Comments on The Match Referee: World Second XI

Fair enough. I concede. Vettori is the only person...

2009-04-20T16:26:00.000+10:00

Fair enough. I concede. Vettori is the only person that is viable for the job, but following on with Ayush's comments, could we remove Vettori and remove him with someone who may not meet the cricketing level of Vettori, but has a captaincy record that beats him. Jayasuriya, Gayle, Michael Clarke even??

Just food for thought, but otherwise it's a great side and not only does it show that we have a lot of great bowlers, but the depth and competition of international cricket is immense.

As an aside, what these musings do show is that qu...

2009-04-18T20:13:00.000+10:00

As an aside, what these musings do show is that quality and consistent fast bowlers are currently in short supply on a global scale.

Good lineup Sri. Though, I do think Vetorri's sele...

2009-04-18T20:11:00.000+10:00

Good lineup Sri. Though, I do think Vetorri's selection is debatable in the first place. Particularly if this match was to be played at the G or Lords. Lee's selection, for mine, is also a bit dodgy.

Vetorri hasn't been very successful at getting wickets in Tests recently and Lee is clearly past his best IMHO.

I'd have Shane Bond in there for one of the two. If we're selecting non-ICL players only, then I would consider Stuart Broad, Fidel Edwards, Sohail Tanvir and, even Peter Siddle.

It'd be a tough decision, but I reckon Tanvir and Siddle would get the nod from me. Tanvir, especially because he provides variety with his lefties.

What about evening out the conditions and playing a match at the Eden Gardens?

Appreciate your feedback Kebab and the points you ...

2009-04-18T19:39:00.000+10:00

Appreciate your feedback Kebab and the points you raised!

I reckon if the game was to be played, it'd have to be at either one of the two grounds you mentioned, Lords (the home of cricket) or the Melbourne Cricket Ground, which could fit 100,000 for each of the five days of cricket. My favourite ground is the Gabba personally, so that would also be a great place to stage the contest.

Vettori as captain. I had a feeling that this selection would be the most debatable. The contenders for captaincy that I had in my mind were as follows:

Kumar Sangakkara: Not selected as hasn't had a formal stint as captain. However, I'd imagine he will be a great captain in years to come.

Younis Khan: Demonstrates great leadership with the bat, which justifies his position at no 3.Has only had brief stints as captain and has had issues in his previous stints.

Simon Katich: Great captain for New South Wales in the Sheffield Shield and was touted as a future captain a few years ago. However, international captaincy experience in my opinion is a pre-requisite to lead this team.

Daniel Vettori is an excellent cricketer, very experienced and in his tenure as captain for New Zealand has demonstrated on a consistent basis to lead by example.

Leading a World Second XI would be different to leading his inexperienced Kiwi outfit. He can leverage off the other players in the side for guidance and then be the end decision maker. This would assist in the tactical side of things that you alluded to.

He has a good head on his shoulders and appears quite the cool customer, so I back him in for the job.

I completely agree with TMR, this would be an amaz...

2009-04-17T12:54:00.000+10:00

I completely agree with TMR, this would be an amazing test match because there is no-one in the line-up who doesn't deserve to be there or who is leagues better than the rest. You've got Punter taking on Ishant and we know that the rivalry between these two signifies an important match, making this match have all the qualities of the test of the Century. (Where would it be played? That's gotta be important. Lords? The MCG?)

This Second XI is a very bold side and on its day would be able to get the better of the Wisden XI. I naturally criticise things and I have found it very hard to find errors or potholes in this team, but there is one that screams out to me.

Daniel Vettori is the best left-arm spinner the world has seen for a very long time, probably since Bishen Bedi (India) and so his selection is more than justfied, despite already having Muttiah in the side. But to give him the captaincy band is one step too far.

He received the reins from Stephen Fleming a few years ago and no New Zealander will argue that he has done a better job than Fleming. He's certainly done well, especially with the ODI team, but being a NZer, he does not have the experience or cricketing knowledge to lead a side with the likes of Kallis, Sarwan and Khan underneath him. It is true that it is difficult for him to prove his worth when he captains a weak test nation, but having seen him captaining for a few years now, I think it's safe to say that he is not a world-class captain. He may be a leader, but he isn't there yet as a captain.

But, it is true, that when you have two sides as strong as these are, the gameplay will be such that the captaincy probably wouldn't have that much of an effect. But Vettori still doesn't make the mark for me.