I would have taken Alam next pick, tbh. That said, not many options for retention left for BLERTA. A couple in the mix.
He was the top opener I wanted. I didn't think I'd get him though as my plan was to worry about openers around this round/next round as opposed to back then.
Code: ROUND 5 5 1 105 Mariner Ashwell Prince 5 2 106 Julian Umar Akmal 5 3 107 Baxter Andrew McDonald 5 4 108 Howe Steve O'Keefe 5 5 109 Captain Sachin Tendulkar 5 6 110 Callum Neil McKenzie 5 7 111 Farhat Marcus North 5 8 112 Hunter Sachithra Senanayake 5 9 113 Phlegm Bradley-John Watling 5 10 114 Heath Samiullah Khan 5 11 115 Downes Michael Carberry 5 12 116 Jabba James Hopes 5 13 117 Athlai Brendan Taylor 5 14 118 Morgie James Taylor 5 15 119 Chewie Monty Panesar 5 16 120 Rusty Ed Joyce 5 17 121 Eds Rishi Dhawan 5 18 122 Prez Andrew Birch 5 19 123 Goat Dean Elgar 5 20 124 Skippos Jim Allenby 5 21 125 Boobidy David Hussey 5 22 126 Incey Ed Cowan 5 23 127 Ritchie Corey Anderson 5 24 128 Benny Tillakaratne Dilshan 5 25 129 Speirz Patrick Cummins 5 26 130 Nino Matthew Wade 1. Ashwell Prince (mightymariner/Weeman27bob) Interesting pick. His form since being dumped from Test cricket has been kinda patchy, and there are probably better batsman left, but there aren't many active cricketers who have had much success at Test level. 2. Umar Akmal (Julian) Like Alam am seriously surprised he's not playing Test cricket, his FC stats are excellent in tricky conditions. Can also keep and is still fairly young. Nice pick. 3. Andrew McDonald (Baxter/Teacups) Similar to the Morkel pick earlier. On paper they're really good picks, but they haven't played much recently. They even represent similar playing roles. Really rate the selection. 4. Steve O'Keefe (Howe/Himannv) Good pick. Bowls very well in unfavourable conditions, and can easily bat 8 here too. 5. Sachin Tendulkar (Captain/KickATinAlong) Amazed he lasted this long. IMO he is comparable to guys taken in the second round. Yes he did show signs of age by the time he quit, but he only retired 2 months ago and he was considered by many to be the best after Bradman. Might be one of the picks of the draft. 6. Neil McKenzie (Callum) I will admit I didn't rate it at the time, but after researching the pick it's an excellent one. You will struggle to find 50+ averaging batsmen in strong competitions at this point. 7. Marcus North (Farhat) His stocks are arguably higher than what they should be based on a brilliant start to his Shield season, but his conversion to an opener has worked wonders, his Test record is non-disastrous and he can bowl some useful spin. Not sure he was the best option at this stage but I don't think the pick is a disaster. 8. Sachithra Senanayake (Hunter) Not sure on this pick. On paper it's very good, but Sri Lanka isn't a hard place to bowl in. Yeah he can bat, but he's not gonna bat any higher than 8 you'd assume. An early selection for mine. 9. Bradley-John Watling (Phlegm) Since becoming a keeper and getting recalled to the New Zealand setup he has generally been very good. Very solid pick here. 10. Samiullah Khan (HeathDavisSpeed/Fungus) Interesting pick. His stats look outstanding, but Pakistani domestic cricket is an easy place to bowl in. Although there aren't many who average 18! Maybe could've waited as I doubt he was on many people's radars, but it's still a decent pick. 11. Michael Carberry (Number 11) Probably the best opener left at this stage, and has been solid for a long time now. Good pick. 12. James Hopes (Jabba/Starris) I'm not convinced Jabba needed another all-rounder, but in terms of bowling he actually might be worth the pick at this stage - his bowling average is pretty good and also inflated slightly by poor results when he was very young. Good selection. 13. Brendan Taylor (Athlai) Well this pick incurred rage from me, which says a bit. He's a good batsman in a weak side, and can also keep wicket, so impartially this is a solid pick. 14. James Taylor (morgieb/hen da man) Although he seems to be not rated by several, his FC performances have been very good. It's pretty rare that you'll find a batsman averaging nearly 50 in a strong competition at this point so it's a good pick. 15. Monty Panesar (Chewie/Iridium) Amazed he lasted this long given how many bowlers went before him. Yes his most recent season wasn't good, but the year before he was going great guns at whatever level he was playing. Very fine selection for a mid-5th rounder. 16. Ed Joyce (Rusty) Has been one of the best batsmen in county cricket for the past 10 or so years. Good pick. 17. Rishi Dhawan (Eds/Cabniet96) First player picked who I knew little about. His stats are outstanding but they were achieved in a weak competition. Still India is not an easy place to bowl in so adding his batting it's a decent pick. 18. Andrew Birch (MrPrez/Arheiner) His stats are good on paper, but before last season it was largely on the back of second division cricket. However his recent form is very good. Not many better bowlers left so a good selection. 19. Dean Elgar (Verigoat) Despite his struggles at Test level, his domestic performances are pretty damn good. He can also bat anywhere in the order, so I like the pick. 20. Jim Allenby (Skippos) Great pick. Averaging over 40 with the bat and in the mid to high 20's with the ball in a strong competition is a sign of a very good player. 21. David Hussey (Boobidy) On paper a guy averaging in his fifties making the late 5th round is a dream selection, but he hasn't been in good form lately. Not really a disaster but this pick was early for mine. 22. Ed Cowan (Incey) Since joining Tasmania has generally scored plenty of runs at domestic cricket. Although there probably were better batsmen left most of them seem to be middle-order bats so I find this pick fairly solid. 23. Corey Anderson (99*) A player for the future. He has a lot of potential, but I can't help but feel that he won't live up to it by the end of the tournament. He's a good future prospect though so the pick is far from a disaster. 24. Tillakaratne Dilshan (Benny) Although his recent form has been patchy, he still was in decent shape by the time he retired. He was probably picked early on batting alone, but the versatility he adds - can bat anywhere in the order, can keep, and even bowls some useful offies - makes him a good selection. 25. Patrick Cummins (Speirz) Raw. Very, very raw - he's not played Shield cricket since his debut 6-fer. On potential could go first round but he's done little at this stage due to injuries. Good retention possibly I guess but it's a huge punt so I'm not high on the pick. 26. Matthew Wade (El Nino/Gazza) Can't really think of any better bats who can keep, but his keeping is pretty bad, particularly against spin. IMO there were better options available.
Birch averages pretty much the same in real stuff than he does in the 3 day stuff, he hasn't got inflated stats at all. In fact, his stats are underwhelmed by having played in the 3 day stuff when you compare him to the other fc quicks.
You should do pick of the round and bum of the round, Morgie. Otherwise, I think those are solid write-ups. Pat Cummins a massive risk at this stage. Could easily break down in real life again and you're stuck with a pretty average, injury prone player.
Well tbf, I did specify "before 2012/13" (where he dominated) and his real average is still three runs higher than his 3-day average. Didn't realise he had a gun 2010/11 though.
Just clarifying, because his stats are not at all largely off the back of 3 day cricket. Maybe they'd be slightly worse if he hadn't played 3-dayers, but in general 3 dayers affect his stats much less than they do for most SA players.
