The ATG Teams General arguing/discussing thread

[NUFAN]

'I just felt like picking this xi' xi

Marcus Trescothick
Hershelle Gibbs
Micheal Vaughan *
Damien Martyn
VVS Laxman
Chris Cairns
Brad Haddin
Dan Vettori
Brett Lee
Shoaib Akthar
Shane Bond

Nope. This is wrong. Good captaincy choice though.

 

[h_hurricane]

Ram Laxman XI

Ramiz Raja
Aiden Markram / Sadagopan Ramesh
VVS Laxman
Sachin Ramesh Tendulkar
Ramnaresh Sarwan
Vijay Laxman Manjrekar(wk)
Kapil Dev Ramlal Nikhanj
Wasim Akram
Laxman Sivaramakrishnan
Ramakant Desai
Mohammad Akram

 

[Flametree]

3+ a's (and no other vowels)...
Gavaskar
Prabhakar
Sangakkara
Amarnath M
Khawaja
Chakabva *
Amarnath L
Madan Lal
Maharaj
Rabada
Prasanna

 

[CricAddict]

3+ a's (and no other vowels)...
Gavaskar
Prabhakar
Sangakkara
Amarnath M
Khawaja
Chakabva *
Amarnath L
Madan Lal
Maharaj
Rabada
Prasanna

Ha ha.. this is stretching.

 

[Gob]

Nope. This is wrong. Good captaincy choice though.

Needs more Amla, Kohli

 

[SillyCowCorner1]

3+ a's (and no other vowels)...
Gavaskar
Prabhakar
Sangakkara
Amarnath M
Khawaja
Chakabva *
Amarnath L
Madan Lal
Maharaj
Rabada
Prasanna

Chakabva the skipper?

 

[Coronis]

Players I saw vs Players I didn’t see

Hobbs
Sutcliffe
Bradman*
Chappell
Hammond
Sobers
Knott+
Imran
Hadlee
Marshall
O’Reilly

vs

Hayden
Sehwag
Lara
Smith*
Tendulkar
Kallis
Gilchrist+
Warne
Steyn
Ambrose
McGrath

 

[Logan]

Players I have seen :

Sehwag
Hayden
Ponting
Sachin
Smith
Kallis
Gilchrist
Ambrose
McGrath
Steyn
Murali

Players I haven’t seen play

Gavaskar
Hobbs
Bradman
Richards
Sobers
Hammond
Knott
Imran
Hadlee
Marshall
O’Reilly

 

[ataraxia]

Bored so will post some XIs.

Australia:

Trumper
Simpson
Bradman
Smith
Ponting
G. Chappell* - 5
Gilchrist +
Miller - 3
Lindwall - 2
Warne - 4
McGrath - 1

Unsure between Chappell and Border. Miller IMO works best at 8 where he is an objectively better cricketer than Davidson. Had to keep Lindwall in there for his famed partnership with Miller; Lillee is overrated. I don't have Lindwall and Miller opening together but needless to say they will be bowling in tandem a lot.

England:

Hobbs
Sutcliffe
Hutton
Grace* - 6
Hammond - 7
Ranji - 5
Woolley - 4
Ames +
Trueman - 1
Barnes - 3
Anderson - 2

Obviously an unusual XI but the basic theory is that the 4 'openers' at the top can bat rather defensively for a fair while before they flick a switch and start hitting it knowing that there is a lot of batting to come. And IMO all 4 openers are a fair bit better than Compton and Barrington, so I think this could be a good use of England's resources. And Ranji's FC record is absolutely incredible for his time, on par with Hobbs'. No need for Larwood as there's already express pace with Trueman. Brian Statham isn't far off taking Anderson's space, and tbh neither is Botham. No need for a spinner with Woolley, Hammond, and Ranji covering that role.

India:

Gavaskar
Sehwag/Merchant
Dravid
Tendulkar
Kohli
Mankad - 5
Dhoni +
Kapil - 1
Ashwin - 2
Kumble - 4
Srinath - 3

Ranji would replace Kohli if he were available. Bumrah, Shami, and Jadeja may make it but that time has not come yet.

New Zealand:

Turner
Dempster
Williamson
Crowe
Taylor
McCullum +
Cairns - 5
Hadlee - 1
Vettori - 4
Bond - 3
Cowie - 2

Reid's stats aren't exemplary on reflection.

South Africa:

Richards
Smith
Amla
Pollock
Kallis - 6
de Villiers +
Faulkner - 5
Procter - 2
Tayfield - 4
Steyn - 1
Donald - 3

I don't think Nourse would have achieved his FC average with more competition. His test average is probably too small a sample size to compare, so FC stats should be the bar here.

West Indies:

Greenidge
Hunte
Lara
Headley
Richards
Sobers - 5
Dujon +
Marshall - 1
Garner - 3
Holding - 4
Ambrose - 2

I don't see the need for Gibbs. Holding is a much better bowler and Sobers can provide variety if that is needed. Dujon is a better choice than Walcott away, and Walcott is better at home. I think we have to assume the hypothetical match is taking place at a neutral venue, i.e. away.

 

[Coronis]

Walcott is still leagues above Dujon as a batsman, regardless of condition, unless you think Dujon was leagues better with the gloves.

 

[Gowza]

Always find it a bit of a shame that S.Pollock misses out in these XIs, such a wonderful cricketer but RSA have such stiff competition.

 

[Logan]

Shaun Pollock is a lock for any SA. An all time great bowler and a good lower order batsman.

Steyn, Donald and Pollock are automatic picks as fast bowlers.

 

[kyear2]

Shaun Pollock is a lock for any SA. An all time great bowler and a good lower order batsman.

Steyn, Donald and Pollock are automatic picks as fast bowlers.

Proctor is just a better all rounder in my mind, and if even you disagree it's still arguable. Hence Pollock can't be seen as a lock.

 

[SillyCowCorner1]

Walcott is still leagues above Dujon as a batsman, regardless of condition, unless you think Dujon was leagues better with the gloves.

Keeping to the Fire in Babylon, Dujon is the guy I want.

 

[Logan]

Proctor is just a better all rounder in my mind, and if even you disagree it's still arguable. Hence Pollock can't be seen as a lock.

Mike Procter played 7 Tests. Shaun Pollock played 108 Tests.

Mike Procter was untested at the highest level of cricket.

 

[Bolo.]

Almost no such thing as a lock in an RSA side. Almost all the best options are unproven in one way or another. Either role the dice a bit (era, opponents, number of tests, team balance, playing role...) or accept someone worse. Even if you pick the best (Pollock was a better player than Donald, and possibly than Steyn in my mind) it doesnt work out well.

Pollock is the 4th best RSA RA quick at best in my book, with Kallis already playing. He is the 3rd best RA quick AR, which doesnt put him in good standing. Too much competition, especially when factoring in the other types of bowling options, particularly when there are AR options.

If I didnt fancy Procter, I would likely find a spot for him because Im a huge fan of ARs, but Im not sure I would call him a lock even without Procter.

 

[kyear2]

Almost no such thing as a lock in an RSA side. Almost all the best options are unproven in one way or another. Either role the dice a bit (era, opponents, number of tests, team balance, playing role...) or accept someone worse. Even if you pick the best (Pollock was a better player than Donald, and possibly than Steyn in my mind) it doesnt work out well.

Pollock is the 4th best RSA RA quick at best in my book, with Kallis already playing. He is the 3rd best RA quick AR, which doesnt put him in good standing. Too much competition, especially when factoring in the other types of bowling options, particularly when there are AR options.

If I didnt fancy Procter, I would likely find a spot for him because Im a huge fan of ARs, but Im not sure I would call him a lock even without Procter.

Steyn, Donald, Kallis and Graeme Pollock are all literal locks. Period.

 

[bagapath]

ABDV is a lock too

If not S Pollock, Faulkner should be the all-rounder

 

[bagapath]

Walcott is still leagues above Dujon as a batsman, regardless of condition, unless you think Dujon was leagues better with the gloves.

He most probably was. Also, With Walcott’s history of back problems Dujon should be the automatic choice.

 

[Chrish]

Anderson in England is one of the deadliest bowlers game has seen.. He is even level above Broad in those conditions because of his ability to get prodigious swing IMO.

He has to be picked in All time English Xi. I find it quite bizarre that usually that's not the case.