Last years team had an extra weighting for World Cup matches. This year there's an extra weighting for matches against top 9 opponents (Bangladesh have performed well enough this year that any results against them are certainly valid) and also for matches away from home.
Openers: Amla and Nasir Jamshed
This is only chosen based on what the players did as openers, and only from players who played at least 5 innings as an opener.
| Name | Innings | Runs | Weighted Index |
| HM Amla (SA) | 9 | 678 | 77.05 |
| Nasir Jamshed (Pak) | 8 | 462 | 58.69 |
| G Gambhir (India) | 13 | 570 | 39.44 |
| DPMD Jayawardene (SL) | 12 | 425 | 36.52 |
| IR Bell (Eng) | 11 | 549 | 36.31 |
| AN Cook (Eng) | 15 | 663 | 34.09 |
| TM Dilshan (SL) | 30 | 1119 | 33.61 |
Jamshed probably secured his spot in the team with his big innings against India in the last match of the year. A not out hundred against one of the top teams, away from home at close to a run a ball is certainly a good way to boost your ranking.
Top order: de Villiers, Kohli, Morgan
| Name | Innings | Runs | Weighted Index |
| AB de Villiers (SA) | 10 | 597 | 105.21 |
| V Kohli (India) | 17 | 1026 | 59.54 |
| EJG Morgan (Eng) | 12 | 364 | 53.57 |
| KC Sangakkara (SL) | 29 | 1184 | 33.92 |
| MJ Clarke (Aus) | 13 | 619 | 33.66 |
| SK Raina (India) | 13 | 326 | 31.61 |
| BB McCullum (NZ) | 10 | 416 | 31.58 |
| LD Chandimal (SL) | 26 | 800 | 29.31 |
| JP Duminy (SA) | 8 | 273 | 27.75 |
When I looked at the batting of players while they were keeping there wasn't much comparison. AB de Villiers was 1st on 116.7, then BJ Wattling on 70.2 and MS Dhoni on 57.4. Given the massive disparity, the next thing that the team needs is an all-rounder who can close out the batting. We already have a keeper, so we need someone who can make a contribution with the ball occasionally.
Closer: Sammy
| Name | Matches | Batting | Bowling | Difference |
| DJG Sammy (WI) | 17 | 33.06 | 25.75 | 7.31 |
| AD Mathews (SL) | 21 | 33.56 | 34.13 | -0.57 |
| DJ Hussey (Aus) | 15 | 42.89 | 53.91 | -11.02 |
| AD Russell (WI) | 14 | 26.75 | 40.29 | -13.54 |
I was expecting Andre Russell to come out on top here, but he actually came out last of the players who had batted and bowled enough to count.
Bowlers: Narine, Abdur Razzak, Morne Morkel, Finn, Roach
| Name | Matches | Average | E/r | Weighted Index |
| SP Narine (WI) | 17 | 17.64 | 3.66 | 13.01 |
| Abdur Razzak (Ban) | 9 | 20.75 | 3.95 | 16.40 |
| M Morkel (SA) | 11 | 21.15 | 4.89 | 16.71 |
| ST Finn (Eng) | 14 | 20 | 4.2 | 16.81 |
| KAJ Roach (WI) | 8 | 19.88 | 5.07 | 16.98 |
| RS Bopara (Eng) | 14 | 25 | 3.43 | 17.16 |
| Saeed Ajmal (Pak) | 17 | 21.12 | 4.31 | 17.39 |
| SR Watson (Aus) | 14 | 23.05 | 4.27 | 17.46 |
| CJ McKay (Aus) | 17 | 23.88 | 4.52 | 18.80 |
I had to make some decisions on the formula, as neither England or Bangladesh had played away from home, so I used a different formula for these teams. It seems a fairly balanced bowling line up, with Roach, Finn and Morkel bringing the heat up front, and then Narine, Razzak and Sammy to take the pace off the ball later on.
So the full team:
Hashim Amla
Nasir Jamshed
AB de Villiers (w)
Virat Kohli
Eion Morgan
Darren Sammy (c)
Abdur Razzak
Morne Morkel
Steven Finn
Kemar Roach
Sunil Narine
I made Sammy the captain, because I think he is fantastic at getting the best out of his players.
Inarguable picks: Amla, Kohli, ABDV, Narine. I'd be inclined to agree with Finn, Roach & Morkel too (Clint McKay & Mitchell Starc did alright though). Could argue for Ajmal over Razzak but I guess a bit of left arm spin would be nice.
ReplyDeleteDhoni should be in there; he times an innings very well & won quite a few matches in pressure situations this year. AB can drop the gloves for his presence in the field & back issues.
There's a case for Cook over Jamshed but that's pedantic really. No all rounders did well this year (Sammy actually averaged 36+ with the ball) so you can keep Morgan seeing as there's already 5 bowlers. I think Bell, Clarke & Sanga make better shouts though because they made more runs; Morgan's average is inflated by not outs.
Pietersen would probably be in there if it wasn't for the retirement debacle. ABDV would captain to ease Dhoni's workload (and 'cos he's a better captain). Kohli & Bell provide the steady momentum for ABDV & Dhoni to explode at the end.
Amla
Jamshed
Kohli
Bell
ABDV (c)
Dhoni (wk)
Razzak (or Starc on a seaming wicket)
Morkel
Finn
Roach
Narine
The tail's a bit long & Shakib would probably be the all-rounder if he played more than 4 matches but with the form the top 6 were in this year I think they'd manage!
Just remembered Bell's been opening this year, no problem, just have Michael Clarke come in to replace him (& he can of course captain if needed). Also I just wanted to justify choosing Starc over McKay - he's more of a strike bowler, despite the fact that he can be erratic. And of course he has a lot more potential.
ReplyDeleteWhat a team though, getting excited just thinking about it. Shame about Shakib & KP though, Pietersen would replace Clarke in my lineup & Shakib would replace Razzak. Now that team would have the perfect balance to it.