Morgie's Draft Review S4

Discussion in 'CPL Cricket' started by morgieb, Dec 13, 2019.

  1. morgieb MC Burridge

    Did something similar in S3 which looks really cringe reading in hindsight, but felt like being an opinionated arsehole would be perfect to pump up activity outside of the draft thread.

    Anyway, here's Rd 1:

    1. HeathDavisSpeed - Steve Smith (267192)
    My #1 pick, most likely. In that sense it makes perfect sense as a call.

    2. Boobidy - Ben Stokes (311158)
    I mentioned this in the other thread as a bit of a shock pick at 2. While he does have a lot of positive virtues - he can win games off his own back; he can probably bat Top 4 in a competition like this and he's good enough to be a new ball bowler. The problem is that while he's decent at these, at 2 there are specialists that can do either role better. And more importantly, I think I rate the likes of Holder and Jadeja higher as all-rounders, though obviously Stokes is the better batsman. Still obviously worth a first round pick though so far from a terrible call.

    3. Captain - Virat Kohli (253802)
    Who I'd take second. Nearly as dominant as Smith but probably not quite as consistent. Makes perfect sense here.

    4. Magrat Garlick - Pat Cummins (489889)
    Best bowler in the world at this point. Can bat, too. Can't argue with this one.

    5. GoodAreasShane - Kane Williamson (277906)
    Third best batsman in the world, and there's a fairly large gap between the Top 3 batsmen in the world and the rest. Made perfect sense.

    6. StephenZA - Kagiso Rabada (550215)
    Interesting this one, last year picking him here would've made perfect sense. Recently however some concerns have rolled into his game, it does feel like he's tended to roll weaker attacks at home a lot more than you'd like. Still, he does have a very good case of being the second best bowler worldwide, so picking him here is far from a bad call.

    7. Cabinet96 - Jasprit Bumrah (625383)
    Possibly still somewhat debatable about longevity, but there's no denying that he has asked every question of him at Test level so far in his career. I might have been thinking all-rounder at this point, but still a good call.

    8. Hunter - Jason Holder (391485)
    Probably at least a Top 10 bowler in the world, but more significantly is that he's comfortably the best batsmen of the elite quicks; the only one that could realistically bat Top 6. Great pick.

    9. Number 11 - Josh Hazlewood (288284)
    Hmmm...he's a very good bowler, but the problem is he has been prone to having long periods where he's somewhat toothless. For the fourth/fifth bowler (depending on how you classify Holder) pick I think you need to be somewhat more consistent than that, especially in today's climate where so many great quicks exist. And unlike say a Starc he can't bat and his style seems fairly common. He still deserved to go first round, mind you, but I don't think I'd have taken him this early.

    10. Phlegm - Neil Wagner (233713)
    I think this is the least justifiable pick of the first round coming so early, though in fairness it was more of a favourite pick. On performances it makes sense, but the problem is he's not a new ball bowler. It's something you might be able to cover if you get a couple of good new ball specialists with later picks, but as things stand I'd try to refrain from picking him as my best player.

    11. Athlai - Mitchell Starc (311592)
    Similar case to Hazlewood, but he has two advantages over him - firstly he can bat, secondly his style is rather unique. Fair enough pick.

    12. morgieb - Ravindra Jadeja (234675)
    At the risk of tooting my own horn, I really like this pick. All I'll say is that over the last 3 years at Test level he averages 50 with the bat and 25 with the ball. The perfect option to bat 5/6 and arguably the world's best spinner.

    13. Howe and Dan - Trent Boult (277912)
    Ehh....probably still a couple of better bowlers left over. Big advantage though is that he's a lefty, I don't think there are any better left arm quicks left over.

    14. Alex - Ravichandran Ashwin (26421)
    Has a case of being the world's best spinner, and can probably hold down a #7 role in a comp like this. Strong pick.

    15. spark!ptz - Vernon Philander (46945)
    OK, he has struggled a bit with injury lately and he may seem slightly past it, but he'll at least be a good #8 here and he's still an outstanding bowler. #15 was a fair bit later than where I'd have picked him.

    16. MrPrez - Shakib Al Hasan (56143)
    Very comparable to Stokes in terms of output, and has the added bonus of being a Top 5 (or so) spinner in the world. Excellent pick at 16.

    17. Julian - Colin de Grandhomme (55395)
    This is an interesting one and one where I'm a bit undecided on. Even though his Test record is rather strong, I'm a bit skeptical on the amount of depth it has and he just doesn't feel like a first-rounder. With that said he was the best all-rounder left, and one of the few that would realistically be a Top 6/7 batsman and a Top 4 bowler.

    18. ElvisSpike - Yasir Shah (43685)
    Another interesting pick. Under the old sim I'd think this was a pretty weak pick as there were plenty of better bowlers left over and even a couple of spinners, but under the new one there is a lot to say about this one as he's comfortably the best wrist spinner available. I'm not sure I would've picked him first round, but it's far from a terrible pick.

    19. jimmy_c8 - Mohammad Abbas (389666)
    Would've been a dream pick a year ago, but now I feel like his bubble has burst post-injury. Still, the post-injury sample size isn't huge so he should still be quality in this, though I do think there were a couple of better quicks left over.

    20. Benny - David Warner (219889)
    Not sure on this one. He probably wasn't the best batsman available, but was he the best opener available? In terms of churning out the runs probably yes, but there's a couple of other ones who fare better when the going isn't as easy. It's the sort of pick I wouldn't like this early in a smaller comp but in a bigger one he should do well.

    21. Baxter - James Anderson (8608)
    Excellent pick this late in the round. Still one of the best quicks worldwide and better than quite a few taken ahead of him.

    22. Chewie - Mohammed Shami (481896)
    Amongst the best couple of bowlers left over. Might've been thinking batsman here, but eh. Not really much of a gap in terms of picks anyway.

    23. Skippos - Marnus Labuschagne (787987)
    The big question here is sample size. On paper there's heaps going for it - he's one of the few bats who has the potential to get to the Big 3's level, he bats Top 3, and he bowls very handy spin too. The problem is last year he'd struggle to go in the first 10 rounds. He's been outstanding this year but is it enough? Probably going to come down how the rest of the Australia/New Zealand series goes.

    24. Gazza - Joe Root (303669)
    On reputation getting him at the end of the first round is an absolute steal, the problem is his form in recent years has not been all that good. Still, not many if any better bats available so a pretty fair pick.

    Best pick:

    Either Philander, Anderson or Shakib. Forced to call, let's say Philander.

    Worst pick:

    Wagner in terms of role played, Yasir in terms of ability, Labuschagne in terms of record. Forced to call, probably Wagner?
     
  2. Captain SSD Dong

    Labu’s not a bad pick imo. 2,500+ FC runs in 2019 alone, and he’s still got a couple of innings left before this draft ends.
     
  3. Chewie JA Chewie

    Doesn't matter that I picked a bowler when I got the best batsman left anyway in round two :cool:
     
  4. Athlai JJD Heads

    Jadeja was the best pick
     
  5. Howe JHF Howe

    dan sent me a shortlist of players who were all terrible selections apart from boult, i thought we were a lot lower in the order than we actually were :laugh:
     
  6. Magrat Garlick M Garlick

    the BYE strikes again
     
  7. MrPrez CM Dyer

    Yeah agreed. I was stunned that noone was taking him and hoped he'd somehow drop to me.

    Happy enough with Shakib though.
     
  8. morgieb MC Burridge

    Didn't want to pick him as the best as it would come off as being too biased :p

    With that said I had him as the 4th most valuable cricketer in the world currently, and the other three went Top 5. Thought for sure he'd be gone by my pick. Very happy to have him slide until 12th.
     
  9. Cribbage RG Cribb

    God I hope Nick Larkin was on this list.
     
  10. Dan DB Wayne

    Cribb told me we were up at about midnight and said he'd be pissed if there wasn't a selection by morning. I threw together some names extremely quickly.
     
  11. Cribbage RG Cribb

    Haha I believe I just said leaving it until morning was percectly fine as long as you did it before Howe went to sleep.

    So firing away names in a hurry was probably still the right call but "pissed if there wasn't a selection by morning" is a bit of an exaggeration.
     
  12. Howe JHF Howe

    Levels of professionalism at the club have gotten off to a rocky start, I see.

    Dan is going to continue to be in charge of selection, I will have to focus on branding.
     
  13. Number 11 CJ Downes

    Agree with the opinion on my pick but I just wanted Haze. His injury is a real let down missing out on all these free wickets in the NZ series :p
     
  14. Julian BJ Taylor

    You need to spin the ball to be the worlds best spinner #Jadeja
     
    Alex likes this.
  15. morgieb MC Burridge

    Round 2

    1. Gazza - Chris Woakes (247235)
    Pretty solid pick. Batting form has been slightly off recently but a lot of that is down to playing basically zero county cricket, he should still be able to hold down #7 in a comp like this and should be in your new ball bowling attack.

    2. Skippos - Kemar Roach (230553)
    Can't complain much here. Was probably the best bowler available.

    3. Chewie - Cheteshwar Pujara (32540)
    Best batsmen left over. Would probably have been looking at him late R1, so a great pick.

    4. Baxter - Nathan Lyon (272279)
    Most probably the best spinner left over. Can make a very good case he's the best pure spinner full stop. Solid pick.

    5. Benny - James Pattinson (272465)
    Only real question is the lack of Tests he's played recently. If he was a Test regular he's a dream option as he's quick, can bat and his stats are obviously very good, but as it is he's mostly a selection on FC performances. Still, he should be good enough to lead an attack anyway so this is far from a terrible pick.

    6. jimmy_c8 - BJ Watling (38924)
    Best wicketkeeper-batsman worldwide (in terms of the overall package). How valuable this pick is comes down to how you value being a keeper, but given Watling's ability with the gloves is solid and he should be able to bat 5/6 it will come in handy in balancing your XI. Good pick.

    7. ElvisSpike - Kumar Sangakkara (50710)
    Hasn't played Tests for four years, his last FC match was two years ago. Furthermore he's not even played domestic T20 in the interim. I'm not sure he should've gone in the first six rounds let alone just outside the Top 30. Bad pick.

    8. Julian - Stuart Broad
    Good pick, can't complain. Definitely one of the best bowlers left over.

    9. MrPrez - Quinton de Kock (379143)
    Tough to judge, over the last two and a half years I think he's gone backwards quite a bit from where he sat circa 2016 (when getting him this late would be a dream). Again probably comes down to how you value a keeper; overall he probably went a bit early but not staggeringly so.

    10. spark!ptz - Ross Taylor
    Probably the best batsman left over that's still playing Test cricket, so a good pick. He does seem to only score runs in easier situations in recent times but he has had good innings in tricky ones and the quality of attacks will be more like the ones he averages 100 against.

    11. Alex - Tim Southee
    In the best two or three bowlers left over. Could probably be a decent #8 at this level. Good pick.

    12. Howe and Dan - AB de Villiers
    Interesting selection. Main barrier is that it's been a while since he's played FC cricket, but unlike Sanga he at least still plays at T20 level, and he retired from Test cricket fairly recently. In a bubble was clearly the best bat leftover....the question is how badly does he get nerfed. Still, a decent pick at this point in the draft.

    13. morgieb - Tom Latham
    I think I went a bit too premature here. He's probably on par with most of the bats that went second round but his record against great attacks is questionable; in hindsight I kind of wish I went for someone else. Nevertheless the pick is far from a disaster.

    14. Athlai - Angelo Mathews
    Interesting one, his form at Test level has been pretty meh for a very long time. OTOH he still has a strong Test average and can bowl. But he rarely does so at this point in his career (bowl). Given injuries are random though I think this is a fair enough pick.

    15. Phlegm - Henry Nicholls
    I will admit I'm still a bit unsold on Nicholls full stop, but it's hard to argue with this pick statisically. He may lose value as his form this year has been patchy, but it shouldn't be by enough to hurt the pick.

    16. Number 11 - Ajinkya Rahane
    Very solid selection. Not many better middle order bats left so might as well grab one while you still can.

    17. Hunter - Ishant Sharma
    Best bowler left over. Very good pick this late.

    18. Cabinet96 - Dean Elgar
    The thing that has me worried is his massive slump over the last 18 months; before that period this would've been a very solid pick, now I feel there were better bats left over. Not all that huge on it.

    19. StephenZA - Rohit Sharma
    A lot depends on how his ODI form is weighted. If he can tip into his excellent ODI performances it's a great pick this late, if not it's merely a good one. Very nice selection all round though.

    20. GoodAreasShane - Lungi Ngidi
    A gamble this early. He has a lot of upside and will be very good but there's not much depth in his FC record and with his injury he won't get the chance to improve on it either before the season stats. Still quite a few better, less risky bowlers left over.

    21. Magrat Garlick - Aiden Markram
    Getting him this late a year ago would be an excellent deal especially given the upside he has. Unfortunately his last year has been kind of poor which given he hasn't played a lot of proper FC cricket hurts. Still a very good pick this late mind you.

    22. Captain - Umesh Yadav
    Good pick. Close to the best bowler left over and has a style that is hard to replicate.

    23. Boobidy - Jofra Archer
    Like Ngidi a bit of a gamble as he's not all that proven at Test level, but this one has more going for it as 1. he can bat and 2. his FC record has more depth to it. And unlike Ngidi it's quite easy to see him improve with a good tour of South Africa. A bad one could admittedly hurt his reputation, but a good pick at this point in the draft.

    24. HeathDavisSpeed - Bhuvenshar Kumar
    Interesting one, I get the feeling he was a bit of a bolter and that you could've waited to grab him? Still I think realistically this fits his range well, so I actually don't mind the pick at all, especially given he can bat a bit too.

    Best pick:

    Hard to call actually. Pujara, Lyon, Ishant and Rohit all come to mind here. If the de Villiers comeback rumours are true (though I don't think it'll be a Test comeback even if it does happen) then he comes to mind too, ditto Archer if he has a good tour of South Africa. Forced to call, I'll go Rohit.

    Worst pick:

    Kumar Sangakkara, no questions asked.
     
  16. Chewie JA Chewie

    Athlai just didn't want Mathews to score 180 against him in the final again
     
    Hunter likes this.
  17. Athlai JJD Heads

    My team is entirely players that have hit me hard enough in the past that Stockholm syndrome has set in.
     
  18. Captain SSD Dong

    Pick Harbhajan then
     
  19. Cribbage RG Cribb

    I think Jofra and Ngidi are good examples of players ODIs will help at this point of the draft -- players who have done well in Tests in ODIs but haven't played a lot of international cricket overall, who ODIs just let kind of bypass their less gun domestic records for just that little bit longer. Bumrah from Round 1 was the other one kind of like this.

    Obviously what exactly constitutes ODIh4x changes as the draft goes on and we might see ODI players who haven't played FC cricket for ages picked up, but for that round just gone it's worth considering in your analysis.

    Regarding de Villiers, he was actually the second best batsman in the database under a year ago when the CWPL database cut off. He'd played FC and Test cricket more recently than Smith at that point and he hasn't played since, but I probably wouldn't be expecting him to completely tank in such a short period. If this were real life and he declared avalaibility for it he'd be picked around then or earlier, and I've tried to simulate that sort of thing. Without being overtly spoilery I think Round 2 was a good time to pick him, and if you're factoring in part-time keeping then he maybe should have gone Round 1.
     
  20. Phlegm SP Phlegm

    im going to wagnerball you into the dirt morgie. a minnow bashing spud like latham doesn't stand a chance.
     

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