1. Mark Richardson: Left handed opening batsman. Scored 2776 runs @ 44.77 in 38 test matches. 4 100s and 19 50s.
Richardson is a slow batsman who prizes his wicket. He is difficult to remove from the crease and scores at a slow rate. His average (according to cricinfo) was 50 for most of his career, but regressed at the end. He has scored 100s in India and England, and will be a part of my steady but unspectacular opening partnership. His role will be to wear down the opposition bowlers, stay at the crease, and complement the stroke players that come in later.
2. Alec Stewart (wk): Right handed opening batsman. Scored 8463 runs @ 39.54 in 133 test matches. 15 100s and 45 50s.
Stewart is a gritty player that will also be difficult to dislodge. He captained England, and is a more instinctual player to go with the very methodological Richardson. Together they will form a solid opening partnership.
3. Dean Jones: Right handed batsman. He played 1 down most of his test career. Scored 3631 runs @46.55 in 52 test matches. 11 100s and 15 50s.
Jones may be well known for his performances in ODIs, but he is a very solid test player. He is a fighter – he once made 210 in Chennai, and ended the game on a saline drip. He will not give an inch to the opposition. He will complement Lara very well, and is the first cog in my strong middle order. A good outfielder as well.
4.Brian Lara: Left handed batsman. He played at number 4 for most of his career. Scored 11953 runs @ 52.88 in 131 matches. 34 100s and 48 50s. Strike rate of 60. One of the best batsmen of all time. Highest score: 400 not out. A very good slip fielder as well.
Lara is the jewel of my middle order – not much I need to say about him. Better than any batsman on Aldo’s team (IMO) and somebody I loved watching play as a kid. Also captained the West Indies, but when they were on their way down.
5.VVS Laxman: Right handed batsman. Played in the middle order his entire career. Scored (and still scoring!) 8781 runs @45.97 in 134 matches. 17 100s and 54 50s. Probably would have had more 100s if he didn’t bat so low in the Indian order. To put it simply, he is very very special.
Laxman is the third cog of my middle order. He is a specialist in lost causes, and tormentor in chief of the great Australian sides. Laxman thrives in pressure situations, and is a very stylish player. If nothing else – my team will be a joy to watch. Laxman also (and this is my memory so may be wrong) plays very well with the tail. He has often batted for long periods with the Indian tails. The Aussies (according to cricinfo) simply said they didn’t know how to bowl to him after the 03-04 tour there. That is how devastating he can be. Watching him and Lara play together would be just beautiful. He is also a very good slip fielder.
6. Greg Matthews: Left handed batsman. Right arm off spinner. Matthews started out as a specialist spinner, but transformed into a batting all-rounder who can bowl. He scored 1849 runs @ 41.08 in 33 test matches. He took 61 wickets @ 48.22 as well. 4 100s and 12 50s.
Matthews is a fighter. He wasn’t good enough as a bowler alone, so retooled his game so much that he has a better average than some specialist batsmen! He will also be the orthodox off spinner of my spin trio, bowling a bit to add variety and eat the overs up. He is more than capable of picking up wickets though. He has taken 10 wickets in a game (over 2 innings) for Australia.
7.Stuart Broad: All-rounder. Left handed batsman. Right hand fast bowler. Took 161 wickets @31.16 in 49 tests. Scored 1524 runs @27.21 in 49 tests. He is still playing. 1 100 and 9 50s.
Broad is my all-rounder at number 7. He will ably support my middle order, hang around, and score runs quickly. He will also open my bowling along with Makhaya Ntini. He provides important balance to my batting order, and give me wickets early on.
8. Paul Reiffel: Bowler who can bat. Right handed batsman. Right handed fast bowler. Took 104 wickets @ 26.96 in 35 tests. Scored 955 runs @ 26.52.6 50s.
Reiffel is probably my second best bowler, but will bowl as first change, as he primarily did for Australia. He is a line and length bowler who can move the ball both ways off the pitch. He will trouble batsmen no matter the state of the pitch and ball, and will provide valuable wickets after my opening bowlers provide the early breakthroughs. He is also useful with the bat, and ensures I bat down to 8.
9. Paul Adams: Slow left arm Chinaman. 131 wickets @ 32.87 in 45 test matches. Also has the best bowling action ever. He doesn’t even see the batsman!
Adams is one of my two spinners, and has a good average considering spinners don’t get much help in South Africa. He will eat overs, give the quicks time to recover and pick up wickets. Also, bowling in tandem with another spinner will help him.
10.Mushtaq Ahmed: Leg Spinner. 85 wickers @ 32.97 in 42 tests.
Mushtaq is my other spinner. One of the few good leggies ( I can’t remember too many other than Warne and Kumble who are legends tbh) of this draft, Mushtaq will bowl in tandem with Adams and Matthews to bamboozle batsmen. The argument against him will always be – why does a Pakistani spinner have an average above 30, but Mushtaq also took 100 wickets in a county season in England, so he can do it in all conditions.
11.Makhaya Ntini: Right arm fast bowler. 390 wickets @ 28.82 in 101 matches.
Ntini is one of my key cogs - he is a wicket-taker. plain and simple. Another in the great line of South African quickies, he will be a real threat with the new ball, and a useful workhorse later in the games. Having 3 spinners to take the burden off him, he will be able to get plenty of rest and be fresh and lethal when he bowls. Having their key bowlers fresh whenever needed is not something all the other teams can count on - plus he is VERY entertaining when batting!
12th man: Shahid Afridi: 27 test matches. 1716 runs @36.51 and 48 wickets @36.60.
Boom Boom. Smashing batsman who can both open and bat lower down, useful partnership breaker, great fielder. Captained Pakistan. Most versatile 12th man around.
