Cute Soft Cuddly Bears CC

[Cabinet96]

Manger & Coach: Oscar Wood (Cabinet96)
Captain: Andrew Strauss
Vice Captain: AB de Villiers
Ground: TBC

Note - Team name may not fit individual players


Draft Order

1. AB de Villiers
2. Saeed Ajmal
3. Pat Cummins
4. Gautam Gambhir
5. Aizaz Cheema
6. Ravichandran Ashwin
7. Andrew Strauss
8.
9.
10.
11.
12.
13.
14.
15.
16.

Likely XI

1. Andrew Strauss*
2. Gautam Gambhir
3.
4. AB de Villiers
5.
6.
7.
8. Ravichandran Ashwin
9. Pat Cummins
10. Saeed Ajmal
11. Aizaz Cheama

[Cabinet96]

Name: AB de Villiers
Draft Number: 1
Playing Role: WicketKeeper Batsmen

A man of many sporting talents, and musical, AB de Villiers has become one of the best batsmen in the world. Scoring runs in South Africa, India, Australia and England de Villiers has proven himself as one of South Africa's greats. Averaging 49 in test cricket, de Villiers is a batsmen who can play almost any role in a match. Whether it's opening the innings on a lively South African pitch at 21 years old, resisting quality spinners in the Sub Continent or belting attacks to all corners of the grounds, he does it all with grace, touch and class. His ability to be able to hit the ball to all parts, with picturesque cover drives, powerful dominant pulls and skillful reverse sweeps, means de Villiers can dominate even the best attacks in the toughest conditions.

Also a wicketkeeper, de Villiers' batting record has almost doubled in ODI's when handling the gloves. South Africa's limited overs captain, de Villiers has had a successful start to his captaincy career, winning his first series as a leader, claiming man of the series as well. This bodes well for de Villiers to vice skipper the Cute Soft Cuddly Bears CC

[Cabinet96]

Name: Saeed Ajmal
Draft Number: 2
Playing Role: Spin Bowler

A man of mystery and a superb character, Saeed Ajmal is now the number 1 spinner in the world. With a superb doosera at his disposal, good variations of pace and superb accuracy, Ajmal destroyed England in January and February, making a mockery of their number 1 ranking in the process. In truth, England weren't much to blame for their poor showing, they were simply undone by some superb bowling from Ajmal and co.

While the England series is arguably the highlight of Ajmal's career, he's been superb recently. He tok 17 wickets, at 14 a piece, in 2 tests against the Wet Indies in early 2011, and averaged below 29 in 3 tests against Sri Lanka, a side renowned for their ability to play spin.

A late arriver to international cricket, Saeed Ajmal has quickly found his feet, becoming the joint fastest bowler to 100 test wickets since World War II. Despite being in his mid 30's, Saeed Ajmal looks like he has plenty of years left in him, and it he continues at his current rate, he may go past Saqlain Mushtaq and Abdul Qadir to become Pakistan's greatest ever spinner.

[Cabinet96]

Name: Patrick Cummins
Draft Number: 3
Playing Role: Fast Bowler

Pat Cummins is one of the most exciting prospects in world cricket today. At the slender age of 17 Cummins was already hitting the high 140's in the Australian Big Bash League in the 2010/11 summer, and a First Class debut duly arrived later in the season. While the stats from those end of season games may not have been incredible he certainly made an impression. Marcus North, recently facing the dominant English side that claimed the Ashes that year claimed, after a match against Cummins, that it was the most sustained spell of fast bowling he had faced since test cricket. Cummins' performance in the Sheffield Shield final, bowling 65 overs at 2.5 an over in the match, backed up North's statement, and showed that despite his youth and lack of experience, Cummins could sustain good control for long periods.

And so, at just 18, a test debut duly arrived, and it couldn't have gone much better. He claimed 6 wickets in the second innings, the highlight being a superb working over of the great Jacques Kallis, ending with a rising back of length delivery that nipped away, with Michael Clarke pouching the flying edge.

Cummins hasn't played a cricket match since then, however, with a foot injury causing him to miss the whole Australian summer. And injuries have been the only blemish of his so far superb career, he also suffered a bad back after the Australian season finished last year and was subsequently left out of Australia's A tour to Zimbabwe. However, if Cummins can remain fit he is sure to have a successful career in all formats, from Test to CWPL.

[Cevno]

Some very good write ups here too. Liking the team so far also.

[Cabinet96]

Name: Gautam Gambhir
Draft Number: 4
Playing Role: Opening Batsmen

Gautam Gambhir has not only been one of the best opening batsmen in recent times, he's also one of the toughest cookies in a great Indian batting line up, and the fact that he and his opening partner Virender Sehwag's have become such a strong point for the Indian team, despite having a 3-5 of Rahul Dravid, Sachin Tendulkar and VVS Laxman, speaks volumes of Gambhir's performances for India.

After being dropped before the 2007 World Cup, Gambhir went back to domestic cricket and scored big runs, making sure when he got his chance in the national team again, he would be ready. And he was. From the middle of 2008 to the middle of 2011 Gambhir averaged over 60 with the bat in test cricket, winning the Test Player of the Year award for the 2008/089 season. He combatted Murali and Mendis, took England and Australia to the cleaners at home. But, much like many young Indian batsmen, Gambhir's biggest test came outside the Sub Continent. Gambhir can feel proud of his efforts, however. A brilliant match saving innings in Napier showed he had both the technique and mental strength to succede outside the SC and he followed that up in South Africa with gritty knocks in both Centurion and Cape Town.

Despite not always getting things his own way, Gambhir has proved to be one of Indian's most reliable and stylish batsmen. He opens in tests but has to drop down to number 3 in ODI's to compensate for Sachin Tendulkar. Gambhir doesn't let this affect him, however. When Sehwag and Tendulkar failed in the World Cup Final, it was Gambhir who stepped up, and his 97 set the platform for Dhoni to steal the headlines. Once again Gambhir didn't grab the much deserved headlines, but he didn't care, he knew he'd done his job to help India win their first World Cup in 28 years.

He may not get the spotlight Sachin Tendulkar achieves, he may not excite the crowds as much as Virender Sehwag, he may not be as respected in foreign countries as Rahul Dravid and VVS Laxman are, but one thing is for sure, Gambhir has been just as good as all of them in the international arena over the last 4 years.

[Eds]

Excellent write-up that one. Really enjoying these.

Good pick as well.

[Cabinet96]

Name: Aizaz Cheema
Draft Number: 5
Playing Role: Fast Bowler

Aizaz Cheema is a Pakistani seamer who has made a bright start to his test career. A player with a superb First Class record, Cheema can bowl at a brisk pace with a hint of movement into the right hander. Admittidly, Cheema's test record so far has been boosted by games against Bangladesh and Zimbabwe, but Cheema didn't get much of a chance against England last January & February due to the dominance of the spinners and Umar Gul. He did, however, keep things tight and provided useful overs when the spinners were ineffective of needed a rest.

So far he has done enough to be considered Pakistan's second best seamer, and the best person to partner Umar Gul.

[Cabinet96]

Name: Ravichandran Ashwin
Draft Number: 6
Playing Role: Spin Bowling All-Rounder

Ravichandran Ashwin's international career has got off to a fine start. Already one of MS Dhoni's favourites due to his performances for the Chennai Super Kings in the IPL, Ashwin made a superb start to his test career at home against the West Indies. Already becoming a regular in the shorter formats Ashwin made a big impression in his debut series wearing India's whites, averaging 23 with the ball and 40 with the bat. The series included 2 fiver fers and a century, as Ashwin proved he could be a more than useful batsmen.

Ashwin wasn't as impressive in Australia, but very few spinners dominate over there. While his performances with the ball were disappointing, Ashwin was good with the bat, even outperforming some of the greats in the Indian batting line up at times.

In this team, Ashwin could become the key man in terms of side balance, whether it's through scoring valuable runs at number 8 or 9, or batting at 7 and playing as the 5th bowler.

[Cabinet96]

Name: Andrew Strauss
Draft Number: 7
Playing Role: Opening Batsmen

Not only can Andrew Strauss claim to be one of England's finest opening batsmen, he can also argue to be perhaps the most successful English captain since Mike Brearley.

Strauss' test career got off to the perfect start, scoring 100 and 80 on debut at his home ground, Lords. So successful he was, that Nasser Hussain thought he didn't deserve to play instead of Strauss, and it was one of the key factors in Hussain's retirement. Struass played an important role in the 2005 ashes and was always a solid opening batsmen, but it wasn't until he took on the captaincy that his impact was really felt.

He couldn't have taken over in much worse circumstances, with the previous captain Kevin Pietersen and coach Peter Mores resigning due to a break down in their personal relationship, and Strauss' stint at the helm got off to the worst possible start, being bowled out for 51 in Jamaica. Things slowly improved, however. England regained the 2009 Ashes, drew in South Africa, breezed past Bangladesh and beat Pakistan. Strauss then became the first person to retain the Ashes for England in 24 years, and latter that year, England went to the top of the world rankings after whitewashing India. He and Flower had been crucial in this, always coming up with the perfect plan, making sure England were ready for any challenge and always helping the team bounce back after a defeat.

Strauss' personal form has been poor lately, however, and the team suffered a setback this winter. The next year will be crucial for both Strauss as a batsmen and as a captain.

Overall though, if he was to retire tomorrow he would go down as one of England's greats, having won the Ashes 3 times, twice as captain, played nearly 100 test matches, scored 19 test centuries and captained his side to number 1 in the world.

[Cabinet96]

Draft Order

1. AB de Villiers
2. Saeed Ajmal
3. Pat Cummins
4. Gautam Gambhir
5. Aizaz Cheema
6. Ravichandran Ashwin
7. Andrew Strauss
8. Ravindra Jadeja
9. Ryan ten Doeschate
10. Asad Shafiq
11. Michael Carberry
12. Suraj Randiv
13.
14.
15.
16.

Likely XI

1. Andrew Strauss*
2. Gautam Gambhir
3. Michael Carberry
4. AB de Villiers +
5. Ryan ten Doeschate
6. Asad Shafiq
7. Ravindra Jadeja
8. Ravichandran Ashwin
9. Pat Cummins
10. Saeed Ajmal
11. Aizaz Cheama

12. Suraj Randiv
13.
14.
15.
16.

[Cabinet96]

Name: Ravindra Jadeja
Draft Number: 8
Playing Role: All-Rounder

A genuine all-rounder who is also a brilliant fielder, Ravindra Jadeja has become a regular in the Indian limited overs setup, and surely it is only a matter of time before the same can be said of Test cricket.

Boasting a highly impressive First Class record, Jadeja is one of the brightest of many of many young Indian stars. While he failed to set the world alight when he first stepped onto the international scene, failing to live up to Shane Warne's billing in the process, over the last 6-9 months Jadeja has well and truly established himself in the Indian ODI team. He made his comeback during India's disastrous tour of England in September adding much needed flair and eagerness to the Indian camp. In his first match back, Jadeja helped India recover from 58-5 with 78, and then took 2 important wickets, nearly getting India to their first international win on tour. Jadeja's barely looked back since then, playing a vital role in all of India's limited overs success, both with vital middle order runs and tight economical bowling with some useful wickets along the way. In January Jadeja was sold for 2 Million dollars in the IPL auction, showing how widely regarded he is.

With many great Indian players likely to be retiring soon, Jadeja will have a great chance of making a test debut. Over the next year or so Jadeja will be doing everything he can to get noticed, and, should he make his test debut, expect him to grab it with both hands.

[Cabinet96]

Name: Ryan ten Doeschate
Draft Number: 9
Playing Role: Batting all-rounder

Ryan ten Doeschate is widely regarded as the best associate cricketer in the world, and he has won the ICC associate player of the year 3 times in the last 4 years.

ten Doeschate has made the most of his cricketing career, despite not playing for a test nation. He's played for Essex for years, and has recently been playing T20 cricket all over the world. In January 2011 he became the first associate cricketer to be singed in the IPL.

He has starred whenever he has played for the Netherlands. While admittedly playing a high amount of weak opposition, ten Doeschate's ODI average of 67 is the best in ODI history and his bowling strike rate of 28.7 is the 9th best in ODI history. The highlight of his career came in Nagpur in February 2011. Against the very same bowling line up that would go on to topple a great Indian batting line up just 6 months later, ten Doeschate hit a stunning 119 off just 110 deliveries. He also took 2-47 with the ball and was his sides most economical bowler. When his team needed their best player to stand up he did so, and on the biggest stage.

We can expect much more brilliance from ten Doeschate in both domestic cricket around the world, and whenever the Netherlands get their chance on the world stage in the future.

[Marcuss]

[CENTER]
He has stared whenever he has played for the Netherlands.

One of the downsides of having no eyelids.

[Cabinet96]

One of the downsides of having no eyelids.

WAC. Lack of proof reading FTL