Tag: goldeneye duck

One L Of An XI

An all time XI of players whose given names begin with L, a number of honourable mentions and a large photo gallery.

Today, with England Women in the process of thrashing India Women in a T20I and with England Men getting underway in the second ODI against West Indies Men at 5:30PM UK time we meet an all time XI all of whose given names begin with the letter L, and a few honourable mentions.

THE XI IN BATTING ORDER

  1. Laurie Fishlock (England, left handed opening batter). Unsuccessful at the very highest level, partly due to World War II, which coincided with what should have been his best years as a player, his FC record was excellent.
  2. Len Hutton (England, right handed opening batter). One of the greatest openers there has ever been, and all the more remarkable given the effects of WWII – not just an enforced six year absence from playing, but also a training accident that left one arm shorter than the other.
  3. Laura Wolvaardt (South Africa Women, right handed batter). An average of 45.69 in ODIs is a fine achievement, and that it is way ahead of her T20I average suggests that longer formats suit her.
  4. *Lindsay Hassett (Australia, right handed batter, captain). His career was disrupted by WWII, but he still emerged with an excellent test record. Although Hutton won the only series in which he and Hassett were opposed as skippers I have noted that the only two of the first four matches which got close enough to completion to enable one to form a view were both heading Australia’s way when time ran out. Hassett had also got the better of Freddie Brown in 1950-1 down under, especially in the first match, when rain created a vicious sticky, Brown attempted to redress the balance by declaring at 68-7 to get Australia in on the treacherous surface, Hassett countered with a declaration of his own at 32-7, and England made such a hash of surviving the remainder of this hectic day that they closed on 30-6, including McIntyre being run out coming back for a fourth.
  5. Len Braund (England, right handed batter, leg spinner). A fine county all rounder who had his moments at test level. His batting was better than his record might suggest – almost the whole of his career happened before WWI, and he encountered a lot of poor pitches, and often didn’t have much support from the rest of the Somerset batting line up, which was notoriously brittle.
  6. +Les Ames (England, wicket keeper, right handed batter). The first test match keeper to also be a genuinely front line batter, his career highlights included 120 against Australia in an innings victory at Lord’s in 1934, a score which remained an Ashes record for a keeper until Alan Knott scored 135 at Trent Bridge in 1977.
  7. Liam Dawson (England, right handed batter, left arm orthodox spinner). He was called up for England before he was really ready for elevation and has been overlooked ever since (though with a test tour of India looming that may change), but he has been improving, and his all round skills played a large part in Hampshire faring well in the 2023 season.
  8. Learie Constantine (West Indies, right arm fast bowler, right handed batter) An explosive all round cricketer who had some great moments for the West Indies and became a legend in the Lancashire League for Nelson.
  9. Lance Cairns (New Zealand, right arm fast medium bowler, right handed batter). A fine bowler and a big hitting lower order batter.
  10. Lasith Malinga (Sri Lanka, right arm fast bowler, right handed batter). His career highlights include taking four wickets in four balls in each of two international formats.
  11. Lance Gibbs (West Indies, off spinner, right handed batter). He briefly held the record for career test wickets, going past Fred Trueman’s 307, ending with 309, which stood until Dennis Lillee went past it.

This XI has good batting depth, with a strong top seven and explosive bowling all rounders at eight and nine. The presence of so many multi-dimensional players, including the keeper Ames, enables the side to have an enviably balanced and well varied attack, with Malinga, Constantine and Cairns attending to pace/swing/seam and Gibbs, Dawson and Braund covering the spin department nicely.

HONOURABLE MENTIONS

I nearly went for an all-Yorkshire opening pair, with Louis Hall joining Hutton at the top, but Fishlock’s left handedness swung the verdict his way. Les Berry of Leicestershire and Lionel Palairet of Somerset were also potential openers. In the middle order Lala Amarnath, Hilary Angelo ‘Larry’ Gomes (the latter could have had the number three slot that I gave to Wolvaardt, giving me a second left hander) and another South African, Lizelle Lee, were all potential picks in this area. Lahiru Thirimanne of Sri Lanka was talented but ultimately failed to deliver on that talent. Liam Livingstone would at one stage have seemed a candidate, but his red ball form his been non-existent for some time, and in white ball cricket England seem to be treating him as a bowling all rounder, with his batting now considered of secondary importance. Lance ‘Zulu’ Klusener just missed out on an all rounders slot. A few years ago I would have expected Lewis Gregory to be worth a place in this XI but his career his flatlined. Len Hopwood, a left arm seamer and right handed batter for Lancashire, would have been a candidate for the number eight slot except that he failed absolutely in both of his test appearances. Len Coldwell spearheaded the Worcestershire bowling attack when that county when two championships in the 1960s but was found wanting at international level. Len Muncer of Middlesex and Glamorgan could spin the ball both ways, and played a significant role in the latter county winning its first championship in 1948, but he never played at international level. Laxman Sivaramakrishnan bowled leg spin for India in the 1980s, but not well enough to merit a place in this XI. Lisle Nagel, a tall right arm seamer in the 1930s once took an eight-for against a visiting England side in a tour match, but did little at international level. Two contemporary pacers, Lockie Ferguson of New Zealand, and Lance Morris, on the fringes of the Australian test side, would both have their advocates. Ferguson is a limited overs specialist, and if I were picking an XI for limited overs he would get the nod. Morris may yet force his way in to the reckoning, but at the moment he is unproven. Lebrun Constantine, father of Learie, was a fine wicket keeper but not fine enough to displace Ames.

PHOTOGRAPHS

I have a fine photo gallery to end with…

England Women have won their match against India Women, by 38 runs, which is a huge margin in a T20. Nat Sciver-Brunt scored 77 with the bat, and Sophie Ecclestone took 3-15 in her full four overs with the ball.

All Time XIs – Given Names Begin With H

An all time XI of players whose given names begin with H, a number of honourable mentions and a large photo gallery.

Today I introduce an all time XI of players whose given names begin with the letter H, and sundry honourable mentions. By and large the difficulties with this one were caused by an embarrassment of riches. There is one exception as to this rule of which more later.

THE XI IN BATTING ORDER

  1. Herbie Taylor (South Africa, right handed opening batter). This guy averaged 40 opening the batting in test cricket, with WWI disrupting his career and often having little support from the rest of the order. In the last test series contested prior to WWI, with Sydney Barnes running amok, claiming 49 wickets at 10 a piece in four matches before missing the final match due to a dispute over terms and conditions, Taylor scored 509 runs in the series at 50.90. In one innings that series he made 109 in a total of 182 all out, a performance that inspired a piece that appears in “The Faber Book of Cricket” under the title “Herbie Taylor Masters Barnes”, the last two words constituting a claim never made about any other batter.
  2. Herbert Sutcliffe (England, right handed opening batter). The ultimate in big occasion players, as demonstrated by the progression of his averages – 52.02 in FC cricket, 60.73 in test cricket and 66.85 in the cauldron of The Ashes.
  3. Hashim Amla (South Africa, right handed batter). One of the greatest ever – a team comprising players who have represented his country since its readmission to international cricket in the early 1990s would undoubtedly feature him at number three.
  4. Harry Brook (England, right handed batter). Currently has a sensational test record, averaging 62 at that level to date.
  5. *Herbie Collins (Australia, right handed batter, captain). Had a fine test record with the bat, captained successfully at home in 1924-5 and unsuccessfully away in 1926.
  6. Hardik Pandya (India, right handed batter, right arm medium fast bowler). This one was the problem position, and I have filled with a guy whose limited overs record is better than his long form record, though his averages in test cricket are just the right way round.
  7. Heath Streak (Zimbabwe, right arm fast medium bowler, right handed batter). This is probably one place too high in the order for him, but nevertheless, as you will see this XI can hardly be accused of having a long tail.
  8. Hugh Trumble (Australia, right handed batter, off spinner). His tally of 141 wickets in Anglo-Australian tests stood as a record for such contests for 77 years until Dennis Lillee overhauled it. He was also a useful batter, good enough to achieve the double of 1,000 runs and 100 wickets in first class matches on the 1899 tour of England.
  9. Harold Larwood (England, right arm fast bowler, right handed batter). One of only three English fast bowlers to put the wind up the Aussies in their own backyard, along with Tyson in 1954-5 and Snow in 1970-1, and good enough with the bat that he had Ashes scores of 98 and 70 in the course of his career.
  10. Hedley Verity (England, left arm orthodox spinner, right handed batter). 1,956 first class wickets at 14.90, including the cheapest ever first class all-ten, 10-10 v Nottinghamshire in 1932. 144 test wickets at 24.37 in a decade of doped pitches and Bradman’s batting. He averaged over 20 with the bat at test level and 18 at first class level.
  11. +Herbert Strudwick (wicket keeper, right handed batter). Only two wicket keepers made more first class dismissals than him, Bob Taylor and John Murray.

This XI contains a powerful top five, an all rounder, four high quality bowlers all of whom had some level of competence with the bat and an all time great keeper. A team with Larwood, Streak and Pandya to bowl pace/ seam and Verity and Trumble to bowl spin would have little difficulty in taking 20 opposition wickets.

HONOURABLE MENTIONS

There is no left handed batter, which is very unusual for me. The trouble is that the best left hander to have a given name beginning with H, Henry Nicholls of New Zealand, averages under 40 at test level, and could only be accommodated by dropping one of my top five, or reducing the bowling options by dropping Pandya.

Besides my chosen pair of openers, whose claims I regard as ironclad, Hanif Mohammad of Pakistan, Herschelle Gibbs of South Africa and Harold Gimblett of England would have their advocates, with Gibbs definitely getting in the limited overs XI. Huw Morris of Glamorgan was a fine county opener, and in common with many associated with that particular county was badly treated by the England selectors of his day. In the middle order Hashan Tillekaratne of Sri Lanka deserves a mention. In a limited overs XI Harmanpreet Kaur of India Women would be a shoo-in for a middle order slot. Heinrich Klaasen is another who would feature in a limited overs XI.

Only two other wicket keepers besides Strudwick merit mentions, Hylton Philipson and Harry Wood both of England. Neither were in the same class as Strudwick.

The biggest miss among the bowlers was Harbhajan Singh of India, an off spinner who might have had the slot I opted to give to Trumble. Hugh Tayfield of South Africa was also in the mix for that slot. Among the seamers who had to miss out were Hasan Ali of Pakistan, Hines Johnson of the West Indies and Harry Boyle of Australia. Herbert’Ranji’ Hordern, Australia’s first regular user of the googly merits an honourable mention. Haris Rauf of Pakistan would merit consideration for a T20 XI, but not even for a 50 over squad would he enter the equation, never mind long form. Harold Butler of Nottinghamshire and England was a fine county seamer, but his test appearances were restricted to two.

PHOTOGRAPHS

We end with my usual sign off…

All Time XIs – G for Glory

An all time XI of players whose given names begin with G, a massive honourable mentions section which includes mention of today’s WBBL Challenger match, and a photo gallery.

Today I choose an all time XI of players whose given names begin with Gs. This letter poses particular challenges which I will explain in the course of the post, and there are a vast number of honourable mentions.

THE XI IN BATTING ORDER

  1. *Graeme Smith (South Africa, left handed opening batter, captain). A superb playing record and an outstanding captain.
  2. Gordon Greenidge (West Indies, right handed opening batter). One half of the West Indies greatest ever opening pair. His highlights include twin tons on the most difficult surface of the 1976 series, two contrasting double centuries against England in 1984, one a brutal match winning knock at Lord’s after England had the temerity to declare their second innings closed on the final morning (and some reckoned they should have done so earlier), and the other a ten hour marathon innings which put his side fully in control of the match at Old Trafford.
  3. George Headley (West Indies, right handed batter). Nicknamed ‘Atlas’ because he seemed to carry his side on his shoulders, he is among the select few to have played over 20 test matches and have an average of above 60 – 60.83.
  4. Graeme Pollock (South Africa, left handed batter). Another member of the select club referred to above. In what proved to be South Africa’s last series before isolation he set an individual scoring record for that country with 274 against Australia. That score has been beaten by four players since South Africa’s readmission – Daryll Cullinan, Gary Kirsten, Graeme Smith and Hashim Amla.
  5. Greg Chappell (Australia, right handed batter, occasional medium pacer, occasional leg spinner). A superb batter, one of the safest slip fielders the game ever saw and a part time bowler of two types.
  6. Garry Sobers (West Indies, left handed batter, left arm bowler of every type known to cricket). The most complete player the game has ever seen, and therefore, as always when he is eligible for selection, the first name on the team sheet for this XI.
  7. Gilbert Jessop (England, right handed batter, right arm fast bowler). The ultimate X-factor player, with an approach to batting ideally suited to someone coming at number seven in a strong side.
  8. +George Duckworth (England, wicket keeper, right handed batter). A great wicket keeper, and in a side with the batting guns possessed by this one I am not worried about his limited skill in the latter department.
  9. George Lohmann (England, right arm medium fast bowler, right handed batter). Of bowlers to have taken at least 100 wickets he has the best average by some way, a barely believable 10.75, and also the best strike rate – a wicket every five and a half overs on average.
  10. George Dennett (Gloucestershire, left arm orthodox spinner, left handed batter). Never capped for England, but 2,151 FC scalps at 19.82 a piece. England were exceptionally well served by left arm spinners in his playing days – Rhodes, Blythe, the all round skills of Frank Woolley and Roy Kilner etc.
  11. Glenn McGrath (Australia, right arm fast bowler, right handed batter). We have our ‘enforcer’, one of the greatest of all time.

This side has a stellar top six, including the most complete player the game has ever known, the ultimate in x-factor players at number seven, a great keeper and three great specialist bowlers. The bowling does not have quite the dazzling array of options possessed by some of my sides, but I do not think that McGrath, Lohmann, Dennett, Jessop and Sobers would be likely to find capturing 20 opposition wickets beyond them on any surface.

HONOURABLE MENTIONS

This will require a systematic approach, so I shall work my way down the order…

OPENING BATTERS

Glenn Turner, the only New Zealander ever to score 100 first class hundreds is the biggest miss here, but Gautam Gambhir of India would also have his advocates, Gary Kirsten of South Africa deserves a mention (and can have the head coach job that England infamously refused to give him allegedly because his power point presentation wasn’t good enough) and George Gunn, who played for England many years ago, and absolutely did things his way also deserves a name check.

MIDDLE ORDER BATTERS

These guys missed out because of the stellar cast available to fill these slots. Geoff Howarth of New Zealand, Gundappa Viswanath of India and Gilbert Parkhouse of England would all have merited serious consideration for a letter less well stocked with world beating batters, but none can get in here.

ALL ROUNDERS

The presence of five of the greatest ever specialist batters and Sobers limited the scope for the inclusion of all rounders. Luminaries such as George Giffen (Australia, right handed batter, off spinner), George Hirst (England, right handed batter, left arm fast medium) and two leg spinning all rounders, Greville Stevens (England) and Garnet Lee (Nottinghamshire, Derbyshire) all missed out. Had I been picking with limited overs in mind Glenn Maxwell of Australia would have been one of the first names on the team sheet, but I preferred Jessop at seven, and the only one of the top six who I could even have contemplated not picking was Greg Chappell. George Pope of Derbyshire and England was a good enough all rounder to merit a mention as well. George Ulyett, who played for England in their very early days and had an HS of 149 and a BB of 7-36 was also unlucky.

WICKET KEEPERS

Godfrey Evans was the nearest challenger to Duckworth, wkith Graham Manou, a fine keeper who was scurvily treated by the Aussie selectors of his day and Gil Langley of Australia also in the mix.

SPIN BOWLERS

George Simpson-Hayward, the last underarm bowler to make a serious impression at test level (over 20 wickets in his only test series, against South Africa in South Africa) was close to dislodging Dennett. George Macaulay of Yorkshire and England never managed much at test level.

PACE BOWLERS

It is in this category that we meet the greatest number of top cricketers to miss out for this letter. Garth Le Roux, the giant South African quick of the 1970s and 80s never got to play test cricket, otherwise he might well have had a slot. Graham McKenzie, the best Aussie pacer between the retirement of Davidson and the rise of Lillee was also close. George John was rated by CLR James as the finest of the early West Indian fast bowlers, but he was finished before they started playing test cricket. Gideon Elliott who had a very brief but freakishly successful fast bowling career in the late 1850s and early 1860s (48 wickets at less than 5 a piece, including innings figures of 9-2) deserves a mention. George “Tear ’em” Tarrant was a hugely successful fast bowler in the era immediately before the rise of WG Grace, but the way the good Doctor quelled those who before he came along had intimidated by dint of sheer pace on often treacherous pitches explains why I overlooked him. Had I not had Sobers to perform the role, two candidates for the role of left arm pacer would have been Gary Gilmour (Australia) and a gamble on George Garton, yet to establish himself as an England player. George Freeman, whose 288 FC scalps came at less than 10 a piece was another in the mix. George Geary might have had the slot I gave to Lohmann, but my feeling is that the difference between their test records is too great to be put down solely to the flat pitches on which Geary had to operate at that level. Glenn Chapple of Lancashire is a what might have been – injuries prevented him from gaining international recognition, and as fine a player as he was in domestic cricket I cannot justify dropping either Lohmann or the other Glenn to make way for him.

THE WOMEN

I was not able to include a female in this XI, but the Challenger in the Women’s BBL took place today, and Grace Harris with a superb innings, Georgia Redmayne with a great display of wicket keeping, and Georgia Voll with a stellar bowling performance all had big days out in a superb win for Brisbane Heat over Perth Scorchers, while Georgia Adams, a spin bowling all rounder, is also making a name for herself. Of the players I have named the most likely to earn a place in this squad in years to come is Redmayne, who if she continues to keep the way she did today could challenge Duckworth.

EXEAT

I have doubtless missed some of the riches available for this XI, though I do remind people wishing to comment that I have declared a policy of not selecting anyone who made rebel tours of Apartheid South Africa. Please feel free to make suggestions, so long as you examine the effect they would have on the balance of the side. With five batters and a batting all rounder having ironclad cases for inclusion fitting in enough bowling is a challenge for this letter.

PHOTOGRAPHS

My usual sign off…

All Time XIs – Given Names Beginning With E

An all time XI of cricketers whose given names begin with the letter E and a large photo gallery.

Today I pick an all time XI of players whose given names begin with the letter E. A couple of selections may well raise eyebrows but I reckon all are well justified. There will be an honourable mentions section.

THE XI IN BATTING ORDER

  1. Eric Rowan (South Africa, right handed opening batter). At a time when South Africa weren’t the strongest he managed to record a test average of 43.66. His highest score was 236, which at the time was the highest individual score for South Africa, beaten by Graeme Pollock in the last series of South Africa’s first incarnation as a test nation. There was a famous occasion when notified while a match was in progress that he had been dropped for the next one he proceeded to show the selectors what they were missing by scoring a match saving 156* in the final innings, batting right through the final day.
  2. EM Grace (England, right handed opening batter, lob bowler). He was the first member of his family to be an acknowledged cricket marvel (his eldest brother Henry first developed the family’s ruling passion, and his love for the game led to their father and an uncle, Alfred Pocock, coaching the whole family). His bowling achieved some great successes as well – on one occasion he accounted for the famously hard to shift Harry ‘Not at Dorking’ Jupp with a steepling lob that landed exactly on top of the stumps, dislodging a bail.
  3. Everton Weekes (West Indies, right handed batter). One of the greatest batters ever to play the game.
  4. Eddie Paynter (England, left handed batter). The highest career average of any left hander to have played 20 or more tests, 59.23. That included double centuries against both Australia and South Africa. His most famous innings was an 83 in stifling heat at Brisbane, when he was suffering severe tonsilitis and rose from his hospital bed in England’s hour of need, which helped England secure the victory that confirmed them as winners of the 1932-3 Ashes.
  5. Elias ‘Patsy’ Hendren (England, right handed batter). Only Hobbs scored more than his 170 first class hundreds, and only Hobbs and Woolley exceeded his 57,610 first class runs. One record which remains his is most FC centuries at a single ground, 74 of his having come at Lord’s.
  6. *Eddie Barlow (South Africa, right handed batter, right arm medium pace bowler, captain). He averaged 45 with the bat at test level, and while his bowling was not much used at that level his FC bowling figures stack up well. He was an inspiring captain, in the 1970s he invigorated a Derbyshire side who had grown used to propping up the championship table and led them to some very respectable finishes.
  7. +Eleanor Threlkeld (England, wicket keeper, right handed batter). One of the best contemporary wicket keepers, and a fine batter as well, as evidenced by the match winning hundred she scored for Thunder against Storm in the Rachael Heyhoe-Flint Trophy (50 overs per side, the longest non-test match format played by women) on September 16 this year.
  8. Ernie Robson (Somerset, right arm medium fast bowler, right handed batter). An excellent bowling all rounder. His outswing was rated by Jack Hobbs, aka The Master, as the most difficult bowling he ever faced.
  9. Ernest Jones (Australia, right arm fast bowler, right handed batter). One of the fastest bowlers of the 1890s, he once famously sent a ball through WG’s beard.
  10. Erapalli Prasanna (India, off spinner, right handed batter). One of four spinners to regularly play for India in the 1970s (he, Bedi and Chandrasekhar were indisputably world class practitioners, the fourth member of the quartet, Srinisvaraghavan Venkataraghavan was a cut below the rest).
  11. Eric Hollies (England, leg spinner, right handed batter). Possessor of the all time worst wrong way round disparity between runs scored and wickets taken in FC cricket (1,673 FC runs at 5.00, boosted by 282 not outs in 616 innings, and 2,323 Fc wickets taken at 20.94 each). Also the man who stopped Bradman from recording a final test average in three figures, bowling him for a duck in his last test innings, which turned 6,996 runs at 101.39 into 6,996 at 99.94.

This side has a powerful top five, a quality all rounder, a quality keeper who can bat, a fine bowling all rounder and three splendid and contrasting specialist bowlers. A bowling attack that has Jones, Robson and Barlow to bowl pace/ seam, Hollies and Prasanna to bowl spin, and EM Grace as a wildcard has both depth and variety.

HONOURABLE MENTIONS

The opening batters had few challengers – Eve Jones’ left handedness bringing her into the picture, but not being sufficient to dislodge either of my choices. On a spinning pitch Eddie Barlow would give way to Enid Bakewell, an all rounder whose bowling stock in trade was left arm orthodox spin, with EM Grace taking the captaincy. Ernest Tyldesley was the best batter to miss out, a member of the 100 FC hundreds club and possessor of a very respectable test record. Two Eds, Joyce (Ireland/ England/ Ireland) and Smith (England) were respectable rather than outstanding. The main keeping rivals to Threlkeld were EFS Tylecote who as a schoolboy in 1868 took advantage of the batting friendly conditions of Clifton College to score the first recorded quadruple century in any form of cricket, 404* in a house match (31 years later another schoolboy, AEJ Collins, scored 628* in a house match at the same ground), and going on to keep wicket for England, Edward Pooley who should have been England’s first ever keeper but was cooling his heels in a New Zealand prison when the appointed time arrived and EJ ‘Tiger’ Smith of Warwickshire and England. Ernie McCormick was fast but erratic, and his 1938 tour of England was ruined by no-ball problems. Ernest Toshack had his moments as a left arm medium pacer, including taking 5-2 in an innings against England but did not have a weighty enough record to garner more than an honourable mention. Eiulf Peter ‘Buster’ Nupen, the only test cricketer to date to have been born in Norway, would be in the mix if the match was to be played on a matting wicket, but not otherwise. Edwin Tyler, a left arm orthodox spinner, once took an all-ten for Somerset, but falls short overall. Edward Wainwright of Yotrkshire and England had a good record as an off spinning all rounder in FC cricket, but failed to take a wicket in any of his five test appearances, finding the Australian pitches of 1897-8 unresponsive to his type of bowling, setting a trend that has continued to the present day when it comes to English off spinners in Australia. Ellyse Perry is a magnificent cricketer, but for this exercise she could only be picked if her batting was good enough on its own, and given the strength of the upper and middle order of this side I do not think it is. I end with a ‘what might have been’ – Edwin Boaler Alletson (Nottinghamshire). At Hove in 1911 he reached lunch on the final day on 47* from 50 minutes, which appeared to be merely delaying the inevitable. 40 minutes after the resumption he holed out in the deep – for 189! Those last 142 came out of a last wicket stand of 152 with Bill Riley, which left Sussex grateful to emerge with a draw after they lost a few early wickets in their second innings. This was Alletson’s maiden ton, and it ended up being a first and only for him. Had that innings given his career the boost it should he might well have had the slot I gave to Ernie Robson, but it proved a flash in the pan, and nor was his bowling that impressive overall.

PHOTOGRAPHS

My usual sign off…

My Team of the 2023 ODI World Cup

My world cup team of the tournament in more detail than the BBC website allows, plus a large collection of recent photographs, including a new bird sighting.

The BBC have an exercise running inviting visitors to their cricket section to pick a team of the tournament which I have just done. I am going into a bit more detail here than the website allows and will list an official 12th man, something again prohibited.

THE XI IN BATTING ORDER

  1. +Quinton de Kock (South Africa, left handed opening batter, wicket keeper). A last hurrah in this format for one his country’s greatest ever limited overs players, and it has been one to remember, with a number of fantastic knocks.
  2. *Rohit Sharma (India, right handed opening batter, occasional off spinner, captain). He has led his side superbly and is very likely to be holding the trophy aloft in about 50 hours from now. His batting contributions even when not massive scores have made big impacts, getting India away to fast starts and taking pressure off those coming in later.
  3. Rachin Ravindra (New Zealand, left handed batter, part time left arm orthodox spinner). This has been a break out tournament for the Indian born New Zealand left hander, and he has had moments with the ball as well as with the bat.
  4. Virat Kohli (India, right handed batter, occasional right arm medium pacer). Has had a great tournament, in the course of which he has become the first to reach the career landmark of 50 ODI centuries.
  5. Azmatullah Omarzai (Afghanistan, right handed batter, right arm medium fast bowler). The young all rounder has been consistently impressive for a side who punched way above their weight at this tournament, making a very serious run at qualifying for the semi-final (at the opposite end of the punching vs weight scale would be England who failed to land a blow on anyone of any significance until it was far too late to be of any use to them).
  6. KL Rahul (India, right handed batter, occasional wicket keeper). Has been a steady hand when India have needed one – in their very first match of the tournament he came in at 2-3, when it seemed like all the good work of the bowlers could be going to waste and saw his side to victory, and there have been many other notable performances from him since then.
  7. Ravindra Jadeja (India, left handed batter, left arm orthodox spinner). Has made some useful contributions as India’s last recognized batter and has always been tidy with the ball. He is also probably the finest fielder of his generation, and has had a major impact in that department as well.
  8. Mohammad Shami (India, right arm fast bowler, right handed batter). The 8-11 in this team may need some rejigging in terms of where they actually bat – I was concerned to get the right bowlers, and not overly worried about their actual positions. He was not initially in the Indian starting line up, but has been superb since getting the chance. In the semi-final against New Zealand he became the first Indian ever to take a seven-for in an ODI, and he is for me a shoo-in for Player of the Tournament even if he doesn’t have a great day on Sunday.
  9. Gerald Coetzee (South Africa, right arm fast bowler, right handed batter). Has bowled with fire and enthusiasm – he has the best wicket celebration of any bowler at this tournament, a celebration he has been able to demonstrate quite frequently.
  10. Jasprit Bumrah (India, right arm fast bowler, right handed batter). One of the best bowlers of the current generation, and though his figures are not on a par with Shami’s, he has looked every inch the great bowler he is at this tournament.
  11. Adam Zampa (Australia, leg spinner, right handed batter). Has had an excellent tournament and is no small part of why his side have made the final. I have no witnessed enough of Zampa the white ball bowler to make a massive call and say that he is the best white ball leg spinner his country has ever had (yes in limited overs cricket he rates ahead of SKW for me).
  12. Glenn Maxwell (Australia, right handed batter, off spinner). He played on of the greatest ODI innings ever seen to win his side the match against Afghanistan, but unlike Omarzai who I selected he has not been consistently impressive. I have thus named him as 12th man.

This side his great batting power, a quality keeper, a reserve keeper available in the form of Rahul if needed and a stellar bowling unit. Omarzai as sixth bowler gives genuine flexibility in the unlikely event of one of the front five having a poor day.

ALTERNATIVES

Obviously, even with the tournament limited to ten teams, there has been an absolute galaxy of talent on display, and sensible cases could made for lots of the players concerned. Please feel free either to use the BBC cricket site’s tool to select your XI or use the comments section here to explain your thinking. This is my team of the tournament and I will stick to it. It is no coincidence that three of the the five front line bowlers have come from the team who I fully expect to see lift the trophy – it is the teams with the best bowling units who usually win out in the long term.

PHOTOGRAPHS

Time for my usual sign off…

This unusual sighting is if my bird book is to be trusted a goldeneye duck – it is smaller than a mallard, and much more of a diver.
Not bad to get this view of Ely Cathedral through a train window.