Test Cricket Decades Draft R1: Moby vs 12OunceEpilogue

Who will win the 3 match series?


  • Total voters
    15
  • Poll closed .

Edgar Allan Pillow

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........Team Moby..................................Team 12Oz.............

01. Sir Alastair Cook..................|........Bill Lawry
02. Virender Sehwag.................|........Vijay Merchant
03. Sir Vivian Richards...............|........George Headley
04. Stan McCabe.......................|.........Everton Weekes
05. Greg Chappell......................|........Mahela Jayawardene
06. Baron Learie Constantine.......|........Tony Greig
07. Godfrey Evans (wk)..............|........Kapil Dev C
08. Richie Benaud (c).................|........Bert Oldfield WK
09. Arthur Gilligan......................|........Mitchell Johnson
10. Sir Wes Hall.........................|........Ian Bishop
11. Sir Curtly Ambrose...............|........Muttiah Muralitharan


TEAM MOBY:


01. Sir Alastair Cook
02. Virender Sehwag
..03. Sir Vivian Richards
04. Stan McCabe......
05. Greg Chappell....
...........
06. Baron Learie Constantine
...07. Godfrey Evans (wk)
08. Richie Benaud (c)
09. Arthur Gilligan....
10. Sir Wes Hall........
..
11. Sir Curtly Ambrose


The Openers

England's greatest run scorer, an absolute machine scoring over 12k runs averaging over 45 with 33 centuries and 57 50s, Cook has been the mainstay at the top of the English batting order in the modern era. Utterly reliable to see off the new ball, stay at the crease for ages and go on to score massive innings putting a huge price on his wicket.

Complementing him on the other end is the swashbuckling Sehwag, over 8k runs in his name averaging almost 50, including 23 tons and two massive triple tons. Sehwag will tonk any bowling attack on a batting surface and has the ability to kill the game in a session or two if allowed to let loose.

The Middle Order


At no. 3, is the GOAT of batting with swagger, none other than Vivian Richards. The West Indian great stands with over 8k runs averaging over 50 including 24 tons, in an era dominated by the greatest fast bowlers. Needless to say he's the leader of this batting unit and the man we aim to revolve the innings around.

At no. 4, comes in a man who made Bradman envious with his batting ability. Stan McCabe, amassed 2.7k runs averaging 48 being a part of the Bradman's side that toured England in 32-33. A rare name to come out of the bodyline series with 385 runs @ 43, McCabe's greatest innings came when the team needed him the most, often on surfaces where no one else was able to get going and made his presence invaluable as a batsman against the toughest attacks. He did all that with incredible style and grace, making him one of the greatest Australian batsmen of all time.

At no. 5, is Greg Chappell. Similar to Viv, his greatest feats came in the era that was dominated by incredible fast bowlers, in his case including the West Indies pace battery. Chappell is regarded as one of the greatest batsmen of all time, getting over 7k runs averaging almost 54!! including 24 tons. Able to handle any amount of hostile bowling and able to smash them to pieces, he will be a standout presence in that middle order alongside Viv and McCabe.

The Lower Order

It has to be said that with that kind of batting order above, the batting ability of the lower order will be rather academic. However, we still have a man known to have created the style of West Indies batting, Learie Constantine who can come in and smash a few boundaries in quick time. In Benaud, there is a more than capable batsman who scored over 2k runs averaging almost 25 and well capable of holding the crease. With Evans and Gilligan completing the lower order, the tail has enough in it to add some valuable scores to the likely high scores from the batting talent above them, or see off time if that is the requirement on the pitch.

In Godfrey Evans, we have the greatest wicket keeper of all time as per Wisden. A GOAT in that category, valuable to keep against Benaud's trickery as well as the pace and bounce of Hall and Ambrose.

The Bowling

Opening the bowling will be the West Indies due of Curtly Ambrose and Wes Hall. Two deadly accurate, wicket taking machines will make the life of any opening pair hell. Ambrose 405 wickets averaging less than 21 and a SR less than 55. Hall has almost 200 wickets with a similar SR. Both spearheaded their bowling attacks and alongside each other will be a force of nature to be reckoned with. Neither gave any runs away, with economies of 2.3 from Ambrose being highly miserly.

First change will be Arthur Gilligan, a lightening quick bowler who was honoured as the Wisden Cricketer of the Year in 24, he will provide the all out pace option not giving the batsmen any rest.

The spin option is one of the greatest spinners of all time in Richie Benaud. With almost 250 wickets @ 27 and an economy of 2.1, Benaud was the lynchpin of the 1950s Aussie generation both as a leader and as their leg spinner.

Benaud was not a large spinner of the ball, but he was known for his ability to extract substantial bounce from the surface. In addition to his accurate probing consistency, he possessed a well-disguised googly and topspinner which tricked many batsmen and yielded him many wickets. In his later career, he added the flipper, a combination of the googly and top spinner which was passed to him by Bruce Dooland. Coupled with his subtle variations in flight and angle of the delivery, he kept the batsman under constant pressure. Benaud had the tendency to bowl around the wicket at a time when he was one of the first players to do so; it had an influence on spin bowlers like Shane Warne and Ashley Giles. Benaud was regarded as one of the finest close-fielders of his era, either at gully or in a silly position. As a batsman, he was tall and lithe, known for his hitting power, in particular his lofted driving ability from the front foot.

Learie Constantine will be the fifth bowler, providing his electric pace option. With Viv Richards and Sehwag providing the support as the slower bowlers. Greg Chappell can provide handy medium pace as well if needed.


Team 12Oz

1: Bill Lawry
2: Vijay Merchant
3: George Headley
4: Everton Weekes
5: Mahela Jayawardene
6: Tony Greig
7: Kapil Dev C
8: Bert Oldfield WK
9: Mitchell Johnson
10: Ian Bishop
11: Muttiah Muralitharan

-The greatest wicket-taking spinner in cricket in Murali, a brutal R-L new ball quick partnership in Bishop and Johnson, beautifully dangerous line and length from Kapil and a fine fifth option in Greig.

-A conservative, solid L-R pair of openers in Lawry and Merchant, who will hang around to dull the ball nicely for...

-two ATG West Indians Headley and Weekes and a modern great (for me as a modern cricket fan my favourite batsman to watch) Mahela to pile the runs on.

-We bat almost the whole way down, with Greig and Kapil fine accomplished batsmen, Oldfield a bruised Bodyline veteran and a very capable tail in Johnson and Bishop.

Bowling:

The greatest and most prolific spinner cricket has known. Of course I love Warne and find him more interesting to watch but for pure effectiveness on most surfaces you can look no further than Murali, with 800 wickets coming at less than 23 runs apiece across an 18 year Test career.
MM- Overs-7339.5 Wickets-800 Average-22.72 Economy-2.47 S/R-55

The question marks over my new ball quicks should be discussed from the outset. Severe back injuries cruelly curtailed Bishop’s time at the top and Johnson could be erratic and expensive, but when they were both on-song they were unplayable; both capable of yorkers, brutal bouncers and finding the outside edge during spells of torrid bowling. They were equally likely to hurt and terrify batsmen as they were to get them walking bowled, caught or leg before. Indeed were it not for spinal injuries truncating and ultimately ending his career it is very possible we’d be talking about Bishop in the same breath as Marshall, Holding, Ambrose and the rest given his imposing 6ft 5in frame, top class cricketing brain and beguilingly skilful bowling technique.
IB- Overs-1401.1 Wickets-161 Average-24.27 Economy-2.78 S/R-52
MJ- Overs-2666.5 Wickets-313 Average-28.4 Economy-3.33 S/R-51.1


Famously the first Indian to get his countrymen interested in using the new ball for wicket-taking, Kapil will be first change in match two but could open the bowling in the other two matches with his superb line and length and potent out-swing. Along with Murali he will be a steadying hand in my bowling attack while also being more than able to take wickets himself. Later in the innings look out for the in-swinging yorker Kapil developed to send tail lenders on their way.
KD- Overs-4623.2 Wickets-434 Average-29.64 Economy-2.78 S/R-63.9

Normally a front line bowler Greig is a superb fifth option, steady in his economy and wicket-taking while deliciously unpredictable in the way he conducts himself on the cricket field. Though not known for searing pace delivering from a height of 6ft 6in gave Greig the chance to catch batsmen off-guard with natural bounce as well as occasional pacy off-spin (notably in the Caribbean in ’74). He was also a master of cricketing dark arts; with sledging, antics and instances of less-than-gentlemanly behaviour on and off the field, not to mention his bravery and skill, making Greig a man you wanted to play with rather than against.
TG- Overs-1556.2 Wickets-141 Average-32.2 Economy-2.77 S/R-69.5

Keeping:

A quiet man who let his prestigious skill behind the stumps do the talking, Oldfield is perhaps the pick of the earliest generation of great wicketkeepers. Described by the Aussie newspapers The Age as:

“... a textbook ‘keeper, dapper and trim in feature, spotlessly attired, and with superb reflex response, [he] could flick a bail from its groove as a dandy might whisk a speck of snuff from his jacket”

and thusly by Don Bradman:

“I played with Oldfield through a considerable portion of his career, and many times have marvelled at his skill. There was about his work a polish far transcending that of the others. Never any suggestion of an early movement — feet always right — hands in perfect position, and remarkable speed while stumping – especially on the leg-side, off a medium-pace bowler.”

Oldfield’s haul of 52 stumpings remains an all-time test record (music to the ears of Murali) and his dexterity behind the stumps and great aversion to conceding byes will also please my quicks.

Batting:

1: Bill Lawry (5k @ 47.15)
2: Vijay Merchant (859 in 18 inns. @ 47.72)
3: George Headley (2k in 40 inns. @ 60.83)
4: Everton Weekes (4k in 81 inns. @ 58.61)
5: Mahela Jayawardene (11k @ 49.84)
6: Tony Greig (3k @ 40.43)
7: Kapil Dev (5k @ 31)
8: Bert Oldfield (1k @ 22.65)
9: Mitchell Johnson (2k @ 22.2)
10: Ian Bishop (600 @ 12.15)

Lawry- The ‘corpse with pads on’ will be hard to shift, and while occupying the crease the left hander will score runs with aplomb and dull the new ball
Innings-123 Runs-5234 Average-47.15 High Score-210 100s-13 50s-27

Merchant- A pioneer of batting technique, Merchant’s superb first class numbers (71.64 in 150 matches, second only to Bradman) could not be matched in a shallow sample size of just ten Tests, all played in England over two tours. Nevertheless he is widely regarded a great batsman, overlooked for a tour of England for political rather than cricketing reasons in 1932, it was not for nothing that the English cricketer and polymath CB Fry made the politically incorrect observation of Merchant: "Let us paint him white and take him with us to Australia as an opener”!
Innings-18 Runs-859 Average-47.72 High Score-154 100s-3 50s-3

Headley- For mine the greatest number three in the draft, big words given his opposite number in this very game, ‘The Black Bradman’ had everything. A mammoth innings of 344 not out against an England touring XI was called ‘the perfect innings’ while his best Test knock was a mere 270 not out. The stroke play, the power, the selection of shots, according to the likes of Clarrie Grimmet and Don ‘The White Headley’ Bradman, has rarely been seen in cricket before or since and we have the Second World War to blame for robing us of even more of Headley’s greatness. The below four part ESPN series on Headley is well worth your time:
Innings-40 Runs-2190 Average-60.83 High Score-270* 100s-10 50s-5

Weekes- According to Clyde Walcott Weekes is the best batsmen of the ‘Three Ws’, while his record of 4455 runs at 58.61, including a monstrous 207 in Port-Of-Spain versus India in 1953, speaks for itself. A player of ridiculous power coupled with fine wrists, a full selection of shots and the ability to play off the back foot and chase slow bowlers down the pitch, Weekes is up there with the great number fours the game has seen.
Innings-81 Runs-4455 Average-58.61 High Score-207 100s-15 50s-19

Mahela- My favourite modern batsman to watch, his mastery of shot selection and the ease with which he dealt with spin bowling throughout his career mark him out. His 374 as part of the all-time greatest third wicket stand versus South Africa in 2006 is of course a highlight, though the innings that stands out to me is his 180 versus England in 2012, who were the world’s number one test team, in which Mahela had to dig deep to score runs as partners came and went.
Innings-252 Runs-11814 Average-49.84 High Score-374 100s-34 50s-50

Greig- A fine lower-middle order batsman, Greig’s tall frame gives him fantastic reach which he combined with fine batting bonafides. His highest total of 148, scored against the likes of Roberts, Sobers and Gibbs in Barbados, is testament to his skill and grit with willow in hand.
Innings-93 Runs-3599 Average-40.43 High Score-148 100s-8 50s-20

Kapil- An accomplished lower-middle order batsman, Kapil had fine technique matched by his dogged determination at the crease. Two examples of his guts came in two of his most eye-catching innings, both away from home with India in dire circumstances. In 1990 Kapil hit four consecutive sixes at Lord’s to avoid the follow-on, finishing unbeaten on 77, while two years he arrived at the crease with India 31/6, before facing down Donald, Schultz and McMillan in Port Elizabeth to score 129, adding respectability to a card on which the next best Indian score was 17.
Innings-184 Runs-5248 Average-31.05 High Score-163 100s-8 50s-27

Oldfield- A no-nonsense batsman of goat temperament, Oldfield is a veteran of Bodyline, having had his skull fractured by Harold Larwood in the 30s. His experience and competency in facing fast aggressive bowling is an asset to my lower order.
Innings-80 Runs-1427 Average-22.65 High Score-65* 50s-4

Johnson- A fine lower-order batsman with a sole hundred to his name, a superb unbeaten 123 in a team hugely outgunned by the South Africans in Cape Town, and eleven fifties Johnson has it in his locker to add key runs down the order.
Innings-109 Runs-2065 Average-22.2 High Score-123* 100s-1 50s-11

Bishop- Once shared the second-top score of a West Indian innings with Shiv Chanderpaul and did most of his test batting at number eight. Not a prolific scorer though by no means a bunny.
Innings-63 Runs-632 Average-12.15 High Score-48
 

NM

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Easy win for Moby. That middle order is amazing. However I'm almost tempted to vote against or not vote due to selective use of stats in the write up.:nono:
 

The Cat

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This is a tester. Prefer @Moby batting line up.

Not sure about the bowling lineups. Murali is obviously a standout but was never keen on Dev and Greig as bowlers even though Dev had a great career. Gonna give this one some thought
 

The Cat

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Good writeups both of you if I get through mine will have to expand. Enjoyed reading them both.
 

12OunceEpilogue

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This is a tester. Prefer @Moby batting line up.

Not sure about the bowling lineups. Murali is obviously a standout but was never keen on Dev and Greig as bowlers even though Dev had a great career. Gonna give this one some thought
I prefer Moby's battling line up, there's no point denying it. However I don't call it as a complete mismatch:

Cook and Sehwag have been there and done it at Test level year after year, something you just can't say about Merchant. But I hope 800+ runs in two tours of England, coupled with an ATG-level first class career, shows there's a hell of a player there even if I accept it may be too difficult to vote for given the parameters of the draft. Also I hope it's clear Lawry and Merchant are there specifically to stay in to frustrate and see off Moby's opening bowlers, rotating strike with singles as Lawry did so well with Bob Simpson, in preparation for Headley and Weekes to get us really cooking.

However I prefer Cook and Sehway as a pair to my guys in this particular draft. My only saving grace is I feel I have the bowlers to hurt both of them. I'm thinking Johnson to Cook at Adelaide in the 2013/14 Ashes when he took seven wickets including Cook's by not allowing him to settle. Sehwag is awesome and if he's left to get his eye in can ruin you from the front but maybe his lack of footwork makes him susceptible to a quick one swinging back into him, around off stump, which Bishop could do at his best. Also according to Sehwag “I was scared of facing only one bowler, that was Muralitharan”. I know he's hardly going to say 'he's shit' but I would happily turn to Murali fairly early in proceedings, particularly on the bunsen in match three, if Bishop struggles with Sehwag, to see how he deals with the one bowler he really hated facing.

Sir Viv, McCabe, Chappell is ridiculous but I don't see Headley, Weekes, Mahela as miles away from them. We're talking about two of the all-time great West Indian batsmen (avg. 60.83 and 58.61) and a masterful modern technician in Mahela (just shy of 50 himself). In the lower-middle order Moby has nothing to match Greig, who averages over 40 and has bashed the West Indians home and away and an Aussie attack led by Lillee and Thomson at Brisbane in '74, nor Kapil who's played some fantastic gutsy innings down the order.

As for the bowling I think I've got the better of him. Bishop/Johnson I accept doesn't leap to mind when one considers fantasy bowling pairings but I think it could be brilliant. Whether we're talking about Bishop breaking onto the scene in 89/90 and more than holding his own alongside Marshall/Walsh/Ambrose (also proving he could take wickets on flat tracks by scooping 16 at 18.87 runs apiece in Pakistan in 1990) or post-injury in the early to mid-90s after he'd modified his action he's a top right-handed bowler. Mitch is a risky one, but if he can get near some of his best form (the WACA in 08 ripping South Africa to shreds, the aforementioned Adelaide test where he blasted England) I think his relentless pace will be superb in game two, and might not be too bad game one as he's shown he can be effective on flat tracks (the first test versus Pakistan in Dubai in 2014 was very good from him) and he's not afraid to plug away and be a handful even when not taking wickets.

I like Kapil as he's a great bowler and also totally different to anything else I have in my attack and Greig's as good a fifth choice as I've seen in the draft. I like Constantine but I see him more of a pioneer with a great first class record than as fine a test bowler as Greig, despite his good numbers. I also like having a left-armer in Johnson, something Moby is lacking.

In any case let me know what you think regarding the bowling, I think it's a close win for me but I appreciate my unit won't be everyone's cup of tea.

EDIT: And obviously Richie's a great spinner but he's not Murali.
 
Last edited:

kotha

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There's a lot of players I don't know about.. Just realized that I only know players from the 80's and later..

I wont vote much either way,but enjoying the write ups.. Good job guys..
 

Di Maria's angel

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The obvious pick here is Moby. But, I think I'm slightly inclined to give this to 12 ounces.

With the flat wicket, the factors you have to consider are reverse swing and some deterioration to help the spinners. Otherwise, how the hell does anyone win on the flat wicket? I reckon the likes of Kapil Dev and Johnson will be too hot to handle on the flat wicket with Murali being a huge factor later on in the match.

Moving onto the green top, well this is down to the fast bowling units. The better unit here will win their team the match. I honestly think the pacers are almost equally matched. But Moby just edges it with Ambrose being one of the best. Cook will be key given the fact that he'd have grown up playing on bowler friendly wickets.

Going into the final match on the dust bowl, its quite simply Murali vs Benaud. With Sehwag and Richards at 2 and 3, Murali won't be dislodging them in this match. Viru was a magician against spin and he'll make this match interesting on his own. Benaud against 12 ounces batting will be interesting though, the West Indians might struggle against spin, however, with Merchant, Mahela and Kapil, I really can't see a spinner, on this pitch, posing them many difficulties. Which is why, I'm giving this to 12 ounces, Murali is the god spinner and he'll end up proving his class on this wicket. Get through the top order and Murali can easily wipe out the low order.

@12OunceEpilogue wins this 2-1. Commiserations @Moby
 

12OunceEpilogue

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The obvious pick here is Moby. But, I think I'm slightly inclined to give this to 12 ounces.

With the flat wicket, the factors you have to consider are reverse swing and some deterioration to help the spinners. Otherwise, how the hell does anyone win on the flat wicket? I reckon the likes of Kapil Dev and Johnson will be too hot to handle on the flat wicket with Murali being a huge factor later on in the match.

Moving onto the green top, well this is down to the fast bowling units. The better unit here will win their team the match. I honestly think the pacers are almost equally matched. But Moby just edges it with Ambrose being one of the best. Cook will be key given the fact that he'd have grown up playing on bowler friendly wickets.

Going into the final match on the dust bowl, its quite simply Murali vs Benaud. With Sehwag and Richards at 2 and 3, Murali won't be dislodging them in this match. Viru was a magician against spin and he'll make this match interesting on his own. Benaud against 12 ounces batting will be interesting though, the West Indians might struggle against spin, however, with Merchant, Mahela and Kapil, I really can't see a spinner, on this pitch, posing them many difficulties. Which is why, I'm giving this to 12 ounces, Murali is the god spinner and he'll end up proving his class on this wicket. Get through the top order and Murali can easily wipe out the low order.

@12OunceEpilogue wins this 2-1. Commiserations @Moby
Murali's huge for me no doubt, considering he'll own the bunsen and still do a fine job elsewhere. For me in this draft I score it something like this:

01. Sir Alastair Cook..................|........Bill Lawry
02. Virender Sehwag.................|........Vijay Merchant

Openers:
Moby, by a fair distance if I'm honest. Merchant's great but doesn't have the Test record of Moby's two Test greats. I pointed out how I think my bowlers could deal with them but his is a better, more proven, more dynamic pairing.

03. Sir Vivian Richards...............|........George Headley
04. Stan McCabe.......................|.........Everton Weekes
05. Greg Chappell......................|........Mahela Jayawardene

Middle:
Moby, but it's close as far as I'm concerned. Headley would have had more to go on in Tests without WW bloody 2 but even from his 40 innings we can see he is genuinely a GOAT once-in-a-lifetime batting talent. I don't say it lightly but purely in terms of batting I prefer him at number 3 to Sir Viv (though of course Viv is the more proven Test cricketer and a GOAT overall). Everton Weekes is a beast and I love Mahela (particularly for his prowess against spin on the match 3 pitch), though I can accept McCabe and Chappell is fantastic.

06. Baron Learie Constantine.......|........Tony Greig
07. Godfrey Evans (wk)..............|........Kapil Dev C
08. Richie Benaud (c).................|........Bert Oldfield WK

Lower order (batting):
Me without a shadow of a doubt, plus Mitch who can bat.

05. Baron Learie Constantine.......|........Tony Greig
04. Richie Benaud......................|........Muttiah Muralitharan
03. Arthur Gilligan......................|........Kapil Dev
02. Sir Wes Hall.........................|........Mitchell Johnson
01. Sir Curtly Ambrose...............|........ Ian Bishop

Bowling:

Again it's close but I'm giving it to myself. We have a better blend of styles to exploit the different conditions between matches, a left arm option and a much better spinner with all respect to Richie. I prefer Greig to Constantine as he's more proven as a test cricketer, though to be fair the numbers are similar. I have a problem in convincing voters Bishop and Johnson will tear it up like I'm imagining versus a proven ATG in Ambrose and a fine quick bowler in Hall, but I think I have the edge given the blend I have in my unit and as bowling wins Test matches I see myself winning a close series.