Your squads for possible charity match

[vvvrulz]

Its been rumored that there will be a fund-raising charity match comprising of an Anzac team (NZ and Australia) versus the rest of the world. Bear in mind that South Africa and England will not take part.

My question, who would you select for each respective team?
I'll begin with mine:

Anzacs:
Stephen Fleming (c)
Adam Gilchrist (w)
Ricky Ponting
Damien Martyn
Andrew Symonds
Chris Carins
Michael Clarke
Daniel Vettori
Brett Lee
Jason Gillespie
Glenn McGrath

versus..

Virender Sehwag
Sachin Tendulkar
Chris Gayle
Brian Lara (c)
Inzamam Ul-haq
Kumar Sangakkara (w)
Yuvraj Singh
Irfan Pathan
Chaminda Vaas
Shaoib Akhtar
Harbhajan Singh

Those are my squads anyway..

[Rachael]

Nice idea.. but a curious RoW team. I guess a lot would depend on where the game was to be played though: big difference i team from Perth to Mumbai!

It's a shame Kallis, Pollock and Flintoff can't play.. but without them a ODI contest might read:

Gilchrist
Hayden
Ponting
Fleming (c)
Martyn
Symonds
Oram
Cairns
Vettori
Gillespie
McGrath

Hayden would definitely play, certainly ahead of Clarke. Lee would also miss out as Oram is a better ODI bowler AND a better batsman.

Tendulkar
Gayle
Jayasuria
Sangakkara
Sarwan
Youhana
Shoaib Malik
Streak (c)
Abdul Razzaq
Vaas
Muralitheran

Lara and Inzi would have to miss out on the grounds that current ODI form doesn't merit inclusion... something even more true of Sehwag (who barely scrapes into the world's top 30 with the bat) and Yuvraj Sing (not een in the top 30).

Neither Pathan nor Akhtar have ODI bowling ratings worth mentioning (Shoaib Malik does better, as does Zoysa, and as specialists... Heath Streak and Chaminda Vaas are the obvious selections). Harbhajan Singh would only be considered if another frontline spinner was called for: he's way, WAY behind Murali in the pecking order... and with Gayle and Jayasuria in the side would be superflous on most pitches.

[Zainub]

First of all the charity match is going to be played in b/w an ICC XI and an Asian XI , not Ansac XI vs Rest of the World XI. It will be a 2 match one-day series which will be played in Australia and Asia, with the first game at the Melbourne Cricket Ground on January 10. The second one-dayer will be played some time in February or March, at a venue which will be decided later by the Asian Cricket Council. The ICC XI, to be picked by Sir Richard Hadlee, the former New Zealand allrounder, and Steve Waugh, the recent Australian captain, will be announced on Sunday, and is expected to include players from Australia, New Zealand and West Indies. The Asian XI, consisting of players from India, Pakistan and Sri Lanka, will be announced on Monday. Channel 9, the Australian broadcaster, has already committed to televising the first match live in Australia while negotiations are on with international broadcasters for the rights for the first match in the overseas market. Read more on that here

Originally Posted by Rachael

...Inzi would have to miss out on the grounds that current ODI form doesn't merit inclusion...

Ok Rachael, I let the stats to the talking for you.

Inzamam-ul-Haq (Filter1: in season 2004/05) (Filter2: in season 2004) (Filter3: in season 2003-04)

PHP Code:

 Mat  Runs  HS   BatAv 100  50   W    BB  BowlAv 5w  Ct St
 
 unfiltered           328 10267 137*  39.33  10  73   3  1/0    21.33  0  97  0
 filtered1              5   228  76*  76.00   0   3   -   -       -    -   2  0
 filtered2              11   243  72   30.37   0   2   -   -       -    -   1  0
 filtered3             17   601 123   42.92   2   1   -   -       -    -   3  0 


That means that in between 3 October 2003 (when he played in the first of five games against SA) and 13 November (when he played in the one-off match against India at Kolcatta) Inzi has played a total of 33 matches averaging 49.76...and that you say is form tha doesn't merit inclusion"...?!?! If that sort of form doesn't merit inclusion, what sort of form does, I don't know. Please tell me. Thank you.

[Rachael]

Originally Posted by Zainub Razvi

If that sort of form doesn't merit inclusion, what sort of form does, I don't know. Please tell me. Thank you. [/font]

Helpful post, Zainub: I'd not read anything about this match other than the post to start this thread and it's good to get the facts straight.

In terms of Lara and Inzi... both might figure simply as celebrity names.. and neither would look out of place.. but the fact remains that in recent times... they have been eclipsed by others.

Consider the current PWC listing:

1  +1   Adam Gilchrist  AUS  775 36.01 829 vs Sri Lanka, Dambulla 2004  
 2  -1   Jacques Kallis  SA  757 46.00 816 vs West Indies, Johannesburg 2004  
 3  +1   Sachin Tendulkar  IND  740 44.84 884 vs Sri Lanka, Delhi 1996  
 4  +12   Ramnaresh Sarwan  WI  738 47.80 753 vs Pakistan, The Rose Bowl 2004  
 5  +1   Ricky Ponting  AUS  735 41.70 796 vs South Africa, Sydney 2002  
 6  +5   Marcus Trescothick  ENG  734 38.30 779 vs South Africa, The Oval 2003  
 7  +12   Andrew Flintoff  ENG  732 35.18 768 vs Sri Lanka, The Rose Bowl 2004  
 8  -5   Chris Gayle  WI  723 39.72 803 vs Zimbabwe, Harare 2003  
 9  +12   Stephen Fleming  NZ  719 32.53 725 vs West Indies, Lord's 2004  
 10  +25   Kumar Sangakkara  SL  716 33.47 733 vs Pakistan, Lahore 2004  
 11  -2   Matthew Hayden  AUS  702 41.47 835 vs India, Centurion 2003  
 12  -4   Yousuf Youhana  PAK  700 42.04 776 vs Zimbabwe, Harare 2002  
 13  +11   Andrew Symonds  AUS  685 36.89 738 vs New Zealand, The Oval 2004  
 14    Marvan Atapattu  SL  676 37.80 750 vs Zimbabwe, East London 2003  
 15  -8   Sanath Jayasuriya  SL  674 31.92 845 vs Pakistan, Lahore 1997  
 16  -6   Brian Lara  WI  668 42.28 921 vs Pakistan, Port-of-Spain 1993  
 17  -2   Rahul Dravid  IND  663 39.35 733 vs Pakistan, Manchester 1999  
 18    Graeme Smith  SA  648 37.64 699 vs New Zealand, Wellington 2004  
 19  +20   Inzamam-ul-Haq  PAK  643 39.34 788 vs New Zealand, Wellington 1995  
 20  -3   Damien Martyn  AUS  635 40.91 705 vs India, Mumbai 2003  
 21  +32   Shoaib Malik  PAK  623 32.21 623 vs India, Kolkata 2004  
 22  -3   Abdul Razzaq  PAK  619 30.61 648 vs India, Peshawar 2004  
 22  +1   Yasir Hameed  PAK  619 38.86 700 vs Bangladesh, Colombo (SSC) 2004  
 24  -12   Boeta Dippenaar  SA  618 42.22 692 vs West Indies, Port Elizabeth 2004  
 25  +1   Sourav Ganguly  IND  604 41.83 854 vs South Africa, Vadodara 2000  
 26  -4   Herschelle Gibbs  SA  596 34.17 771 vs Sri Lanka, Durban 2003  
 27  +10   Chris Cairns  NZ  579 29.48 634 vs West Indies, Taupo 2000  
 27  -14   Virender Sehwag  IND  579 32.28 765 vs New Zealand, Auckland 2003  
 29  +7   Darren Lehmann  AUS  574 39.33 733 vs West Indies, Port-of-Spain 1999  
 30  -1   Shivnarine Chanderpaul  WI  573 35.62 753 vs South Africa, Durban 1999

ON that basis the top Asian batsmen would be 1. Tendulkar, 2. Sangakkara, 3. Youhana, 4. Atapattu, 5. Jayasuria, 6. Inzi, 7. Shoaib Malik and 8. Abdul Razzaq. I presume that an all Asian side would play all 8 of those plus Vaas, Zoysa and Muralitheran.

If the ICC invitational XI was to include any non Asian then I guess the XI I listed would also change:

Gayle
Hayden
Ponting
Sarwan
Fleming (c)
Symonds
Gilchrist
Streak
Vettori
Gillespie
McGrath

Still no place for Lara :-(

[Ernest]

In a match such as this, then Lara has to be included, if we are to draw people to the tunstiles, then we need all the big names we can get.
And who could be bigger than lara, world record holder"twice", how can he be kept out.
Or are there a terms of reference that would keep him out?.

[Zainub]

Those ratings can be a bit misleading you know, but anyway, it will be interesting seeing what side Steve Waugh and Sir Richard Hadlee pick (I don't reckon it would be much different from the current Aussie ODI side, may be for the exception of one or two players at the most). I definately look forward to seeing that match.

[Rachael]

I think Ernest is right in thinking that this match will be more of a celebrity romp for big names than a classic contest between great teams: aside from anything else.. the ICC invitational XI could easily be so strong that the combined Asian XI doesn't stand a chance.. and that isn't what people want to see.

I'm assuming they will pick sqads rather than final XIs... and change them for the two venues.. but a celebrity invitationsal XI will presumably guarantee a place for Inzi.. and probably (though wrongly in my view) Pathan and Akhtar. Wqually, one suspects that Lara will be preferred to Sarwan.. and that Gayle might miss out.

[dagonz]

I don't think you need to take celebrity factor into account here. We have been screaming out for a real contest down here and would probably appreciate the best rather than the flashiest. As for pulling crowds, this is Victoria where sport has become a religion and the great temple is the M.C.G. (sounds dramatic but it does get that way here sometimes) So to support such a good cause i think victorians will be hanging from the rafters and giving whatever they can.

[Ernest]

With respect, as it is a charity match, I think the biggest name are needed, and I think the West Indies would wish to be represented, and who better than Brian Lara?, no matter where he is playing, he is one og the biggest attractions in the game.

Originally Posted by Rachael

It's a shame Kallis, Pollock and Flintoff can't play.

Yes I agree, some talent and attraction to have to omit there.

[Rachael]

Just as an excercise I tried putting together sides for an ultimate invitational contest.. but based on the 16 highest rated specialist batsmen (includes 2 keepers and some top bowlers).. aided by the 6 highest ranked specialist bowlers. I came up with this:

Team 'A' - slight (6 man) Aussie flavour......

1. Hayden
2. Gayle
3. Kallis
4. Ponting
5. Lara
6. Flemming
7. Gilchrist
8. Symonds
9. Oram
10. Gillespie
11. McGrath

Team 'B' - slight (7 man) Asian flavour

1. Jayasuria
2. Tresco
3. Sangakkara
4. Tendulkar
5. Sarwan
6. Youhana
7. Flintoff
8. Atapattu
9. Pollock
10. Vaas
11. Muralitheran

I reckon that would be quite some contest!!!