Tag: Abdul Qadir

All Time XIs – Match Ups 58

Welcome to the latest installment in my extended analysis of how the all time XIs I selected for each letter of the alphabet fare against one another. Today is a transitional post, seeing the end of the Qs, who currently have 6 of a possible 105 points, and bringing the Rs into the spotlight, with 57 of a possible 85 points accrued from the matches in which they are alphabetically second.

THE Qs V THE Ws

This is the most ludicrously one-sided match up I have yet presented. The Ws utterly dominate in batting and pace/ seam bowling, have the better keeper and the better captain, and even in the Qs best department, spin bowling, the Ws are clear: Qs 0, Ws 5, and the Qs are lucky to get 0.

THE Qs V THE Xs

The Qs have the better opening pair, though DeXter wins the number three slot hands down, KippaX the number four slot even more handily, and LoXton at number five is likewise clear. AXar Patel wins his batting match up at six and outranks Iqbal Qasim as left arm spinner. Xenophon Balaskas wins the batting match up at seven but Qadir outranks him as a leg spinner. OXenham wins the batting match up at number eight and has no bowling challenger in the Qs ranks. BoX wins the keeping match up and wins the batting match up at number nine. MaX Walker hugely outranks Quinn as a bowler, Qais Ahmad however outranks Max Waller as a bowler. The Xs have stronger batting, stronger pace/ seam bowling, the better keeper and the better captain. The Qs have better spin bowling, and though I cannot give the Qs a whole point I will score this Qs 0.5, Xs 4.5.

THE Qs V THE Ys

The Qs have the better opening pair, The Ys then win every batting match up down to number seven, with Yardley outranking Quinlan as a bowler, outranking Qadir as a captain, and S Yousuf outranking Bernard Quaife with the gloves. The Ys also outrank the Qs in pace/seam bowling. The Qs have a numerical advantage in the spin bowling department, but my feeling is that the Ys two spinners are better, so I score this one Qs 0, Ys 5.

THE Qs V THE Zs

The Zs dominate the batting and are ahead on pace/ seam bowling, but the Qs have to be given the spin bowling. I score this one Qs 0.5, Zs 4.5.

THE Qs FINAL SCORE

The Qs have scored 1 point out of 20 today, and finish with 7 out of 125, just 5.6% overall.

THE Rs V THE Ss

Before I get into this match up, one comment about the Rs: Sikandar Raza of Zimbabwe made headlines at the recent T20 World Cup, and probably merits an honourable mention under the heading of players who would be selected if I was picking with limited overs in mind. His long form record is not good enough to merit selection in this XI, though I could accommodate him in place of Robins, making Rhodes the captain (although Rhodes never officially captained, the various amateurs who captained him for Yorkshire and England pretty much took their cue from him) as I did when picking my all time Yorkshire XI.

The Ss have the better opening pair – Strauss outranks Rogers on sample size, and similarly Sutcliffe has to be considered on a level with B Richards, even given Richard’s average from the four tests he got to play. Number three goes to the Rs, number four is won by the Ss, who also win the batting element of every other match up down to number eight. Russell is definitely the superior keeper, and both sides are splendidly captained. The Ss have slightly the better front line pace trio, giving Starc’s left arm credit for adding variation, and they also have back up options in the form of Stokes and the quicker version of Sobers. Robins and Stevens rank about equally as leg spinners, Rhodes outranks Sobers the finger spinner by a large margin, but Sobers also bowled wrist spin, and the Rs have only part timers (Root and two Richardses) to bowl anything with a similar angle of attack to left arm wrist spin. Nevertheless, I think the Rs have to be given the spin bowling honours. I think the Ss advantages in batting and pace/ seam bowling just outweigh the Rs advantages in keeping and spin bowling, and award them the spoils by the barest of margins: Rs 2, Ss 3.

THE Rs PROGRESS REPORT

The Rs now have 59 of a possible 90 points, 65.6% overall.

PHOTOGRAPHS

I recently acquired some cricket cigarette cards, so this is a two part gallery – the cricket stuff first and then some of my more usual photos. The first part of the gallery will feature links to relevant posts.

Syd Barnes, one half of the new ball pairing for the Bs.
George Dennett, captain of the Ds.
Percy Fender, captain of the Fs.
FS Jackson, captain of the Js.
The immense batting strength of the Hs restricted Hayward to to an honourable mention.
Johnny Tyldesley just missed out on a place in the Ts.

Now for some of my regular photos…

All Time XIs – Match Ups 57

Continuing my extended analysis of how the all time XIs I selected for each letter of the alphabet fare against one another.

Welcome to the latest instalment in my extended analysis of how the all time XIs I selected for each letter of the alphabet fare against one another. Today sees the Qs take their place in the spotlight, currently having amassed 4.5 of a possible 80 points from the matches in which they were alphabetically second.

THE Qs V THE Rs

The Rs are utterly dominant in batting and pace bowling (the Qs sole accredited pace/ seam bowler ranks fourth in this match up, some way behind all three of the Rs pacers, have the better captain and the better keeper. The Qs have a numerical superiority in spinners, but until and unless Qais Ahmad develops his record to prove otherwise, the Rs two practitioners of spin bowling, Robins and Rhodes rank numbers one and two in that department. This is Qs 0, Rs 5.

THE Qs V THE Ss

The Ss absolutely boss the batting and pace bowling departments and have the better captain. The Qs are level on keeping and ahead on spin bowling, but not by enough to effect the scoreline: Qs 0, Ss 5.

THE Qs V THE Ts

The Qs win the batting match up at number seven, though Bob Taylor far outranks Bernard Quaife as a keeper. Appearances suggest they win the batting element of the match up of number three but I would argue otherwise – batting was more difficult in the early years of the 20th century when Tarrant played most of his cricket than it was in Qasim Umar’s day. Otherwise, it is the usual story for the Qs – any surface that offers Qadir, Qasim and Qais Ahmad assistance will also be good for Tarrant and Trumble, so once again the Qs suffer their regular fate: Qs 0, Ts 5.

THE Qs V THE Us

The Qs have the better opening pair here – Quinton de Kock outranks Ulyett by more than Umar outranks Quaife. Qasim Umar wins the match up at number three. Then normal service is resumed, with the Us winning every match up from four to seven inclusive, though Bernard Quaife outranks Umar Akmal as a keeper. The Us have the better captain. Even their less than impressive pace attack beats that of the Qs. The Qs have a numerical superiority in the spin department, but Underwood ranks as the best such bowler on either side, and Ur Rahman would outrank Qais Ahmad, if not as yet Qasim and Qadir. I will acknowledge the Qs possession of the stronger top order and probably a better spin attack to offset some of the damage they take elsewhere, but this a clear win for the Us: Qs 1.5, Us 3.5.

THE Qs V THE Vs

The Qs have marginally the better opening pair, but the Vs win every other batting match up down to number nine, they have the better captain, probably the better keeper. They absolutely dominate the pace bowling, and Verity and Vogler would rank as the two best spinners in this match up. On any surface giving serious assistance to the Qs spinners, Verity and Vogler would both be utterly unplayable. Thus only one scoreline in possible: Qs 0, Vs 5.

THE Qs PROGRESS REPORT

The Qs have scored 1.5 of a possible 25 points and are now on 6 out of 105, 5.76% so far

PHOTOGRAPHS

All Time XIs – Match Ups 55

Continuing my extended analysis of how the all time XIs I created for each letter of the alphabet. Also a couple og bonus features in addition to the regular photo gallery.

Welcome to the latest instalment in my extended analysis of how my all time XIs fare against one another. This is the first of two posts which between them will cover every match up in which the Ps come alphabetically first. They have 49 out of 75 points coming into the spotlight. There are also a couple of bonus features, after the main body of the post and before the final photograph gallery.

THE Ps V THE Qs

Close contests involving the Qs have been rare in this series, and this one does not buck that trend in any way. The Ps absolutely boss the batting, have the better captain, the better keeper and a far better pace attack. Only in spin bowling are the Qs possibly ahead, and if they do have an advantage there it is not enough to alter the scoreline: Ps 5, Qs 0.

THE Ps V THE Rs

The Rs have the better opening partnership – Rogers clearly outranks Petersen, while no lesser person than Sir Donald Bradman, an Aussie team mat of Ponsford to boot, rated Barry Richards ahead of Ponsford. Ponting outranks Viv Richards, though not by much, while Root’s larger sample size does not wipe out a 10.83 run per innings gap in batting averages between him and G Pollock. Pietersen would seem to outrank Ranjitsinhji, but the latter played in an era when batting was more difficult, with pitches often treacherous, and Ranji got no easy opponents to cash in on (all his tests were played against Australia). Pant outranks Robins with the bat, while the latter is on a par with Procter as a skipper and outranks Prasanna as a bowler. Procter outbats Russell, while the latter was a finer keeper than Pant, and Procter is up there with any of the Rs fast bowlers, as great as they are. S Pollock outranks Roberts in both departments, while Rabada marginally outranks P Pollock as a bowler. Rhodes undoubtedly outranks Parker as a left arm spinner. The Rs are ahead in batting and keeping and about even in fast bowling, the Ps have an advantage in spin bowling. This is close, but I think that the the Rs are just winning it: Ps 2, Rs 3.

THE Ps V THE Ss

The Ss have the better opening pair – Sutcliffe was a near contemporary of Ponsford and outdid him at the highest level, while Strauss definitely outranks Petersen. Ponting wins the number three slot, bu G Pollock outranks S Smith – all evidence points to Pollock being on an upward trajectory when the curtain came down on SA’s first period as a test playing nation. Sangakkara outranks Pietersen with the bat, but Pant rates higher than him with the gloves. Sobers wins his batting match up with Pant, and has no bowling equivalent in the Ps ranks, though Parker was a finer exponent of left arm orthodox spin. Stokes wins the batting match up with Procter, but the Saffa was a much greater bowler than Stokes. Stevens outranks S Pollock as a batter, and marginally loses the nearest bowling match up for him, against Prasanna. The pace bowling is quite close in terms of the front liners – the Rs are a little better on averages, but the Ss have Starc’s left arm to add variety. Also, the Ss have back up in that department in the form of Stokes and the quicker versions of Sobers the bowler, which tips the scales in their favour in that department. The Ss thus win on batting and pace/ seam bowling, tie on captaincy, lose narrowly on spin bowling and heavily on keeping. I think the Ss are winning, and score this Ps 2, Ss 3.

THE Ps V THE Ts

The Ts have the better opening pair – Trumper’s average of 39.04 on Victorian and Edwardian pitches is a more impressive achievement than Ponsford’s 48.22 on the shirtfronts of the interwar era, and ‘tubs’ Taylor clearly outranks Petersen. Ponting wins the batting match up at three, but Tarrant offers a bowling option comparable to Parker in quality. The number four batting match up is a draw, featuring two all time greats of the game. Superficially Pietersen seems to have Thorpe beaten in the number five slot, but Pietersen had a lot more support from the rest of the order than Thorpe, so I am giving Thorpe the verdict. Ross Taylor outranks Pant with the bat, while Bob Taylor was much better keeper. Procter outranks Bob Taylor with the bat, and also wins the bowling match up against Thomson. S Pollock outranks Trumble with the bat, but is outranked by Trueman with the ball, Peter Pollock just loses his match up against the even quicker Frank Tyson, and Trumble comfortably outpoints Prasanna in the battle of the off spinners. It is close with the bat, and in the fast bowling department, both sides are well captained, but the Ts have clear advantages in keeping and spin bowling, so I give them a narrow win in the contest: Ps 2, Ts 3.

THE Ps V THE Us

The Ps have an overwhelming superiority in batting and fast bowling, the better keeper and a captain at least the equal of his opposite number in that role. Underwood outranks Parker with the ball and it maybe that in time Ur Rahman will end up outranking Prasanna, but at the moment he is unproven. Nevertheless, I will concede that the Us win the spin bowling department, and allow them one big day out: Ps 4, Us 1.

THE Ps PROGRESS REPORT

The Ps have scored 15 points out of 25 today and move up to 64 points out of 100, 64%.

A BOOK REVIEW

I have just finished reading “How to Make an Apple Pie from Scratch: In Search of the Recipe for Our Universe” by Harry Cliff, a quirky account of the current state of play in Particle Physics and Cosmology. I thoroughly enjoyed reading it and heartily recommend it.

CLIMATE CHANGE AT WORK

Bear in mind as you read this section that we are in the middle of November, and my home is roughly 100 miles north of London. This morning I walked into town by way of Bawsey Drain, and back by the route I use most frequently for this trip. On the outbound trip I saw a red admiral butterfly in a patch of nettles – a creature I have never previously seen in Norfolk any later than September. Then, on the homeward journey I saw a ruddy darter, a species of damselfly and hence even more out of place in Norfolk at this time of year, sunning itself (yes, a damselfly sunning itself in an English November, you read that right) on a brick wall.

PHOTOGRAPHS

Time for my usual sign off…

All Time XIs – Match Ups 50

Continuing my extended analysis of how the all time XIs I selected for each letter of the alphabet fare against one another. There is a mention here of someone who has just announced themselves on the world stage and may claim a place in the Ns XI (at the likely expense of Sarfraz Nawaz) in due course.

Welcome to the latest instalment in my extended analysis of how the all time XIs I selected for each letter of the alphabet fare against one another. Today is transition post – we reach the end of the Ms who come into today with 92 out of a possible 115 points and we usher the Ns into the spotlight for the first three match ups in which they are alphabetically first. The Ns come into today with 12.5 of a possible 65 points banked from their earlier match ups.

THE Ms V THE Ys

The Ms have the better opening pair by a distance, the Ys win the number three slot comfortably batting wise, although Macartney’s bowling needs to be acknowledged. The Ys also win the number four slot but by less. The Ms comfortably win the number five slot, Miller blows Yardley out of the water in both departments, and loses little if anything on the captaincy comparison. Marsh wins the battle of the keepers, the pace bowling is a walkover win for the Ms, whose third ranked out and out fast bowler rates above the Ys best. Young is outranked by Murali, though Poonam Yadav’s leg spin may just outrank Mahmood’s leg cutters. The Ms have Macartney in reserve, so even on a turning track they should have enough options to ensure that powerful batting prevails. I score this one Ms 5, Ys 0.

THE Ms V THE Zs

The Ms have the better batting, better captain, better keeper, better pace bowlers and better spinners, leading to only one possible outcome: Ms 5, Zs 0.

THE Ms FINAL SCORE

The Ms have scored 102 out of 125 points, 81.6% overall.

THE Ns V THE Os

Before I get on to analysing this match up, the first to involve two teams who are both from the second half of the alphabet, I have a point to make regarding the Ns line up. The selection element of these Xs took place a good while before the T20 World Cup 2022 got underway. If he can prove that his performances at that tournament were not a fluke and that he really is that good, Zimbabwean left arm pacer Richard Ngarava will be on course to dislodge Sarfraz Nawaz, strengthening the bowling and improving its balance.

The Ns as things stand have the better opening pair, though Orr may very well be the best batter out of the four of them he has yet to be tested at the highest level, and Oldroyd is out of his proper position. Nurse and Dudley Nourse win the number three and four slots. Odumbe outranks Dave Nourse in both departments. Noble wins the batting element of the number six slot, though Ojha probably outranks him as a finger spinner, and the Os also have Odumbe. The Ns win the pace/ seam bowling element, though O’Riordan’s left arm, the only left arm seam/ pace option on either side narrows the gap considerably, and O’Reilly massively outranks Nadeem. Neither side is strong in batting but the Os advantage in spin bowling outweighs the Ns advantage in seam/ pace bowling. The Ns have the finer captain, although I reckon O’Reilly would have been a fine skipper given the opportunity. The Os have the finer keeper. Overall I think the Os just have this but it is close: Ns 2, Os 3.

THE Ns v THE Ps

The Ps have an overwhelming advantage in batting and in fast bowling, Prasanna would rate as at least the equal of Noble as an off spinner while Parker is streets ahead of Nadeem is a left armer. The Ns probably have the better keeper. They also have a sixth genuine bowling option, in Nichols. I will allow a small possibility of an upset somewhere along the line and score this Ns 0.5, Ps 4.5.

THE Ns V THE Qs

The Ns are stronger in batting, much stronger in pace/seam bowling, better captained and have the better keeper. As against that the Qs undeniably have a better spin attack. I will allow the Qs spinners one big day out and score this one: Ns 4, Qs 1.

THE Ns PROGRESS REPORT

The Ns have scored 6.5 of a possible 15 points today, putting them on 19 points out of a possible 80, 23.75% overall.

PHOTOGRAPHS

My usual sign off…

All Time XIs – Match Ups 45

Continuing my extended analysis of how the all time XIs I selected for each letter of the alphabet fare against one another.

Welcome to the latest instalment in my extended analysis of how the all time XIs I selected for each letter of the alphabet fare against each other. Today the Ls enter the spotlight, with 40.5 of a possible 55 points banked from the teams who are alphabetically ahead of them.

THE Ls V THE Ms

Considered purely an averages the Ls have the better opening pair, but 1) Labuschagne is batting out of position, 2)Morris and Merchant both played on uncovered pitches, Labuschagne didn’t, 3)Merchant’s test average is reduced by the fact that his career at that level was so very spread out – he played 10 test matches, spread over 18 years, with a world war in the middle, and in FC cricket where he played on a much more regular basis he averaged 71, second only to Bradman. In view of all of these considerations I give the Ms the better opening pair. The Ls have much the better number three, but Macartney compensates by offering a bowling option. Number four goes to the Ms, as does number five, though Lloyd rates above Miller as a captain. Miller wins the number six slot batting wise, and is of similar standard with the ball to Lindwall. Marsh comfortably wins the battle of the keepers. Both sides have superb new ball pairs, Laker and Murali are two titans of off spin bowling, while I think Langridge offers the Ls more variation than Mahmood does the Ms. I think the key here is Macartney, and for that reason I score this Ls 1.5, Ms 3.5

THE Ls V THE Ns

The Ls dominate everywhere except at number four batting wise. They also have the better keeper, a better pace attack and a better spin combination, while it is about even on captaincy. I see no way for the Ns to offer any sort of a challenge and score this one Ls 5, Ns 0.

THE Ls V THE Os

The Ls dominate, though the Os do boast the better keeper, and they have a more varied bowling unit. Still, this cannot be seen as other than exceedingly one sided: Ls 5, Os 0.

THE Ls V THE Ps

The Ls, the caveat about Labuschagne’s position notwithstanding, have the better opening pair, number three is a clash of cricketing titans, the Ps win the number four slot hands down and are marginally ahead at number five. Pant wins the batting element of his match up, though Langley was the finer keeper. Procter wins his batting match up, and probably rates close to Lindwall as a bowler. Lillee and Lohmann outrank S and P Pollock, and while Parker was a finer spinner than Langridge, Laker outranks Prasanna. I make the Ps a little stronger in batting, and the Ls stronger in bowling, and thus give the Ls the verdict: Ls 3, Ps 2.

THE Ls V THE Qs

Here the Ls absolutely dominate. The have the better batting by far, the better captain by far, the better keeper, they are utterly dominant in the pace bowling department, and though they have only two spin options to the Qs three those are the two best spinners on either side, thus there can be only one result: Ls 5, Qs 0.

THE Ls PROGRESS

The Ls have scored 19.5 out of 25 today, which moves them on to 60 out of 80, 75% so far.

PHOTOGRAPHS

This photo gallery comprises pictures taken between Queen Elizabeth Hospital, where I attended this morning for glaucoma tests. I compromised on the journey, using the bus on the way in but walking all the way home, hence the fact that the first pic is in hospital grounds.

shared space with cars in the grounds of a hospital, and the protection given to pedestrians consists of PAINT
The Gaywood Clock, about half way home in distance terms, though not time as I called in at Gaywood library.
This muntjac was near the Gaywood river path.

All Time XIs – Match Ups 43

Continuing my extended analysis of how the all time XIs I selected for each letter of the alphabet fare against one another.

Welcome to the latest instalment in my extended analysis of how the all time XIs I selected for each letter of the alphabet fare against one another. The Ks continue to occupy the spotlight, and they come into today on 53.5 of a possible 75 points.

THE Ks V THE Qs

An easy one to start – the Ks boss all departments completely, and the Qs can do nothing to prevent the inevitable: Ks 5, Qs 0.

THE Ks V THE Rs

The Rs win the first four batting match ups (sorry India fans, Root has more runs, more centuries and a higher average than Kohli), though Kallis outranks Ranji and offers a bowling option. The Ks have the better all rounder, while both sides are excellently captained. The Rs have the finer keeper. Both sides have superb pace trios, the Rs possibly just the better. The Rs also have a small edge in spin bowling, with Rhodes and Robins being better balanced than the Ks two leg spinners. The Ks have a fourth seam option in Kallis, as against which the Rs have part time off spin available from Root or either Richards. In the end the sheer power of the Rs top batting, and their more varied bowling unit leads me to give them the verdict, just: Ks 2, Rs 3.

THE Ks V THE Ss

The Ss win the first four batting slots, narrowly lose the batting match up at five. Sobers beats I Khan with the bat, though the latter outranks G Smith as a captain. Kirmani wins the keeping match up, but Sangakkara as keeper gives the Ss a bonus pick – Stokes has no match up in the Ks ranks. Both sides have ace fast bowling trios, though the Ss have a small edge there in the form of Starc’s left arm. The Ss not only have Stokes as fourth seamer (he outranks Kallis the bowler), they also have the quicker version of Sobers as a fifth seam option, and a second left armed one. The Ks do have better spinners, but the Ss with Stevens leg spin, and Sobers in his slower guises cover every spin angle (left arm wrist spin is quite similar in angle to off spin). I think the Ss have this one quite comfortably, but the Ks would avoid a whitewash: Ks 1 Ss 4.

THE Ks V THE Ts

The Ts have the better opening pair, and by more than the figures suggest – Trumper played on some rough pitches and would undoubtedly average a lot more on 21st century surfaces. The Ks win the number three slot batting wise. Tendulkar wins the number four slot, Kallis the number five. Ross Taylor outbats I Khan but does not offer a bowling option. I Khan outranks Mark Taylor as a skipper. Bob Taylor wins the keeping match up. Trumble was a better spinner than either of the Ks two, and Frank Tarrant also ranks very high. The Ts pace trio is the fastest in this series, and they outrank the Ks for quality as well. The Ks of course have the Kallis factor on their side, but I do not think that is enough for them to win outright: Ks 2.5, Ts 2.5.

THE Ks V THE Us

The Ks win in all departments. It is just conceivable that Underwood and Ur Rahman would prove better than Kumble and R Khan on a turner, so I will score this as Ks 4, Us 1.

THE Ks PROGRESS

The Ks have scored 14.5 out of 25 today, putting them on 68 out of 100, 68% overall.

PHOTOGRAPHS

My usual sign off…

All Time XIs – Match Ups 29

Welcome to the latest instalment in my extended analysis of how the teams I selected for each letter of the alphabet. The Gs are currently in the spotlight and start today with 37.5 of a possible 55 points. There are links (light blue text) back to the posts I created for today’s featured sides in the selection stage of this series.

THE Gs V THE Ms

The opening pairs are both stellar. I rate WG as the better number three – Macartney benefitted from some very flat pitches – 16 of the 25 all time leading run scorers in FC history played some part of their careers in the inter-war years (Macartney finished his test career in 1926) and there is a reason why that era was known for tall scoring, especially in Australia. Grace is the only super stacker to have played all his FC cricket before WWI (an appearance for The Gentlemen of England v Surrey early in the 1908 season was his last FC match). Second and third among all time pre-WWI scorers in FC cricket are Fry and Ranji, both over 20,000 runs behind Grace. I give the number four slot to Gower – his test average is a few runs per innings lower than Mead’s, but the sample size is much larger for him. Miandad definitely gets the verdict over Graveney. Gilchrist wins the batting element of the keepers match up by a greater margin than he loses the keeping element. Miller outpoints Gregory in both departments. The Ms have a significant advantage in pace bowling – only Garner among the Gs specialist pacers would find a place in the Ms XI did one change the opening letter of his name. As against that, while Murali clearly outpoints Gibbs, Grimmett outranks Mahmood and gives the Gs a better balanced attack than the Ms. Both Grace and Miller were fine skippers, though I think Grace has to be awarded the palm in this department. I cannot pick a winner of this epic contest: Gs 2.5, Ms 2.5.

THE Gs V THE Ns

The Gs have far the better opening pair, Grace is about even on batting with Nurse given the different eras in which they played, Dudley Nourse outpoints Gower, but Dave Nourse is outpointed by Graveney. Noble is outbatted by Gilchrist and outbowled by Gibbs, Nixon is outbatted by Gregory but outkeeps Gilchrist. The Gs win the pace bowling match up due to having Garner in their ranks, and they are miles clear in spin bowling, with Grimmett outbowling Nadeem by an even bigger margin than Gibbs outbowls Noble. Only in middle order batting, and that not by much, can the Ns claim an advantage: Gs 5, Ns 0.

THE Gs V THE Os

The Gs absolutely boss the batting, with every match up in that department going their way bar Gower v O’Neill, which goes to the Aussie by a fraction. The seam bowling is also overwhelmingly in the Gs favour. Grace massively outranks O’Reilly (who never actually had the job IRL) as a skipper, and Oldfield wins the keeping side of his match up against Gilchrist. The Gs win the spin bowling – Gibbs outranking Ojha, while O’Reilly and Grimmett were both absolute titans of leg spin. There is simply no way the Os can offer any serious resistance: Gs 5, Os 0.

THE Gs V THE Ps

With all due respect to Ponsford, the Gs have the better opening pair. The Ps win the batting element of the number three slot, but by much less than raw figures suggest – Grace’s average, recorded between the ages of 32 and almost 51, equates to about 48 on 21st century pitches. G Pollock clearly wins the battle of the left handed stroke players at number four. Pietersen and Graveney is a closer battle – Graveney, a stroke maker by instinct, played in an era when scoring rates were generally slow and would probably have fared better in Pietersen’s era than he did in his own. I make this one level pegging. Gilchrist outpoints Pant, although Pant is young enough that he may yet change that. Circumstances restricted Procter to a handful of tests, in which he fared very well. Myself I think Gregory probably wins the batting element of their match up, while Procter very comfortably wins the bowling element. S Pollock outpoints Geary in both departments. P Pollock loses his match up to Garner. Grimmett outranks Parker for my money, though the scandalous way in which the England selectors of that era treated Parker makes it hard to be sure. Gibbs v Prasanna is more clear cut – their test careers had an overlap, Gibbs took more wickets at a better average, and Prasanna’s home pitches favoured spin more than Gibbs’ did, giving Gibbs a comfortable win. I make the Gs slightly the better batting side, and I just rank Grace ahead of Procter as a skipper, and I think they have a bigger advantage in spin bowling than the Ps do in pace bowling. This is a superb contest and I score it Gs 3, Ps 2.

THE Gs V THE Qs

This is a total non-contest. The Gs win every match up batting wise, have the better keeper, far the better captain, are the only side who can actually be said to have a pace attack, and barring something extraordinary from the largely untried Qais Ahmad they also boss the spin bowling department. Fs 5. Qs 0.

THE Gs PROGRESS UPDATE

The Gs have scored 20.5 of a possible 25 points today, moving them up to 58 of a possible 80 points, 72.5% so far.

PHOTOGRAPHS

My usual sign off…

All Time XIs – Match Ups 26

Continuing my extended analysis of how the all time XIs I selected for each letter of the alphabet fare against one another, and of course a photo gallery.

Welcome to the latest stage of my extended analysis of how the all time XIs I selected for each letter of the alphabet fare against one another. Today the Fs are in the spotlight, and they start with 51 of a possible 75 points.

THE Fs V THE Qs

The Fs dominate in all departments, with only Quinton de Kock theoretically winning his match up against CB Fry, and that comes with the caveat that Fry played on uncovered pitches and was known for his skill on bad surfaces. This is an obvious Fs 5, Qs 0.

THE Fs v THE Rs

The Rs are better in the top five slots, though a larger sample size and the small difference between averages certainly squares the Fredericks/ Rogers match up. Additionally Faulkner offers a bowling option, which none of the Rs top five do to the same extent. Fender outranks Robins as a player while both were superb captains, Foakes is clear of Russell with the bat and of similarly stratospheric standards with the gloves. Freeman, Ferris and Foster have to be rated ahead of Roberts, Rabada and Richardson as a pace combo, though Rhodes far outranks Flowers as a finger spinner. As against that on a turning surface the Rs could only deploy front line spin from one end, their best back up spin options being Richards and Root, both part timers, whereas the Fs have the wrist spinning talents of Fender and Faulkner at their disposal. I give the Fs a comfortable margin of superiority here: Fs 4, Rs 1.

THE Fs V THE Ss

The Ss have a massive batting superiority, though the Fs are ahead in bowling, especially in the spin department, where Stevens and the slow bowling incarnation of Sobers are well behind the Flowers/ Fender/ Faulkner trio. Foakes is far the better keeper, and Fender outranks G Smith as a skipper. The Ss will give a good account of themselves, but the Fs have the better bowling guns and will win: Fs 3, Ss 2.

THE Fs V THE Ts

The Ts have the better opening pair, and also win the numbers 4,5 and 6 slots with the bat. Tarrant is ahead of Faulkner with the ball, and any advantage Bob Taylor has behind the stumps is accounted for by Foakes’ better batting. Also I rate Fender ahead of ‘Tubs’ as a skipper, though the Aussie was a worthy successor to Border in that role. Trumble comfortably outranks Flowers as an off spinner, but his position at number eight is telling as to which side had greater batting depth. The Ts pace trio are much quicker than the Fs, but the Fs are more varied, and overall a better combination. The Ts would win on turning surfaces but not elsewhere: Fs 3, Ts 2.

THE Fs V THE Us

The Fs are stronger in the top three batting slots, lose batting wise in positions 4 and 5, though Faulkner’s bowling mitigates that. Umrigar gives the Us extra batting strength, but he was a bit part bowler, ranking comfortably below either Faulkner or Fender. Fender outranks Misbah ul Haq as skipper. Umar Akmal outbats Foakes, but is simply not in his league as a keeper. The ordinary Umar Gul and unproven Umran Malik, plus Ulyett the bowler are way adrift of Ferris, Freeman and Foster as a pace trio. Underwood and Ur Rahman are probably better than any pairing from Flowers, Fender and Faulkner, but there are only two of them, with the expensive Umrigar third spin option. I think the Fs have a clear but not whitewash advantage here: Fs 4, Us 1.

THE Fs PROGRESS REPORT

The Fs have accrued 19 of a possible 25 points today and are now on 70 out of 100, 70% exactly.

PHOTOGRAPHS

My usual sign off…

All Time XIs – Match Ups 22

Continuing my extended analysis of how the all time XIs I selected for each letter of the alphabet fare against one another.

Welcome to the latest instalment in my extended analysis of how the all time XIs I selected for each letter of the alphabet fare against one another. The Es XI continue to occupy the spotlight, and they start today on 21 of a possible 75 points.

THE Es V THE Qs

The Es dominate the batting, and are also massively superior in pace bowling, having a proper new ball pairing in the form of T Emmett and Elliott, whereas the Qs only front line seamer is a bad third in the seam bowling rankings across the sides. The Qs have a numerical advantage in the slow bowling department, but Ecclestone is probably the best individual slow bowler on either side. I do not think that even on a turning pitch the Qs can close the gulf between them and the Es and accordingly score this one Es 5, Qs 0.

THE Es V THE Rs

The Rs win the first five batting match ups, and while Endean ranks ahead of Robins as a batter, Robins’ all round skills partly compensate for that, and he also comfortably outranks the fairly pedestrian Elgar as a captain. Russell’s batting advantage of over 6.5 per innings over G Evans undoubtedly more than makes up for any slight superiority Evans may have had as a keeper. The Rs are comfortably clear in bowling as well – they have three front line pacers to the Es two, and magnificent though she is Ecclestone cannot be ranked ahead of Rhodes in the pantheon of left arm spinners. I score this one Es 0, Rs 5.

THE Es V THE Ss

The Ss dominate in all departments save wicket keeping – G Evans was undoubtedly a finer keeper than Sangakkara. Es 0, Ss 5.

THE Es V THE Ts

I give the Ts the verdict on opening pairs – Taylor’s marginal disadvantage v J Edrich is compensated for by his greater tally of runs, while Trumper made his runs on much more difficult pitches than Elgar. Additionally I would rate Taylor a better skipper than Elgar. While Tarrant loses the batting element of his match up against Bill Edrich, he offers an extra bowling option. The Ts have an overwhelming advantage in the number 4,5 and 6 positions. Bob Taylor ranks below Evans with the bat, similarly as a keeper. The Ts have far the stronger pace attack, and while Ecclestone just outranks Tarrant as a bowler Trumble has a significant advantage over E Evans. The Ts are well ahead and I score this Es 0, Ts 5.

THE Es V THE Us

The Es win the first three batting slots, the Us win the the next three. Umar Akmal outranks G Evans with the bat but is miles behind him as a keeper. The Es comfortably outrank the Us in the new ball contest, though Ulyett’s presence as a third pace option reduces the gap in this department. Ecclestone against Underwood is a mighty contest, though Ecclestone offers more with the bat. Given that he has done his bowling on 21st century pitches, which offer less to slow bowlers than the 19th century surfaces that E Evans exploited I put Ur Rahman ahead in this match up. Overall the Es should have enough, but it is close: Es 3, Us 2.

THE Es PROGRESS REPORT

The Es have scored 8 of a possible 25 points today, moving them to 29 out of 100 – 29%.

PHOTOGRAPHY

Today’s photo gallery comes from the first part of my return journey from Cumbria. I agreed to be dropped at Penrith station and buy a single from Penrith to Carlisle to get back on track with my return journey. I had a bit of a wait at Carlisle for a train to Newcastle, and as you will see the station there has various points of interest. This gallery takes us to my arrival at Newcastle, where I had a much longer wait as I opted to travel on the train on which I had a reserved seat rather than trying my luck on an earlier service.

All Time XIs – Match Ups 13

Continuing my extended analysis of how the all time XIs I created for each letter of the alphabet fare against one another.

Welcome to the next installment in my extended analysis of how the all time XIs I created for each letter of the alphabet fare against one another. The Cs still occupy the hot seat, and they are on 14.5 out of of 65 going into today’s match ups.

THE Cs V THE Os

The Cs have an overwhelming advantage in batting, and also have the better captain. Finally, Cummins and Croft are a better pair of opening bowlers than Old and Olivier. However, as against that O’Riordan is certainly a better third seamer than Constantine, and his left arm gives the Os seam attack a point of variation. The Os comfortably win in the spin bowling department, with Odumbe, third ranked spinner for them, clearly better than Cornwall, second ranked spinner for the Cs. Unfortunately for the Os their spin superiority only reduces the margin by which they lose this one: Cs 3.5, Os 1.5.

THE Cs V THE Ps

In theory the Cs have a substantial advantage in the opening position, but that is mitigated by the fact that both the Ps openers are regulars at the top of the order, unlike the C counterparts. Ponting and G Pollock comfortably win their match ups batting wise, and Ponting is not the captain. Chappelli probably does outrank Procter as a captain but not by as much as he would Ponting. G Chappell beats Pietersen in the number five slot. Pant wins the battle of the keepers, Procter is miles clear in the battle of the all rounders.S and P Pollock are outpointed by Croft and Cummins in the new ball stakes, but Parker and Prasanna are the better spin pairing. The Ps win everywhere except one batting slot (G Chappell outpointing Pietersen) and in the matter of the new ball pairing. These are more than compensated for by their overall superiority. Cs 0 Ps 5.

THE Cs V THE Qs

The Qs are massively outpointed in batting, keeping and fast bowling. Their advantage in the spin bowling department is not enough to make a dent in their inferiority elsewhere. Cs 5, Qs 0.

THE Cs V THE Rs

The Rs have the better opening pair, especially given that both of theirs are regular openers. Richards also wins the batting match up vs Chappelli. Root and Compton looks a very close contest, but Compton had more support than Root, who was often holding a dysfunctional order together, so I give that one to the Rs as well. G Chappell outpoints Ranji but not by as much as their figures make it look – Ranji played at a time when batting was a lot more difficult than it was in G Chappell’s pomp. Robins wins the battle of the all rounders, and is little if any inferior to Chappelli as a skipper. The Rs win the fast bowling comfortably – Croft and Cummins may outpoint whichever two of Roberts, Rabada and Richardson take the new ball, but the third of that trio is miles clear of Constantine. Robins and Chandrasekhar are closely matched as leg spinners. Rhodes comfortably outpoints Cornwall – far more so than a comparison of their overall records shows, since Rhodes the specialist spinner, the role I have given him in this XI, was one of the greatest of all time. Quite simply there is no set of circumstances in which I can envisage the Cs getting the better of the Rs: Cs 0, Rs 5.

The Ss have by far the better opening pair – especially given that both of theirs were regular openers. Graeme Smith wins the number three contest and draws the captaincy of element of his match up with Chappelli. Steven Smith beats Compton. Sangakkara wins his batting match up over G Chappell, though he loses the keeping match against Carter. Using Sangakkara as keeper enables the selection of Sobers and Stokes at six and seven. Sobers has no match up in the Cs XI, and Stokes beats Constanine massively on batting and just loses on bowling. Starc and Steyn are outpointed in the battle of the new ball bowlers by Cummins and Croft, but Statham is a far better bowler than Constantine, and the Ss have Sobers in his faster incarnations and Stokes as extra back up options in the seam department. Stevens is a close match for Chandrasekhar with the ball and better with the bat, while Sobers in his slower incarnations is at least as good as Cornwall. This is a complete non-contest: Cs 0, Ss 5.

THE Cs PROGRESS UPDATE

The Cs have scored 8.5 out of 25 points today moving them on to 23 of a possible 90 points, 25.56%.

PHOTOGRAPHS

My usual sign off…