150 Test Draft – rvd619323’s XI
Sir Donald Bradman. Those three words symbolize sporting perfection, and represent a quality of batsmanship never before seen, and never likely to be seen again. Bradman was the best, to the tune of 6,996 Test runs at an average of 99.94.
Bradman was a man who struck fear into every bowler he came across, an aura with few equals in cricketing history. The other names of other batsmen par excellance include Richards, Grace, Hobbs and Tendulkar, yet none can lay claim to matching The Don.
But the inevitable success of this team is not solely built on the exploits of Bradman, in fact, the opening partnership of
Eddie Barlow and
Stewie Dempster could leave Bradman cashing in on a tired attack, feasting on the scraps left behind.
The South African averaged 45 in Test match cricket while his nation played, and his success carried on to World Series Cricket and the English County scene. He could occupy the crease for hours, testing the resolve of even the best of bowlers; he was a slip fieldsman of high standard and limitless energy; and he has the small matter of 571 First Class wickets at a touch over 24 apiece behind him. Adding in his popularity in the dressing room, Barlow is the perfect man to be opening the innings for this side.
Dempster’s career was also affected by the lack of Test cricket available to him, playing in only 10 international matches. But he took his chances, averaging 65 for New Zealand as they established themselves as a Test nation. He was quick of foot and quicker of mind, making him one of the world’s finest players of spin bowling, and a great exponent of off-side play. He is a fantastic partner for Barlow, and alongside Bradman rounds out a dynamic top three that would make any bowling attack think twice about stepping onto the field.
Should an attack break through the top order, they are met with a young batting colossus –
Cheteshwar Pujara. In his 9 Test matches to date (6 as of his selection), he has maintained an average of 58 against top-quality attacks. He has been prolific throughout his career, and provides a middle-order foil to Bradman in his classical, risk-free approach (having drawn comparisons to Rahul Dravid, and being handpicked as his replacement in India’s XI). He still has a long career ahead of him, but the seeds have been sown for a potentially great batsman to prosper.
Coming to the wicket next is a man who had such an impact on the game that his name is lent to India’s premier List A tournament –
KS Duleepsinhji. His health limited him to only 8 seasons at First Class level, during which he represented England on 12 occasions, but he made his mark as one of England’s finest batsmen. The nephew of Ranjitsinhji, cricketing blood ran through his veins, and he was described as having “natural gifts of eye, wrist and footwork […] above ordinary measure”. A truly classy batsman and talented slip fieldsman, he averaged 58 in Tests and a shade under 50 in the First Class game.
Sliding into the top 6 is a man who never had the chance to play Test cricket, but doubtless would have excelled if given the opportunity.
Clive Rice played in an era rich of all-rounders – Hadlee, Dev, Khan, Botham to name but a few – but he could lay claim to being the best of the lot if not for South Africa’s politically-charged sporting isolation. In a First Class career spanning two continents and 25 years, Rice made over 26,000 runs and took 930 wickets, an incredible feat of all-round dominance. His bowling was legitimately fast, his batting punishing – his square cut was one of the most fierce in the game – and he was an astute captain. It appeared there was nothing he could not do. His runs flowed at 40 per dismissal, and he paid only 22 for each wicket. But statistics, especially those of his brief ODI career after South Africa’s return, do not paint the entire picture of Clive Rice.
Number 7 is traditionally reserved for the wicketkeeper of an XI, however in this case the luxuries of Rice and Barlow mean another specialist batsman can be played.
John Benaud was always overshadowed by the career of his brother Richie, however he was a strong, aggressive batsman in his own right. His defining moment was a powerful 142 made against Pakistan in the second of his three Tests, having already been informed he was dropped for the following Test. Like his brother, he was an excellent captain, lending his leadership talents to New South Wales for a number of years.
Following Benaud is a man who is often overlooked by the history books – one of the finest exponents of swing bowling in its early infancy and by far the best player to come out of the United States,
John Barton ‘Bart’ King. He was frighteningly quick in his younger days, yet his development of the ‘angler’ allowed him to top the averages in his thirty-fifth year, taking 87 wickets at 11 on the Gentleman of Philadelphia’s 1908 tour of England. In all First Class cricket, he took 415 wickets in only 65 wickets, paying less than 16 apiece. He was also a good enough lower order batsman to average 20, and strike 39 centuries (including two triples) in American club cricket and bat to a high standard well into his fifth decade.
James Pattinson is an exciting young talent who burst onto the scene with a 5-fer on debut against New Zealand in 2011. He is capable of phenomenal spells of outswing at genuine pace, and is widely touted as the most promising of Australia’s young fast bowling stocks. Somewhat injury prone, he only has 85 wickets in 20 First Class matches (31 in 7 at the highest level), but what he lacks in staying on the field he makes up for in fire. His lower order batting is useful, but his primary skill remains scything through the top order with unplayable displays of fast bowling.
The fact that Shane Warne does not have clear passage into an all-time Australian side (or must share the spinning duties) speaks volumes of the abilities of
Bill O’Reilly. Tiger, as he was known, was most famed as one half of the fearsome Australian legspin duo of the 1930s, the other being Clarrie Grimmett. What Grimmett had in variety, O’Reilly made up for in control. He gave away less than two per over with his fast legbreaks that bordered on medium pace. In an era in which willow dominated leather, O’Reilly averaged under 23 and took the wicket of Hammond on 10 occasions. His Wisden obituary notes “no one ever dominated O’Reilly”. He took 144 Test wickets, 102 of them against the Old Enemy. Tellingly, he was described by Bradman as the best bowler he had faced or watched.
Rounding out the XI is the most crucial of players, the wicketkeeper.
Arthur Dolphin was a contemporary of Herbert Strudwick and hence played only 1 Test match, but his quality as a wicketkeeper was unparalleled. He was renowned for his 273 stumpings, taking chances so remote that few critics would have counted them against him had he missed. Add to this over 600 catches and you have a gloveman of the highest quality. His batting was dogged, if unspectacular, reaching 7 half centuries in 465 attempts, but playing many crucial defensive innings in a crisis.
John Wisden will forever be associated with the record books. Having called time on his career aged 37, he literally rewrote the record books by publishing the Wisden Cricketer’s Almanack in 1864. Over 100 years later, it is still waited upon anxiously by cricket tragics worldwide. But what is not derived from any copy of the book is Wisden’s on-field exploits, which would have been worthy of a book all to themselves. He was the finest all-rounder of his day, taking 1109 wickets in only 186 First Class games, at the remarkable average of 6.66 (although the accuracy of runs scored data can easily be called into question). Regardless of the exact number of runs conceded, Wisden’s ability is there for all to see. In 1850 alone, he captured 340 wickets and 5 years later he made 148 against Yorkshire, the only century of the season. His batting average of 14.12 across his career made him a genuine all-rounder, and put his feats with bat in hand up there with the specialists of his day. It is difficult to think of a pre-Test player more successful or more skillful than Wisden, and yet he is resigned to carrying the drinks (and the history) of this wonderful XI.
The Final XI:
- Eddie Barlow (5)
- Stewie Dempster
- Sir Donald Bradman *
- Cheteshwar Pujara
- KS Duleepsinhji
- Clive Rice (3)
- John Benaud
- Bart King (1)
- James Pattinson (2)
- Bill O’Reilly (4)
- Arthur Dolphin +
(John Wisden)
Telling First Class Statistics:
Top 7 –
108,494 runs @ 50.28. 315 centuries.
Bowling Attack –
2,775 wickets @ 20.18. 143 5WI.
