All time ODI Sheep Draft QF4 : V.O. vs NM

[Skills]

Team V.O.

1. Martin Guptill
2. Jonny Bairstow (wk)
3. Jacques Kallis
4. Ramnaresh Sarwan
5. Jonty Rhodes
6. Michael Bevan
7. Imran Khan (c)
8. Richard Hadlee
9. Upul Chandana
10. Dennis Lillee
11. Saqlain Mushtaq

Team NM

1.Shane Watson
2. Alec Stewart
3. Babar Azam
4. Kane Williamson
5. Michael Clarke
6. Angelo Matthews
7. Carl Hooper
8. Shaun Pollock
9. Harbhajan Singh
10. Michael Holding
11. Darren Gough

 

[Skills]

Team V.O.

Lineup
1. Martin Guptill
2. Jonny Bairstow (wk)
3. Jacques Kallis
4. Ramnaresh Sarwan
5. Jonty Rhodes
6. Michael Bevan
7. Imran Khan (c)
8. Richard Hadlee
9. Upul Chandana
10. Dennis Lillee
11. Saqlain Mushtaq


Batting

• Guptill is capable of some extremely heavy hitting, being barely outside the top 10 for all time 6s hit while having played little over half as many games as anybody above him. He also has the second highest knock in ODI history to his name with a huge 237 not out. A big component of New Zealand's strength in the format over the last decade.
• Opening alongside him, Bairstow is an even quicker scorer of big runs. He's the only player drafted to maintain a career average of over 45 while hitting at better than a run-a-ball, and the only one outright apart from the arguable best ever in the format, AB de Villiers.
• With rock solid technique and ice cool temperament, probably the best all-round cricketer of his generation Jacques Kallis will be the glue holding the innings together after the initial fireworks have gone off.
• While overshadowed in reputational terms by longtime teammate Brian Lara, Ramnaresh Sarwan is right up there with him as a batsman in ODIs. He managed a better overall average than Lara in the format, and when batting in the #4 spot, this skyrockets to an absolutely elite figure of 54.22 - and not from a small sample size, either. He batted there in 55 ODIs.
• An incredible athlete and wristy batsman who scored his runs at an excellent rate for his era, Jonty Rhodes is pretty much the prototype of the modern cricketer.
• The original and best finisher in the history of white-ball cricket, Michael Bevan is in at #6. As he did so many times for the great Australian side of the late 90s and early 00s, if those above him fall, Bevan calmly steadies the ship and steers it toward victory.
• Despite being known mainly for his bowling, Imran Khan has a record most outright lower middle order batsmen would be envious of. Hadlee and Chandana to a lesser degree are well capable of chipping in with good runs as low as #9.
• Having three of the greatest all-rounders ever along with the best finisher in ODI history gives me as much batting depth as any side drafted, with only #10 and #11 not being expected to contribute.

Bowling

• One of the true all-time great quicks, Richard Hadlee opens the bowling. With very good wicket taking ability and an incredible economy rate even for the era, Hadlee weighs in as the #2 bowler on the all-time ICC ODI player rankings behind only Windies legend Joel Garner.
• An arguably even more fearsome member of the pantheon of great quicks of that era, Dennis Lillee opens from the other end. This opening pair are capable of strangling almost any batting lineup.
• With an incredible wicket taking ability that saw him rack up a comfortably better average and strike rate than either Warne or Murali (he took wickets around 20% more often than either!), Saqlain Mushtaq has a very good claim to being the greatest ODI spinner of all time, with only his relative lack of longevity counting against him. On a track that's spinning, Saqlain wreaks havoc.
• Probably the greatest cricketer to ever represent Pakistan, Imran Khan, provides the first change seam option, offering searing pace, leadership and will to win in equal measure.
• The RFM of Jacques Kallis and leg spin of Upul Chandana offer very capable options to fill the remaining overs, with Kallis being given more overs on a green top and Chandana taking the lead on a turning pitch.
• On a pure seamer’s track that offers nothing to the spinners, Jason Gillespie will come in to replace Chandana, giving the option to play five excellent quicks who are each good enough to be frontline bowlers, while retaining batting depth down to #8 even if they all play.

Fielding and captaincy

• While very strong in the primary disciplines, this is where my team stands above any other drafted.
• Spearheaded by the greatest fielder in cricket history, Jonty Rhodes, with support from other excellent fielders, Chandana, Guptill and Bevan with the ever-reliable bucket hands of Kallis at slip, this is the best fielding unit in the draft and will combine with an already very economical bowling attack to stifle the batsmen.
• Any communication error or dodgy running between the wickets will be swiftly punished and one or two miracle catches are almost guaranteed.
• Captain Imran Khan has a 75-59 ODI record in an era of relative weakness for Pakistan, culminating in winning the 1992 World Cup as underdogs.

 

[Skills]

Team NM

Position	Name	Batting Avg	Runs Scored	Strike Rate	Bowling Avg	Wickets Taken	Strike Rate	Econ Rate	Role
1	Shane Watson	40.54	5757	90.44	31.79	168	38.4	4.95	Explosive opener that will help my team gain momentum Excellent 5th bowler (was usually 3rd or 4th option for Aus). He is a front line option for a 5th bowler!
2	Alec Stewart	31.6	4677	68.36	N/A	N/A	N/A	N/A	Solid opener and my wicketkeeper. His goal is to drop anchor and let the players around him accelerate
3	Babar Azam	56.92	3985	89.57	N/A	N/A	N/A	N/A	One of the best around in limited overs today, and a potential all timer
4	Kane Williamson	47.48	6173	81.75	35.4	37	39.6	5.35	NZ's best ever batsman and a modern day giant.
5	Michael Clarke	44.58	7981	78.98	37.64	57	4.98	45.3	Australian stalwart and one of the best middle order batsmen around. Can throw the ball to him on a spinning pitch if needed too
6	Angelo Mathews	41.67	5835	83.3	33.35	120	4.62	43.2	Strong middle order bat +5th bowling option alongside Watson
7	Carl Hooper	35.35	5761	76.63	36.05	193	4.36	49.6	Middle order anchor man + possible 5th/6th bowler on turning tracks. Very solid either way
8	Shaun Pollock	26.45	3519	86.69	24.5	393	39.9	3.67	Opening bowler and one of the greats. Very handy lower order batsman too
9	Harbhajan Singh	13.3	1237	81.06	33.35	269	46.3	4.31	4th bowler and primary spinning option. Will be very good on turning pitches
10	Michael Holding	9.09	282	74.8	21.36	142	38.5	3.32	Opening bowler and one of the all itme greats
11	Darren Gough	12.42	609	64.3	26.42	235	35.9	4.38	England's 90s and early 2000s stalwart. Very good bowler who will be first change

 

[Skills]

@V.O. @NM

 

[12OunceEpilogue]

V.O for me; better batting and I prefer the bowling too, just about.

 

[Mani]

@V.O. Imran, Lillee and Hadlee, FS how did you manage to pull all three, Sarwan and Chandana hope you can drop them for next round.Liked your team more than NM’s , his team is not far behind.

 

[NM]

Missed this but I think the term for this is I have a good team, the other guy a great one. I have no shot! If he gets a couple of batters he wins this whole thing. @V.O.

 

[V.O.]

Missed this but I think the term for this is I have a good team, the other guy a great one. I have no shot! If he gets a couple of batters he wins this whole thing. @V.O.

Yeah, it's not going too badly as a first try of a cricket draft, though as Mani said I think the teams are way closer than the vote suggests (that's a hell of a pace attack you put together!).

I think my main bit of luck has been having a free run at a few of the older top level bowlers/all-rounders while there was a big scrap for a lot of the 90s and onwards guys.