morgieb rates the hicks

In domestic cricket it most certainly is. Most bowlers seem to have pretty low averages, and finding batsman that average 50 in domestic cricket is rare.

 

Code:

ROUND 6
6    1    131    Nino        Ben Cutting
6    2    132    Speirz        Shaun Marsh
6    3    133    Benny        Michael Hogan
6    4    134    Ritchie        Narsingh Deonarine
6    5    135    Incey        Umar Gul
6    6    136    Boobidy        Muttiah Muralitharan
6    7    137    Skippos        Will Gidman
6    8    138    Goat        Stiaan van Zyl
6    9    139    Prez        Andrew Hall
6    10    140    Eds        Manoj Tiwary
6    11    141    Rusty        Tim Murtagh
6    12    142    Chewie        Lonwabo Tsotsobe
6    13    143    Morgie        Abhishek Nayar
6    14    144    Athlai        Thilan Samaraweera
6    15    145    Jabba        Jonathan Bairstow
6    16    146    Downes        John Hastings
6    17    147    Heath        Imran Farhat
6    18    148    Phlegm        Rahul Dravid
6    19    149    Hunter        Rilee Rossouw
6    20    150    Farhat        Usman Khawaja
6    21    151    Callum        Moeen Ali
6    22    152    Captain        Johan van der Wath
6    23    153    Howe        Kyle Jarvis
6    24    154    Baxter        Wasim Jaffer
6    25    155    Julian        Phil Jaques
6    26    156    Mariner        Azhar Ali

1. Ben Cutting (El Nino/Gazza)
Can easily bat 8 here, and there probably aren't too many better bowlers left on bowling alone anyway. I know a lot of people don't seem to rate him, but you can't really argue with his figures.

2. Shaun Marsh (Speirz)
Was taken a round after everyone else, so it probably isn't fair to compare him to everyone else in this round. Still however his form since his injury in South Africa a few years back has not been good at all. Not a good pick even for the 7th round.

3. Michael Hogan (Benny)
It's pretty rare that you find a bowler averaging mid-20's in a strong competition over a lengthy period of time at this point in the draft. Pretty nice pick.

4. Narsingh Deonarine (99*)
Don't understand this pick. He can't really be his 5th bowler given the presence of Anderson (neither of whom are good enough to be 4th bowlers), and as a batsman alone there are plenty of better options. Him going to another side at this point would be a reasonable choice given his all-round potential, but I don't see many balance advantages for Ritchie here.

5. Umar Gul (Incey)
One of the only active bowlers remaining to have anything resembling a half-decent international record. Although he's probably not really an attack leader, if you were looking for an attack leader at this point you'd have bigger problems.

6. Muttiah Muralitharan (Boobidy)
A pretty big risk, as he's been a T20 specialist for three years now and would naturally be 'rusty' in the longer format. Nevertheless, he's still probably the best bowler in terms of their overall career picked right now and he still goes good at the short format, so you'd think he'd perform.

7. Will Gidman (Skippos)
How he isn't in the frame for further selection (like A-team, ODI callups) I don't know. Not only does Skippos get a really good FC bowler, Gidman can also bat #7 easily. Very good selection here.

8. Stiaan van Zyl (Verigoat)
One of the few players who has better stats in real cricket than prank cricket - in the SS he averages 50. Given his recent form, I can't really think of many better batsman left. Very solid selection.

9. Andrew Hall (MrPrez/Arheiner)
A pretty good selection on paper, as he has had a fine record as a pure all-rounder for a long time, but I can't help but feel that he would look like a bit of a no-rounder at this level. The sort of player who you can justify to be picked at this point but I doubt will perform.

10. Manoj Tiwary (Eds/Cabinet96)
It's pretty rare that you'll find a batsman that averages nearly 60 in the 6th round, even in a competition like India's. Can also bowl a little bit, too. Very good selection.

11. Tim Murtagh (Rusty)
Since joining Middlesex he has been one of county cricket's best bowlers for a very long period of time. Can also bat too. Again a nice pick.

12. Lonwabo Tsotsobe (Chewie/Iridium)
Has not played FC cricket in 2 years, and hardly tore up trees when he did. A pretty bad selection at this point, plenty of better, less risky bowlers left.

13. Abhishek Nayar (morgieb/hen da man)
In terms of batting all-rounders you aren't going to find may better options than Nayar at this point. Very solid selection.

14. Thilan Samaraweera (Athlai)
He seemed to be in decline by the time he retired, but it wasn't that long ago he seemed to be killing it against South Africa and England. Possibly better batsmen left (and probably several younger ones who are comparable in terms of ability), but the pick is far from a disaster.

15. Jonathon Bairstow (Jabba/Starris)
Don't rate his keeping from what I've seen, but he was probably the best batsman left who could keep. Pretty good selection.

16. John Hastings (Number 11)
Not a big fan of Hastings personally. His record however is pretty decent (and he can bat), although he does miss a lot of cricket through injuries. Not an awful selection but not a particularly inspiring one IMO.

17. Imran Farhat (HeathDavisSpeed)
A surprise selection as his Test record isn't great and he plays for a low-profile country, but his form has been very good recently. Probably better options left, but the pick is far from a disaster and very defensible.

18. Rahul Dravid (Phlegm)
Like Murali Dravid has retired from the longer format of the game. There's no doubt he was once gun, but it's pretty hard to predict how he will fare in this. Think this pick was early, for mine, but I also suspect he's a real favourite of Phlegm's and that possibly justifies a somewhat early selection.

19. Rilee Rossow (Hunter)
Although he hasn't kicked on as well as many people would've suspected/hoped, his record is still pretty solid in a tricky competition. He also can bat anywhere in the order. Rate this selection.

20. Usman Khawaja (Farhat)
Since being dumped from the Test side for the first time in his career, he has generally struggled at FC cricket. I suppose he can bat anywhere in the order, but I think this pick was early.

21. Moeen Ali (Callum)
Classy batsman who can offer some useful offies. On paper it's a good pick, but he's only started to kick on recently in his career so I still think he's somewhat untested. Not sold.

22. Johan van der Wath (Captain/KickATinAlong)
For mine his performances haven't been that stellar in recent years. However he can bat 8, and it's not like he's been god awful, so the pick is far from a disaster.

23. Kyle Jarvis (Howe/Himmanv)
Really rate Jarvis from what I've seen, and his Test record thus far is pretty decent. Possibly a bit of a punt as how he'll go in county cricket is anyone's guess, but it could turn out to be one of the picks of the draft.

24. Wasim Jaffer (Baxter/Teacups)
Not many better batsman left, particularly out of those who are openers. Yeah there are a lot of Indians with really h4x stats, but Jaffer is probably a bit more proven than the rest of them. Good selection.

25. Phil Jaques (Julian)
His performances have generally been pretty ordinary for quite some time IMO. I suppose the fact that he plays in high-profile competitions allows him to be picked this early, and I don't think the pick is an absolute shocker, but it was one of the weaker ones in the draft.

26. Azhar Ali (mightymariner/Weeman27bob)
Amazed he slid this far. One of the few active batsmen still left with a decent track record at the highest level, so IMO it's a very good selection.
​

 

Might as well restart this. Will do it in the format that Athlai did it though as the way Cribb did it just feels like a chore.

Mariner/Weeman

Dale Steyn - probably not the guy who I'd pick as #1 as there's one other (and arguably two) who are probably equal on bowling and better at batting, but still a good pick for #1. I will also add that you got very lucky to have the #1 pick - it makes your side far more competitive than what it otherwise would be. +1

Matt Prior - an interesting one. If this draft was done a year ago he'd likely go in the first round. Despite his recent rubbish form, he's still got quite a lot of credit in the bank and for the end of Round 2 you weren't going to get much better keeping options. +1

Tim Bresnan - I'm not Bresnan's hugest fan, he's declined quite a bit since his 2012 injury. However, he can bat, and still has a pretty good international record. Not terrible. 0

Simon Kerrigan - ignore his Test debut for the purposes of this. There aren't many spinners available with good records in strong domestic comps, and he's still fairly young. IMO it's a good pick-up. +1

Ashwell Prince - 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. 0

Azhar Ali - amazed he slid this far. One of the few active batsmen still left with a decent track record at the highest level, so IMO it's a very good selection. +3

Quinton de Kock - on paper this is a good pick, but his record is still pretty raw and he's not going to be keeping so I find this a bit of a reach for you. Would likely make a good retention pick though. 0

Ramnaresh Sarwan - it's pretty rare that you can find someone with a good Test record who's still playing at this stage, but his recent form has been iffy. Not a huge fan of this pick but it's not a dire one either. -1

David Masters - gun pick. Really good recent record. +3

Paras Dogra - not sure how I feel about this pick. From memory the division of cricket he plays in isn't much chop, and he's only really had one stellar year. Can see why you did it, but I think you got Indian0wnd somewhat here. -1

Rikki Clarke - this is a pick that I find difficult to rate. But he doesn't seem to bowl much and his batting has been pretty poor lately. Not a huge fan of the selection, though if you wanted to pick a solid domestic pure all-rounder, this was the right place to do it IMO. 0

Luke Ronchi - not sure you needed a third keeper, but in general Ronchi is a pretty gun selection for R12. Has been killing it since moving to New Zealand. +1

Piyush Chawla - this is a tricky one. In England, he's been pretty good for the most part, but in India his record is utter tripe. I think he would've made a good R18 pick or whatever but this is early. -1

Robin Bist - this Indian bat however was a pretty solid pick IMO. Though his record is boosted by a really gun season that he hasn't really looked like achieving again. 0

Jalaj Saxena - main thing he has going for him is that he's played some A-team cricket. Not a good pick particularly given you already had Clarke - his record with bat or ball is nothing to write home about. -2

Eoin Morgan - have never rated Morgan as a FC prospect. Still however the fact that he did have a couple of good Test innings means that he'll probably be a solid depth option. 0

Matt Coles - only one good season, but he can bat #8, and that season was pretty gun. Still quite young as well, so for a Rd 17 it's a pretty good pick. +1

Chris Wright - basically what I wrote about Coles applies here, although he's slightly older and slightly worse with the bat. +1

Overall:

Man you got lucky with Steyn. Without him you'd be fucked. Probably the worst batting in the comp, but your attack of Steyn + poms should be very handy. Get your pitch right and you've got a very good chance of making the Top 8.

Overall Rating: +7

 

Haha yeah thats a pretty good summary of their team.

Worst batting in the comp, oh you picked Steyn? Top 8.

 

Your team will benefit from not facing your team.