Tag: Xara Jetly

From The Archives – U to X

A look back at the all time XIs I produced for the letters U, V, W and X last year, the last of them OTD last year, with some extra comments and one change. Also a fine photo gallery.

One of the things I have been doing on this blog lately is looking back at the cricketing trip through the alphabet that I took this time last year. In this post I look back at four of the posts on that journey.

THE LETTER U

In retrospect I should have mentioned left arm medium pacer Jaydev Unadkat. His very ordinary international record means he deserves no more than an honourable mention, but he deserves that much. I did give Andrew Umeed, an opening batter and occasional leg spinner, an honourable mention, and although Somerset as a whole struggled in the One Day Cup, never coming close to qualifying for a knockout slot, he had a quite superb tournament, scoring 613 runs with the bat. If he gets a county championship place in the strength of this and delivers in that competition as well he will represent a genuine threat to Imam Ul-Haq or Taufeeq Umar, but for the moment he has justified my giving him a mention. The XI in batting order remains: Taufeeq Umar, G Ulyett, Imam Ul-Haq, Inzamam Ul-Haq, *Misbah Ul-Haq, PR Umrigar, +Umar Akmal, Umar Gul, Umran Malik, DL Underwood, M Ur Rahman. Please read the full post before commenting on my selections.

THE LETTER V

No new information has come to light relating to this letter, and I remain happy with my selections. I admit that the batting looks precarious with Vaas at seven, but point out that while sides who are powerful in bowling and not quite so strong in batting have been big winners (1930s Yorkshire, 1950s Surrey etc) very few sides have been big winners with batting but a lack of bowling. This XI in batting order is: M Vandort, J Vine, *MP Vaughan, GR Viswanath, DB Vengsarkar, +K Verreynne, C Vaas, AE Vogler, H Verity, W Voce, V Van der Bijl. The full post can be viewed here.

THE LETTER W

I regard the 2023 Ashes, yet another away series in which D Warner did not deliver with the bat, as full vindication of my decision not to pick. I should have given Chris Woakes an honourable mention, but I still prefer Woods in the number seven slot. Everyone I selected deserved their places, though Willis and Walsh are a toss up for the no11 slot – I wanted Bill Whitty with his left arm to give the attack extra variation. The XI in batting order remains: FE Woolley, *FMM Worrell, E de C Weekes, CL Walcott, SR Waugh, +BJ Watling, SMJ Woods, SK Warne, JH Wardle, WJ Whitty, RGD Willis. The full post can be viewed here.
Footnote: Wasim Akram was in the As XI, and the Ys had greater need than the Ws, so Waqar Younis was held back for that letter.

THE LETTER X

This XI has changed since I created it OTD last year – Kiwi off spinner Xara Jetly has emerged in no uncertain terms, and she replaces MaX Waller in the number slot. The XI thus reads: MaX O’Dowd, MaX Holden, ER DeXter, *AF KippaX, SJE LoXton, AXar Patel, XC Balaskas, RK OXenham, +T BoX, MaX Walker, XC Jetly. The original post can be viewed here.

PHOTOGRAPHS

Time for my usual sign off…

This is one of a large number of Hornby and other railway models that will be going under the hammer in James & Sons October sale.

All Time XIs – Match Ups 65

The final post in the extended analysis phase of this long series. The series will conclude with a grand finale post presenting the XIs in reverse ranking order.

Welcome to the final post in the analysis stage of this series. There may be delays to me completing these posts – I have a minor injury to my right wrist, and although the brace the hospital have provided me with to support said wrist is doing wonders in terms of enabling me to do things with my right hand, I am still somewhat incommoded and probably therefore will not complete things with my usual speed. This post starts with the Ws in the spotlight, with 97 points out of 115 accumulated so far.

THE Ws V THE Ys

The Ws dominate this contest. The only match up the Ys win is in the fast bowling department where W Younis beats Willis – but Whitty beats U Yadav by a greater margin, and Woods blows Yardley out of the water. Thus the only conceivable scoreline is Ws 5, Ys 0.

THE Ws V THE Zs

Total dominance from the Ws here: Ws 5, Zs 0.

THE Ws FINAL SCORE

The Ws have amassed 107 of a possible 125 points, 85.6% overall.

THE Xs V THE Ys

Before going into this match up, a brief note about the Xs. Had I seen developments in NZ domestic cricket in 2022-23 before I selected the Xs MaX Waller would have missed out, and Xara Jetly, a young off spinner would be in, with MaX Walker relegated one place from number 10 to number 11. The Xs have 13.5 out of 115 points coming in to today.

The Ys have much stronger batting, better pace bowling, the better skipper, and the two best spinners on either side. The Xs have the better keeper. This is clear cut: Xs 0, Ys 5.

THE Xs V THE Zs

The Zs have the better opening pair, the Xs win the batting match ups 3-9 inclusive, and AXar Patel, Xenophon Balaskas, Ron OXenham, Ted DeXter and Sam LoXton are all genuine bowling options, while BoX was a much finer keeper than Zulqarnain Haider. MaX Walker ranks first among seam/ pace bowlers on either side, and the Xs, with OXenham, Dexter and Loxton as back up options in this department also have the greater depth. The spin bowling is hard to call, but even if the Zs win, it only reduces the margin of their defeat. I score this one Xs 4, Zs 1.

THE Xs FINAL SCORE

The Xs have scored 4 points today, finishing on 17.5 out of 125, 14% overall.

THE Ys V THE Zs

The Ys have 33 out of 120 so far and the Zs 10.5 out of 120. This suggests a one-sided contest, and that impressions is not awry. The Zs have the better opening pair, the Ys win at nos 3-6, though only Yardley offers a bowling option. S Yousuf outranks Zulqarnain Haider in both departments. The fast bowling is close, with Zaheer Khan’s left arm making up for his slightly high average, but the Ys definitely win the spin bowling department. The Ys also have the better captain. I score this one: Ys 5, Zs 0.

THE Ys AND Zs FINAL SCORES

The Ys finish with 38 out of 125, 30.4% overall, the Zs with 10.5 out of 125, 8.4% overall.

A SPECIAL PHOTO GALLERY

On Saturday night I attended Luminate at Sandringham. For those so inclined (not me) there are fairground rides before the start/ after the finish of the main event, which is walk through wooded areas of the estate, with light features all the way around. I took a lots of pictures while on my way round…