Your Retrospect Rest of World ODI Squad

[Jono]

While they were doing a great job in chasing, to say that you had the game "in the bag" when chasing 320+ is a bit over the top. That's why scores such as that are so hard to chase, you have to be going full tilt for so long, and as a result there is a lot more pressure on the batting side which leads to silly mistakes like the run-outs.

Yeah fair enough, but with 1 wicket down and a batting order which stretches to 9 (10 if you include Vettori) you'd think they should have got there. Especially when you add to the fact that McGrath wasn't playing.

 

[Richard]

Is Kallis' recent record in ODIs actually that bad?

I always thought that either Kallis or Dravid should have been in the team, but not both. I would have had Inzy in there replacing one of tem. My ODI World XI with Sachin unavailable due to injury would be:

Chris Gayle
Kumar Sangakkara (wk)
Inzamam Ul Haq
Brian Lara
Rahul Dravid
Kevin Pietersen
Andrew Flintoff
Shaun Pollock
Daniel Vettori
Shane Bond
Muralitharan
Super-Sub: Abdul Razzaq

I think the argument regarding 'roles in the team' and how there were too many middle order players selected as a reason for the losses was flawed as there were always early wickets anyway. Dravid coming in at 6 or 7 or whatever he did didn't effect how many overs he faced. Same goes for Flintoff. They were just outplayed, and couldn't bat like a cohesive unit. This was most obvious in match 2 when they had it in the bag and threw it away with poor running, and a poor decision as to who was to come in next with the powerplay on (Should have been Flintoff or Lara rather than Kallis).

Really begs the question:
Why have Sangakkara opening when he's never been an opener at any point in his life?

 

[Zinzan]

I find it near inconceivable that, had Bond been fit when the squads were picked (how stupid was it, eh, that they were picked 4 months before the event?), he'd have been straight in.
Vaas' exclusion was obviously based on lack of box-office appeal and hence was justified because the event was about box-office and not building the best team.
Fact is, Sehwag wasn't remotely justified for a place.
If Tendulkar had been present it might, of course, have made a difference.
I reckon I'd have gone something like:
Gayle
Trescothick
Kallis
Tendulkar
Sangakkara
Dravid
Pietersen
Flintoff
Pollock
Bond
Muralitharan
And had SRT been unavailable I'd have picked Inzamam-Ul-Haq.

Amazing.....Even with hindsight you leave Vettori out of your team....Completely brainless since in the 3 games (that were actually played) Vettori had the best average and best economy of all the world xi bowlers ....... ....

Ludicrious call !!

 

[Richard]

Nope, as I say that team was not picked with hindsight, it's what I'd've done before the thing was played.

 

[dinu23]

Playing away from Sri Lanka over the past two years, he averages 18.12 at an eco of 3.92. How is that not one of the best? He's certainly ranked first in the world outside Australia right now. To say he's not one of the best around is a pretty bold statement.

EDIT: And his average against Aussie over the past two years is 20.85, eco 4.56, S/R 27.4. I'm really unsure as to how he doesn't make your grade, marc.

no use in telling marc that. if a player is from SL he's no good to him!

 

[Richard]

Or rather if a player's any good to me he's no use to marc because everything I say has to lack credibility and me being the biggest Vaas fan on this board makes him utterly useless as far as marc is concerned.

 

[dinu23]

probably!

 

[Loony BoB]

Wow, feel the love.

I still find it amazing that Graeme Smith has been left out of pretty much everyone's thoughts. For a man who averages 61 against Australia and 47.17 against all teams in the past year (please note, as with all the players I say "in the past year" about, I mean as of 365 days before their most recent ODI) including four centuries in his past eleven innings... how the hell do you not have him opening?

 

[Jono]

Really begs the question:
Why have Sangakkara opening when he's never been an opener at any point in his life?

Well I did think about that, but he did a good job in the first ODI and basically opened in the 2nd and especially the 3rd ODI. On top of that, I felt Sehwag didn't warrant a place in the team, I didn't want Afridi opening and as good as Trescosthick record is I felt that the middle order players I selected were more valuable (especially since Tresco didn't exactly impress during the last ODI series vs. Aus), hence the need to squeeze Sangakkara to open. Smith was the only real other choice as opener (look at Loony Bob for his ODI record recently) but again, I felt Inzy, Dravid, Pietersen and Lara warranted a place in the team over Smith.

I do see your point though, and I was a bit shocked when I saw Sangakkara opening with Sehwag against Victoria in their only real warm-up match before the ODI series.

 

[Loony BoB]

Well I did think about that, but he did a good job in the first ODI and basically opened in the 2nd and especially the 3rd ODI. On top of that, I felt Sehwag didn't warrant a place in the team, I didn't want Afridi opening and as good as Trescosthick record is I felt that the middle order players I selected were more valuable (especially since Tresco didn't exactly impress during the last ODI series vs. Aus), hence the need to squeeze Sangakkara to open. Smith was the only real other choice as opener (look at Loony Bob for his ODI record recently) but again, I felt Inzy, Dravid, Pietersen and Lara warranted a place in the team over Smith.

I do see your point though, and I was a bit shocked when I saw Sangakkara opening with Sehwag against Victoria in their only real warm-up match before the ODI series.

You felt with hindsight that Lara warranted a place over Smith?

Smith averages 47.17 over the past year and has scored four centuries - two against England, one against the Windies and one against Zimbabwe.
Lara averages 29.20 over the past year and has scored one century against Pakistan.

Smith's ten most recent scores are: 16, 115*, 1, 47, 50, 117, 103, 6, 28, 0 (the one before those ten was also a century)
Lara's ten most recent scores are: 156, 19, 8, 0, 32, 22, 12, 0, 5, 0
Scores are in chronological order

 

[Richard]

I still find it amazing that Graeme Smith has been left out of pretty much everyone's thoughts. For a man who averages 61 against Australia and 47.17 against all teams in the past year (please note, as with all the players I say "in the past year" about, I mean as of 365 days before their most recent ODI) including four centuries in his past eleven innings... how the hell do you not have him opening?

You do have a point.
Fact is, however highly I rate Smith in Tests (and that's very, very high) and however good his statistical credentials for this series, he just doesn't ever completely convince me with his ODI batting. Too one-dimensional.
He'll probably go out and make a stack of runs against Australia at a decent strike-rate now, but I don't know... there's just something about him that says to me (and presumably to most others) "not quite".

 

[Richard]

Well I did think about that, but he did a good job in the first ODI and basically opened in the 2nd and especially the 3rd ODI. On top of that, I felt Sehwag didn't warrant a place in the team, I didn't want Afridi opening and as good as Trescosthick record is I felt that the middle order players I selected were more valuable (especially since Tresco didn't exactly impress during the last ODI series vs. Aus), hence the need to squeeze Sangakkara to open. Smith was the only real other choice as opener (look at Loony Bob for his ODI record recently) but again, I felt Inzy, Dravid, Pietersen and Lara warranted a place in the team over Smith.

I do see your point though, and I was a bit shocked when I saw Sangakkara opening with Sehwag against Victoria in their only real warm-up match before the ODI series.

Trescothick has never exactly impressed against Australia - he's been dismissed for single-figures (amazingly, always either 6 or 0) against them 8 times out of 18. But he's also passed 60 on 5 occasions and generally been one of England's top performers against them. Added to that, his recent scores have been result-influencing ones - 81 in the Champions Trophy and 104* in the NWC.
Added to the fact that even in ODIs Australia's attack isn't nearly as strong as it was in 2001 and 2002\03 and Trescothick is rather good at punishing wayward bowling - even better, I'd say, than Sangakkara and while he's obviously not anywhere near as good a wicketkeeper I'd have no real qualms about handing either him or Dravid the gloves for a very short time (of 3 matches).

 

[marc71178]

no use in telling marc that. if a player is from SL he's no good to him!

It's his inconsistency that will always count against him. Which bowler will turn up on the day?

To suggest I don't think any SL player is any good is way off the mark.

 

[aussie]

I find it near inconceivable that, had Bond been fit when the squads were picked (how stupid was it, eh, that they were picked 4 months before the event?), he'd have been straight in.
Vaas' exclusion was obviously based on lack of box-office appeal and hence was justified because the event was about box-office and not building the best team.
Fact is, Sehwag wasn't remotely justified for a place.
If Tendulkar had been present it might, of course, have made a difference.
I reckon I'd have gone something like:
Gayle
Trescothick
Kallis
Tendulkar
Sangakkara
Dravid
Pietersen
Flintoff
Pollock
Bond
Muralitharan
And had SRT been unavailable I'd have picked Inzamam-Ul-Haq.

No Lara of Vettori???

 

[aussie]

Jayasuria
Inzamam
Sarwan
Collingwood
Harmison
Vaas

Jayasuriya record vs Australia is poor with Tendulkar unfit i would have picked Smith or Trescothick over him

its touch & go who should be their between Inzi & Dravid but i would have still picked him

Sarwan & Collingwood not at all

Harmison maybe but Vaas over Pollock no no...

 

[aussie]

But as I say - I don't find he bowled particularly well in the First game.

you couldn't have watched that game

 

[aussie]

I
Super-Sub: Abdul Razzaq

yea i may have gone for him he did well in the latter stages of the VB series but Afridi was better so Razzaq would miss out.

 

[Barney Rubble]

while he's obviously not anywhere near as good a wicketkeeper I'd have no real qualms about handing either him or Dravid the gloves for a very short time (of 3 matches).

Interesting proposition - and you're dead right about him being destructive of wayward bowling, not that there was that much in this series from the Aussies. His 80-odd off 50-odd balls against Bangladesh this summer springs to mind - by the time he got out, he was playing a shot a ball, genuinely trying to hit every ball for six.

 

[Barney Rubble]

Interesting proposition - and you're dead right about him being destructive of wayward bowling, not that there was that much in this series from the Aussies. His 80-odd off 50-odd balls against Bangladesh this summer springs to mind - by the time he got out, he was playing a shot a ball, genuinely trying to hit every ball for six.

14.1 Tapash Baisya to Trescothick, FOUR, a fine drive to mid-off as the
bowling really seems ragged now
14.2 Tapash Baisya to Trescothick, SIX, Maximum! Simply flicked to long
leg stand
14.3 Tapash Baisya to Trescothick, FOUR, More! Drives it to extra cover
14.4 Tapash Baisya to Trescothick, FOUR, More! A fine drive to long-off
14.5 Tapash Baisya to Trescothick, (noball) no run
14.5 Tapash Baisya to Trescothick, FOUR, No respite in sight as this one
is driven through the covers
14.6 Tapash Baisya to Trescothick, no run, a good ball finally and he
stares at Trecothick but only after 22 runs have been takes and
drinks called in

Tapash gave him the glare afterwards......

 

[tooextracool]

I still think it's absolutely criminal that Marcus Trescothick has been completely overlooked. He seems to be the only opener in the world that you would place in the same category as Sehwag, Jayasuriya etc in terms of destructive capabilities, but who is also capable of playing the anchor role just as effectively. A fantastic player who gets no credit whatsoever, despite being head and shoulders above most in his position for the last two years.

and his form this year has been so good to merit selection hasnt it?going past 50 in all of 1 game.