the middle order and Beefy's power. Then sit back and marvel at that 4-man pace attack, pure brilliance.

G.I.Joe - Sehwag and Richards provide explosive power at the top, followed by the graceful Waugh. With Cairns doing the closing and Brett Lee storming in with the new ball, I'd pay good money to watch this team.

Pskov - Lara is without a doubt my favourite batsman to watch from his generation, so him alone would get me salivating. Come the death overs and Symonds and Kemp could quite easily have a big-hitting contest. When this team comes to bowl, Lillee and Akram would be great to watch at the start, then Wasim would come back for a second spell and wreck the opposition's chances.

Noble One - No side's middle order is more formidable than this one, 4 power hitters would surely come off many more times than it doesn't. Shoaib is capable of pure rare pace when he's on song.

Himannv - With the top run scorer in ODI history by his side, Kaluwitherana has less pressure on his head, bringing a higher chance of him coming off. The bowling contains a great quick and a unique phenomen. Plus there's the presence of the electric Jonty Rhodes.

Cevno - Only 3 stars for me, but they are all entertainers with bat and ball.

Blakus - Hayden at the top and Dhoni in the middle provide the batting muscle, with the greatest South African bowler taking the new ball. Add in the cult figures of Swanneh and in particular AA and it tips the balance over the other sides.

Somerset - 2 match-turning spinners here would be a true sight bowling in tandem. Sobers only played 1 ODI, but I'd have loved to see him if he had a run at them.

weldone - A very workmanlike side here, only really Jayasuriya and Ambrose stand out.

honestbharani - Another side to rely on teamwork, only Waqar and Ponting would excite me.

[honestbharani]

lol.. I would have thought Hussey was rather watchable and same with AB.. But you know, great stuff, Marc.. Really amazing you have put in so much effort. Awesome work. Been the best draft I have been in so far, only coz of ur commitment to it.

Time to spill the beans and share your spreadsheets though.. And give us a bit on how we all went and who lost whom and by how much..

[marc71178]

After some deliberation I've decided to put some weighting in my rounds, so am halving the points for the 2 most subjective categories of keeper and captain and doubling the points for my last category.

Therefore my final ratings are as follows:

Noble One	69
G.I.Joe		65
Pskov		63.5
Pothas		63
Cevno		59
Blakus		55
Himannv		54.5
weldone		50.5
Somerset	37
honestbharani	33.5

[pskov]

No rating for fielding marc? An oversight or did you leave it out for a reason?

Great work by the way, both running the draft and the ratings afterwards.

[marc71178]

Left it out because I felt it was far too tricky to rank in any form of accuracy!

[Somerset]

Thanks for putting in the effort for those rankings Marc, and indeed the draft itself. I've saved my vote for whichever side was ranked top, so Noble One gets my vote.

[marc71178]

It shows how close the teams are when you see the votes so far, and only 3 out of the 10 have voted for their own team!