DDD - Voting

[Line and Length]

Below you will find the complete line-up of 11 teams together with some summaries and stats. As these were optional, it is hoped that the XIs all speak for themselves. All the line-ups certainly look impresseive.

As usual, particpants are invited to allocate votes from 11 down to 2 (excluding their own side). Non-participants can vote 11 down to 1 for all teams.

Ankitj

Marcus Trescothick
Tom Latham
Younis Khan
Graeme Pollock
Cheteshwar Pujara
Allan Border (c) [5]
Andy Flower (wk)
Peter Pollock [3]
Anil Kumble [4]
Dennis Lillee [1]
Waqar Younis [2]

Pretty good team that. Decent openers. Middle order is beastly, combining dourness of Younis, Pujara and Border with flair of G Pollock and Flower. Good luck bowling to those 5. Pace attack includes 3 pace bowlers all averaging under 25. Anil Kumble a capable spinner with lot of experience of bowling in different conditions. If he gets a hint of turn or a cracking surface, will wreak havoc.

ataraxia

1. V Sehwag / pt
2. WM Lawry /
3. KS Williamson* /
4. IVA Richards /
5. AM Rahane /
6. CL Hooper / o
7. AC Gilchrist / +
8. DL Vettori o /
9. DW Steyn o
10. RGD Willis o
11. J Snow o

Fuller Pilch

Geoff Boycott
Roy Fredericks
Martin Crowe (c)
Sachin Tendulkar
Mahela Jayawardene
Shakib Al Hasan 5
BJ Watling (wk)
Vernon Philander 1
Pat Cummins 2
Colin Croft 3
Muttiah Muralitharan 4

Pretty happy with this side. Could've say picked Michael Clark (or Hussey) at 6 instead of Shakib, but went for the extra bowling to ensure I had a potent side which could win anywhere in the world. Having both the leading run scorer and wicket taker in test cricket obviously helps.

Strong and varied opening pair. Decided on Crowe at 3 due to his technique and success against elite pace bowlers such as the WIndies and the 2 Ws. Sachin is Sachin (enough said) and Jayawardene has the highest ever score by a right hander in test cricket and forms a strong 3-5. The second best allrounder of the 21st century is at 6, while Watling at 7 provides incredible support in case of a collapse, can see off the 2nd new ball, or simply grind the opposition down . Cummins, Philander, and Croft are a quality trio with averages of 21, 22, and 23 respectively, Murali is the GOAT bowler and Shakib is a quality SLAer, and the side will be captained by the creative and inventive Martin David Crowe.

Honestbharani

Eddie Barlow (7)
Mark Richardson (10)
Azhar Ali (9)
Aravinda De Silva (6)
Doug Walters (4)
Quinton De Kock (wk)
Angelo Matthews (8)
Mushtaq Ahmed (5)
Malcolm Marshall (1)
Joel Garner (3)
Bruce Reid (2)


Just about everyone can bowl.. Great bowlers in Marshall and Reid with the new ball, followed by the greatest 3rd seamer in the world, Garner. Leg spin from Mushy, supported by Aravinda on pitches that take turn. Can also get in decent part time spin from Azhar Ali and Mark Richardson. Barlow, Walters and Matthews can all provide quality medium pace in conditions that suit them and otherwise chip in with a few overs to rest the main bowlers. Batting is pretty awesome with Barlow and Richardson being the very nuggety type of openers that will be difficult to dislodge for most bowling attacks, followed by quintessential #3 style batsman in Azhar Ali. Aravinda and Walters will come in next and provide aggression to the batting line up and a lot of exciting strokeplay and so will QdK at 7. Angelo will slot in between and play the role required by the team - either as an aggressor or as an accumulator or just as a stonewaller.


JOJOXI

Sir Gordon Greenidge (7558 runs @ 44.72)
Chris Gayle (7214 runs @ 42.18, 73 wkts at 42.73)
Rahul Dravid (13288 runs @ 52.31)
David Gower (8231 runs @ 44.25)
Steve Waugh (10927 runs @ 51.06, 92wkts @ 37.44) (C)
Ben Stokes (4056 runs @ 36.54, 147 wkts @ 32.68)
Brendon McCullum (6453 runs @ 38.64) (WK)
Shaun Pollock (3781 runs @ 32.31, 421 wkts @ 23.11)
Wasim Akram (2898 runs @ 22.64, 414 wkts @ 23.62)
Mitchell Starc (1515 runs @ 22.27, 244 wkts @ 26.97)
Bishan Bedi (266 wkts @ 28.71)

Pretty happy with this side, early picks in the latter rounds not so much in the early rounds I am perhaps missing a top class number 4 batsman but 2 openers who have been successful playing attacking cricket, if they get going they could really put opposition on the backfoot. I think Gayle's Test credentials are underrated and Greenidge speaks for himself. If with their aggressive style one of them were dismissed cheaply you have the rock of Rahul Dravid at 3. Gower a stylish batsman at 4 not a Lara or Tendulkar etc. but still very capable and Steve Waugh up there wiith the best number 5s around I'd argue. Ben Stokes a solid allrounder at 6 a nice 4th seamer (Waugh as a 5th one if needed too). McCullum can explode and play with freedom at 7 and I'd like to think the tail is pretty strong with the bat so even if top order failed - McCullum, Pollock, Akram and Starc could get handy runs between them. Very good spinner in Bishan Bedi after Warne and Murali one of better spinners in post-war cricket. Pollock an underrated seamer I think - part of one of the great bowling partnerships and he'll be a great partner for Wasim Akram. Mitchell Starc an aggressive option too and with Stokes and Waugh can be given a bit more leeway to be an aggressive bowler with relatively short spells. Gayle as a 2nd spinner too if needed.

Kingkallis
CricZo XI

Graeme Smith / © (SA, 2000s)
Matthew Hayden / (AUS, 1990s)
Ian Chappell / (AUS, 1960s)
Kumar Sangakkara / (SL, 2000s)
Inzamam ul Haq / (PAK, 1990s)
Jonny Bairstow / + (ENG, 2010s)
Kapil Dev o / (IND, 1970s)
Chris Cairns o / (NZ, 1980s)
Derek Underwood o (ENG, 1960s)
Michael Holding o (WI, 1970s)
Curtly Ambrose o (WI, 1980s)

Ian Chappell did a Sachin and refused to bat at any other position so Sangakkara, the legend said he'd be happy to bat at No.4.

Bowling unit:

Curtly Ambrose
Michael Holding
Kapil Dev
Derek Underwood
Chris Cairns


Line & Length

1. Sunil Gavaskar 10,122 runs @ 51.1 - 34 centuries
2. Dennis Amiss 3,612 runs @ 46.3 - 11 centuries
3. Marnus Labuschagne - 1459 runs @ 63.4 - 4 centuries
4. Dean Jones - 3,631 runs @ 46.6 - 11 centuries
5. Jacques Kallis - 13,289 runs @ 55.4 - 45 centuries; 292 wickets @ 32.6
6. Clive Lloyd (capt.) - 7,515 runs @ 46.7 - 19 centuries
7. A.B. de Villiers (w/k) 8,765 runs @ 50.7 - 22 centuries
8. Ravindra Jadeja 1,869 runs @ 35.3 1 century; 213 wickets @ 24.6
9. Andy Roberts 202 wickets @ 25.6
10. Shoaib Akhtar 178 wickets @ 25.7
11. Jimmy Anderson 584 wickets @ 26.8

The opening pair included one regarded as an ATG. Both regularly scored well against some impressive attacks.
Labuschagne at #3 has huge potential and already has made a great start to his career. Jones comes in at #4 - a slot where he averages over 70.
The middle order comprises 3 fine batsmen with each offering additional skills - a first or second change bowler, an astute captain and a wicketkeeper.
The pace trio consists of one of the fastest bowlers ever backed by two proven performers. They are backed by the all-rounder Kallis.
Left-arm orthodox spinner Jadeja offers further all-round credentials.
If a 6th bowler was required, captain Lloyd has shown he can offer tidy spells (economy rate 2.17).

Red Hill CC

Graham Gooch (1970s, Eng)
Mark Taylor (1980s, Aus) *
Ricky Ponting (1990s, Aus)
Joe Root (2010s, Eng)
Mohammed Yousuf (1990s, Pak)
Ross Taylor (2000s, NZ)
MS Dhoni (2000s, Ind) +
Mike Procter (1960s, SA)
Richard Hadlee (1970s, NZ)
Kasigo Rabada (2010s, SA)
BS Chandrasekhar (1960s, Ind)

Pretty happy with this. Seriously talented batting line-up without any duds, and when you have Procter and Hadlee at 8 and 9, good luck bowling us out for under 450.

Bowling attack is seriously good, Hadlee, Procter and Rabada supported by the best of the Indian quartet imo. No legit 5th bowling option but Gooch was a capable medium pacer early in his career, and Root can throw down some darts.

Slip cordon sorted with Tubby, Ponting and Ross, and the team will be capably led by Tubby, with Gooch, Ponting, MoYo, Root and Hadlee providing support, all having been their nation's skippers.


Teuton

Barry Richards (SA, 70s)
Gautam Gambhir (Ind, 00s)
Zaheer Abbas (Pak, 60s)
Steve Smith (Aus, 10s)
Richie Richardson (WI, 80s)
Ian Botham (Eng, 70s)
Denis Lindsay (SA, 60s)
Andew Flintoff (Eng, 90s)
Ravi Ashwin (Ind, 10s)
Glenn McGrath (Aus, 90s)
Courtney Walsh (WI, 80s) c

I think i got spooked after picking two #11s in my first 5 picks so i overcompensated with bowling allrounders for batting depth. So i have 5 great wicket-takers, 8 attacking stroke-players plus Ashwin and a team that could succeed under any conditions. And absolute guns in McGrath, Smith, Botham & Richards.

Trundler

John Edrich
Alistair Cook
Greg Chappell
Javed Miandad
Seymour Nurse
Mohammad Azharuddin
Jeff Dujon
Shane Warne
Neil Wagner
Shane Bond
Allan Donald

weldone/Andrew B

David Warner
Glenn Turner
Hashim Amla
Brian Lara
Virat Kohli
Imran Khan*
Alan Knott+
Heath Streak
Graeme Swann
Jeff Thomson
Ian Bishop

 

[anil1405]

Option to vote is missing.

 

[Line and Length]

Option to vote is missing.

The word "invited" covers the option for non-participants.

Voting by participants is encouraged but averaging votes covers those who opt out of voting.

 

[honestbharani]

I think Anil1405 is looking for a poll where he can vote. Guess this wil be a thread where we vote through our posts.

 

[ankitj]

Ataraxia: 4
Fuller Pilch: 3
Honestbharani: 2
JOJOXI: 9
KingKallis: 7
Line & Length: 5
Red Hill: 11
Teuton: 10
Trundler: 8
Weldone/AndrewB: 6

Phew! This took me 30 minutes. I will prefer voting for top 3 to ranking all teams. When voting top teams I can quickly eliminate weak ones. When ranking I have to scroll up and down several times because I have to worry even about relative ranking of bottom 5 teams.

 

[AndrewB]

11: Teuton
10: kingkallis
9: JOJOXI
8: Red Hill
7: Line and Length
6: Fuller Pilch
5: ankitj
4: ataraxia
3: honestbharani
2: trundler

 

[Teuton]

Kingkallis - 11
weldone/AndrewB - 10
Fuller Pilch - 9
ankitj - 8
JOJOXI - 7
Red Hill - 6
ataraxia - 5
Line & Length - 4
Trundler - 3
honestbharani - 2

 

[Line and Length]

11 - kingkallis
10 - weldone/AndrewB
9 - Teuton
8 - Fuller Pilch
7 - Red Hill
6 - ataraxia
5 - Trundler
4 - ankitj
3 - JOJOXI
2 - honestbharani

That was tough! I ended up allocating points to various aspects of each side and 4 points covered almost the entire field. So many could be interchanged in my final order.

I'll give this another week before calculating final placings.

 

[Fuller Pilch]

11 Weldone/Andrew B
10 Red Hill
9 Teuton
8 King Kallis
7 JOJO
6 L & L
5 Ankjit
4 ataraxia
3 Trundler
2 honestbharani

Could throw a blanket over most of the teams - very close.

Thanks Line and Length for running this.

 

[kingkallis]

ankitj - 11
Fuller Pilch - 10
RedHill - 9
Teuton - 8
weldone/AndrewB - 7
ataraxia - 6
JOJOXI - 5
Line & Length - 4
Trundler - 3
honestbharani - 2

 

[ankitj]

More votes?

 

[honestbharani]

ankit - Good side. Don't like Pujara at 3. And bowling attack a bit weak.


ataraxia - AWesome side. Should end as one of the best in the draft.


fuller pitch - pretty varied attack and a good batting line up, just something seems to be missing from being truly awesome.


jojo - amazing side. Would love to watch this one play. All kinds of options for all kinds of conditions.


kk - great side but the 6-8 is a bit of a soft underbelly.


l&l - good side but not sold on Jadeja and Labuschagne ever getting the job done in spinning conditions.


redhill - great bowling attack. Not sure of #s 5-7 though. Upper side of the middling sides in the draft IMO.


teuton - Not very sure of Flintoff playing as a bowling allrounder but otherwise, a very solid side. Top tier for sure.


trundler - Good side, eclectic but in comparison to some others in this draft, rather lowkey.


weldone/andrewB - Great batting but lacks second spinner and attack can get a bit samey at times.






My rankings -


ataraxia - 11
jojo - 10
teuton - 9
redhill - 8
weldone/andrewB - 7
fullerpitch - 6
kk - 5
l&l - 4
ankit - 3
trundler - 2

 

[trundler]

In order:

Red Hill 11
Fuller Pilch 10
Ankit 9
JoJo 8
Ataraxia 7
Teuton 6
KK 5
L&L 4
Weldone/AndrewB 3
HB 2

 

[smash84]

Man, this is too difficult. Should have just asked for top 3

 

[JOJOXI]

Thanks Line and Length for running this - kept putting this off mentally but have done justifications for half the teams will look more closely at other half of teams late tomorrow night most likely.

 

[JOJOXI]

KingKallis - not a fan of Bairstow as keeper at 6 especially seeing his batting in recent times! Not much criticism I have after that - Ian Chappell averaging over 50 when he bats at 3, very much like the opening partnership, Sangakkara a great at 4 and given his record as a specialist batsman like that you didn't burden him with the gloves. Inzamam a solid option too. Great pair in Holding and Ambrose and solid spinner in Underwood too. Like the Dev/Cairns combination allowing you to stiffen up the batting whilst still having a solid 3rd seamer in Dev and good 4th seamer in Cairns. Did have slightly widened eyes when I looked at the squad at first seeing how many top players you had! - 11

Red Hill - Nice spinner in Chandrasekhar and like the dual allrounders of Proctor and Hadlee gives the batting great depth whilst they are both very good pacers in their own right to supplement Rabada. Good openers perhaps not best 4 or 5 but not a million miles off, solid middle order mixed feelings about Taylor at 6 but does give batting great depth with Dhoni at 7 and then the 2 great allrounders would expect good output from Ponting and Root higher up too. - 10

Teuton - Like the likely new ball pair of Walsh and McGrath and a good spinner in Ashwin, Flintoff a solid option and would expect him to get more runs then many of the other number 8s. Solid keeper although Botham averages under 30 at #6. A game changer but perhaps not the consistent string of scores. Like the 3-5 a lot and an elite opener in Barry Richards, slight question marks over Gautam Gambhir though. But a solid squad with decent bowling depth behind the new ball pair. - 9

Fuller Pilch - Nice contrast between the 2 openers in Boycott and Fredericks. Would prefer Crowe at 4 although you put forward a strong case for him, as you say Tendulkar is Tendulkar and hard pushed to stop Tendulkar playing at 4. Jayawardene's form at 5 not as good as at 4 - not the best record in SENA countries either - no doubt a good player nonetheless though. Shakib is a nice option balancing the side nicely giving you one of the strongest spin attacks in combination with Murali. Nice pace attack too with Cummins (who I think will be seen as an ATG before too long) and Philander and Croft. Like Watling too as the crisis man if he needs to dig the side out of a whole. - 8

Ankitj - Solid openers although neither in the World Class bracket. Personally would've preferred Pujara at 3 it looks a little odd with him at 5 and then Pollock 4, Younis 5 or vice-versa. Very good personnel in the middle order though. Andy Flower at 7 makes the batting very deep. Would've had the 3-7 ordered differently and might have rated side slightly higher but no doubt in terms of individuals its one of the strongest middle orders. World class seam bowling pair in Waqar Younis and Dennis Lillee, and after Warne and Murali one of the very best spinners in Kumble. Looks like Peter Pollock didn't do much wrong in his career although a limited Test career - 7

Line and Length - Like the opening pair of Gavaskar and Amiss, perhaps not as standout a 3 and 4 as 1 or 2 other sides but a very solid pair who in Labuschagne has started Test Cricket well and Jones in his few appearances at 4 done well as you say. Love the 5, 6 and 7 in terms of batting, a bit uneasy with ABDV as keeper he feels like a slightly reluctant one but in terms of batting depth not many sides will have a genuinely world class batsman down at 7! A solid spinner in Jadeja who adds to the very strong batting depth although not in the mold of some of the very elite spinners. Great pacer in Roberts and I think I rate Anderson higher then some giving you a great asset if the ball is swinging. Although certainly would say there are stronger bowling attacks around - 6

Trundler - Standout spinner in Shane Warne and an elite bowler in Allan Donald, Shane Bond very good in the relatively small Test career he had too, like the pick of Wagner and a possible bouncer barrage but think there are better pace attacks around. Solid keeper in Dujon and have one of the modern time greats in terms of openers in Cook. Would prefer Chappell at 4 - average down to a very respectable but not elite 43 batting at 3. Miandad a very nice pick at 4 and solid 5 and 6 if not the very best. - 5

Weldone/Andrew B - Am a big fan of Amla but perhaps not in same league as a couple of the other #3s around, perhaps Warner a bit conditions dependant too, poor average in England/New Zealand as well as India/Sri Lanka. Nonetheless like the batting and Lara 4, Kohli 5 is a scary combo. decent depth of pace options with Imran Khan at 6 giving as good a 4th pace bowling option as you are likely to get and a nice captain to have too, solid spinner in Swann too if not a world beater. Perhaps not the very world class pacers behind Imran Khan but good pace bowlers nonetheless. - 4

Ataraxia - Perhaps slight questions over Vettori - hurt by bowling in NZ although struggles in India don't reflect too kindly. Strengthens the batting with one of the best 8s around though, Carl Hooper a decent 5th bowling option but feel back up bowling perhaps lets down a World Class Steyn and very good seamers in Willis and Snow a tad. Gilchrist a great get at 7 and really like the top 4 in the batting. But questions over Rahane and Hooper compared to some of the other 5 and 6s around. - 3

Honestbharani - Think the batting is one of the weaker batting lineups for me with Richardson a decent opener, Aravinda de Silva and Doug Walters good players in middle order but feel like you are missing a Ponting, Kallis, Tendulkar etc. in terms of run getting. Understandable given the bowling attack, it looks like you have focused on this with a great pace attack with Marshall and Garner along with Reid and a solid spinner, decent backup in Walters and Mathews if he feels like it with the ball too. Just question if this attack will have enough runs to play with on a consistent basis. - 2

 

[JOJOXI]

Many apologies for the delay done half of it a few days ago then kept on saying to myself in a bit, in a bit.

 

[kingkallis]

That's one hell of a post describing every team.

 

[Line and Length]

I think I'll invite JOJOXI to judge every draft I conduct. Brilliant ... and many thanks.

Thanks also to all participants - I enjoyed running this.

Finally the results. The figures are the average scores given by those who voted.

1. Red Hill - 8.89
2. Teuton - 8.87
3. kingkallis - 8.50
4. Fuller Pilch - 7.50
=5. JOJOXI & weldone/Andrew B - 7.25
7. ankitj - 6.50
8. ataraxia - 5.55
9. Line & Length - 5.00
10. Trundler - 3.87
11. honestbharani - 2.15

Congratulations to Red Hill who just pipped the 'Bradman of Drafts', Teuton with kingkallis a close third.

 

[ankitj]

Thanks for running it LL. It was fun.

Was hoping my team will do better. Had very good middle order and quality bowling attack. Only openers where somewhat weak. Some of you didn't like Pujara at 5 it seems. Happy to get KK's vote for top team though