Can we hold out?

Morning all

The inter-galactic cricketing season is coming to an end. Earth have won both of their games in the planetary Test championships thus far, and simply avoiding defeat in the third and final game, against the most talented set of alien cricketers yet, will see us crowned champions.

The pitch is a real minefield. A green top, offering real pace, zip and bounce, along with cracks showing from day one that are set to widen dramatically as the Test wears on. Likewise, the conditions on this planet mean that there is swing in abundance, and the pitch will start to offer a great deal of spin to the bowlers by the third day. In short, it is a nightmare to bat on and will need the staunchest of resistance in order to avoid defeat.

If you had to pick an Earth all-time XI to resist these aliens, who would make the side?

We're going to need the most solid of batsmen, capable of negotiating any conditions. Likewise, we are going to need bowlers that can really slow down the progress of the alien batsmen, whilst being dangerous at the same time.

Over to you...

1.Geoffrey Boycott
2.Desmond Haynes
3.Don Bradman
4.Martin Crowe
5.VVS Laxman
6.Jacques Kallis
7.Kumar Sangakarra (wk)
8.Anil Kumble
9.Wasim Akram
10.Allan Donald
11.Glenn McGrath

I think our man Lance Gibbs could be considered for this one!

I'd certainly have to find a spot for Dravid in the batting lineup, too.

Gavasker
Boycott
Dravid
Tendulkar
Miandad
Border
Flower (wkt)
Marshall
McGrath
Garner
Murali

Don't think I'd leave Bradman out, Stella.

Fists of Fury wrote:Don't think I'd leave Bradman out, Stella.

My team is from the 'modern' era. It's easier that way

Boycott
Bradman
Lara
Dravid
Steve Waugh
Jayasuriya
Flower (Wkt)
Warne
Donald
McGrath
Walsh

Boycott
Gavaskar
Border
Bradman
Tendulkar
Sobers
Miller (Pressure?!?)
Knott
Marshall
Lillee
Gibbs

12th man: Collingwood

1)Jack Hobbs
2)W.G. Grace
3)William Scotton
4)Rahul Dravid
5)Ken Barrington
6)Johnny Tydesley
7)Les Ames(wk)
8)Malcolm Marshall
9)Alec Bedser
10)SF Barnes
11)Derek Underwood

Bit of an English bias but, to me, English pitches seem closer to conditions under discussion more often, at least, than pitches elsewhere.

Forgive my ignorance but who is William Scotton?

19th Century cricketer with an average of 18.97 in first class cricket?

Hoggy - thank you for putting Barrington into this team. I think the Corporal would have us all sent to the glass house otherwise when he gets back to base and reads this thread!

How about a shout as well for May & Cowdrey after that 400 odd partnership against Ramadhin I was going on about recently?

Stella wrote:Forgive my ignorance but who is William Scotton?

William Scotton was a Notts and England left-handed batsman of the 1880s and 90s reknowned for his incredibly slow, stonewalling innings. So slow was he that after one effort at the Oval in 1886, Punch published this poem in his honour:

Block, block, block
At the foot of thy wicket, O Scotton!
And I would that my tongue would utter
My boredom. You won't put the pot on!

Oh, nice for the bowler, my boy,
That each ball like a barndoor you play!
Oh, nice for yourself, I suppose,
That you stick at the wicket all day!

And the clock's slow hands go on,
And you still keep up your sticks;
But oh! for the lift of a smiting hand,
And the sound of a swipe for six!

Block, block, block,
At the foot of thy wicket, ah do!
But one hour of Grace or Walter Read
Were worth a week of you!

In another of his great innings Scotton took 8 and a quarter hours to score 123 against XXII of Moss Vale on the Australian tour in 1884/85.
Based on this England scored 432. They then bowled out the XXII of Moss Vale for 14, but there wasn't enough time left for them to win the match.

As a follow up to that, it's interesting to note that that same match featured, possibly, the greatest bowling figures ever posted by a bowler representing England: 24-18-7-18, by Robert Peel (no, not the PM )

Hoggy_Bear wrote:

Stella wrote:Forgive my ignorance but who is William Scotton?

William Scotton was a Notts and England left-handed batsman of the 1880s and 90s reknowned for his incredibly slow, stonewalling innings. So slow was he that after one effort at the Oval in 1886, Punch published this poem in his honour:

Block, block, block
At the foot of thy wicket, O Scotton!
And I would that my tongue would utter
My boredom. You won't put the pot on!

Oh, nice for the bowler, my boy,
That each ball like a barndoor you play!
Oh, nice for yourself, I suppose,
That you stick at the wicket all day!

And the clock's slow hands go on,
And you still keep up your sticks;
But oh! for the lift of a smiting hand,
And the sound of a swipe for six!

Block, block, block,
At the foot of thy wicket, ah do!
But one hour of Grace or Walter Read
Were worth a week of you!

In another of his great innings Scotton took 8 and a quarter hours to score 123 against XXII of Moss Vale on the Australian tour in 1884/85.
Based on this England scored 432. They then bowled out the XXII of Moss Vale for 14, but there wasn't enough time left for them to win the match.

Was he Chris Tavare's great grandfather or a relative of any type?

Ha, most likely, Andy.

Hoggy, excellent stuff, I'd never heard of him, but he sounds like the sort of guy we would need here. Tremendous blocking!

Fists of Fury wrote:Ha, most likely, Andy.

Hoggy, excellent stuff, I'd never heard of him, but he sounds like the sort of guy we would need here. Tremendous blocking!

He was my partners favorite player. She loved the fact he could bat all day for 20odd and also the idea that you could go to school for the day, come home, and not really of missed anything when he was batting.

He drove me insane and could make Boycott look like Sir Viv !!!

Something like:

Boycott
Hobbs
Bradman (decent record in England...)
Dravid
S. Waugh (those two tons at Old Trafford in 97; also his bowling could prove useful)
Barrington (to please the corporal)
Knott (I'm going to put Underwood in there)
Warne (best bowler I've ever seen on a green-tinged first day wicket)
Underwood (unplayable on a wet surface)
McGrath (remember his spells at Lords in '05 and 97?)
Bedser.

Yes I know only two seamers, but Warne always says if it's green it'll turn miles, and himself and Underwood could do a lot of damage. S. Waugh's medium pacers could prove handy as well.

andyi wrote:

Fists of Fury wrote:Ha, most likely, Andy.

Hoggy, excellent stuff, I'd never heard of him, but he sounds like the sort of guy we would need here. Tremendous blocking!

He was my partners favorite player. She loved the fact he could bat all day for 20odd and also the idea that you could go to school for the day, come home, and not really of missed anything when he was batting.

He drove me insane and could make Boycott look like Sir Viv !!!

Whilst it doesn't always do the team many favours, there is something I love about a painfully slow, resolute innings where everything is met with a solid, straight defensive. Thou shalt not pass, and all that.

Fists of Fury wrote:

andyi wrote:

Fists of Fury wrote:Ha, most likely, Andy.

Hoggy, excellent stuff, I'd never heard of him, but he sounds like the sort of guy we would need here. Tremendous blocking!

He was my partners favorite player. She loved the fact he could bat all day for 20odd and also the idea that you could go to school for the day, come home, and not really of missed anything when he was batting.

He drove me insane and could make Boycott look like Sir Viv !!!

Whilst it doesn't always do the team many favours, there is something I love about a painfully slow, resolute innings where everything is met with a solid, straight defensive. Thou shalt not pass, and all that.

I agree. It's not always my cup of tea but now and again, it's great to watch. I compare it to safety play and Snooker. Century breaks and break building is great but sometimes a safety exchange can be top viewing.
Sorry to go off on a tangent.

Glad i wasn't the only one who selected Waugh.

Boycott
Gavaskar
Tavare
Bradman
Dravid
Flower (w)
Sobers
Warne
Marshall
Garner
McGrath

lol im suprised no one has done the usual, and critscized the proper CF's side!

cricketfan90 wrote:lol im suprised no one has done the usual, and critscized the proper CF's side!

It's one of your better ones CF90

whooo lol

cricketfan90 wrote:lol im suprised no one has done the usual, and critscized the proper CF's side!

Now you mention it: Sangakara and Laxman are both terrible picks

Mike Selig wrote:

cricketfan90 wrote:lol im suprised no one has done the usual, and critscized the proper CF's side!

Now you mention it: Sangakara and Laxman are both terrible picks

Not to mention Haynes

ah yes dreadful what was i thinking :facepalm

At the risk of I am naturally pleased to see mention of Barrington. Anyone who can play a test innings without scoring during a 21 over spell clearly values his innings highly. Both Barrington and Boycott were dropped for slow scoring, which has to be in their favour.

If a draw is sufficient for the Earth team then we are looking at the likes of

Boycott
Gavaskar
Hanif
Bradman
Barrington
Dravid
Tavare
Bailey
McGrath
Underwood
Gibbs

King Beer wrote:Glad i wasn't the only one who selected Waugh.

You may be the only one to pick Jayasuriya though...

Gavaskar
Dravid (wk)
Boycott
Tendulkar
Steve Waugh
Mike Hussey
Adam Hollyoak
Warne
Donald
McGrath
Jimmy Anderson

Mike Selig wrote:

King Beer wrote:Glad i wasn't the only one who selected Waugh.

You may be the only one to pick Jayasuriya though...

That one will not surprise me.

Gavaskar
Boycott - no surprises here, the man who once batted through a 60 overs ODI innings for 36 runs allied to the man whose selfishness becomes an asset in this one.
Bradman - I'd have him in any conditions.
Dravid - nicknamed the Wall, showed in England how well-equipped he is for tough conditions and good bowling attacks.
Barrington - great average, even better average number of balls faced per dismissal. The perfect player for this scenario.
Steve Waugh - if I had to choose one player to bat for my life it would be him.
Gary Sobers - not a bad player to have coming in at n°7.
Andy Flower - going for the batting option here.
Alec Bedser - would have loved the conditions.
Derek Underwood - great bowler on sticky wickets.
Sydney Barnes - ditto.

Great side, MFC.

4 high quality bowlers to keep the pressure on the aliens, whilst having the ability to take wickets/slow their scoring, and a tremendously resolute batting lineup with excellent depth.

And NEW intergalactic Test champions...

Mad for Chelsea wrote:Gavaskar
Boycott - no surprises here, the man who once batted through a 60 overs ODI innings for 36 runs allied to the man whose selfishness becomes an asset in this one.
Bradman - I'd have him in any conditions.
Dravid - nicknamed the Wall, showed in England how well-equipped he is for tough conditions and good bowling attacks.
Barrington - great average, even better average number of balls faced per dismissal. The perfect player for this scenario.
Steve Waugh - if I had to choose one player to bat for my life it would be him.
Gary Sobers - not a bad player to have coming in at n°7.
Andy Flower - going for the batting option here.
Alec Bedser - would have loved the conditions.
Derek Underwood - great bowler on sticky wickets.
Sydney Barnes - ditto.

No no no! If you have Underwood you MUST have Knott. Besides what happened to valuing keepers? ;-)