South African ODI XI

Yes, the so called chokers but they have been a very good ODI side since their return in 1992 and have produced not only great batsmen and bowlers but also some magnificent fielders.

My team, based on their return is:

G Smith
Gibbs
Amla
Kallis
De-Villiers (wkt)
Rhodes
Kluesner
Pollock
Boje
Steyn
Donald

Graeme Smith
Herschelle Gibbs
Jacques Kallis
Jonty Rhodes
Peter Kirsten
Lance Klusener
AB de Villiers (WK)
Shaun Pollock
Nicky Boje
Andrew Hall
Dale Steyn

lol stella i think its only you and me, with a south african ODI XI.

Good team overall CF but why would you pick Hall ahead of Donald?
And surely ABDV should be batting higher than Rhodes and Klusener.
Apart from that,looks good to me
Would you consider my above suggested changes plz?

Hall gives more all round strength, and i have steyn as my out and out quick.

i like having the wicketkeeper batting 7 if i can

cricketfan90 wrote:lol stella i think its only you and me, with a south african ODI XI.

cricketfan90 wrote:Hall gives more all round strength, and i have steyn as my out and out quick.

i like having the wicketkeeper batting 7 if i can

But surely AB is a better batsman than Rhodes and Klusener.He keeps wicket for them these days but still bats at 4 so why should he bat at 7 in an All Time XI?
Also Re:Hall, do you really need your No.10 to be able to bat?

Like i said i wanted AB as my keeper at 7, that is my reasoning, and Hall is too good to be left out, and thats the only place where i could fit him in.

shanks

What would your team be?

Stella wrote:shanks

What would your team be?

Need to think a bit.Will tell later.

i dont usually get involved in these hypothetical all time XIs but really cant understand the logic of batting the guy who is arguably the best ODI batsman in the team as low as 7 and behind two guys who have much worse records just because you want your wicket-keeper to bat at 7

surely his position in the lineup should reflect his ability as a batsman and not what position he fields in

de villiers has made 11 centuries in just 115 innings in ODIs which is a fantastic conversion rate and he would be wasted coming in at 7

look i have already given my reasoning, and not gonna keep repeating myself, i dont mind critcism, as long as its constructive which it is, but if u feel u can make a better side than feel free

cricketfan90 wrote:look i have already given my reasoning, and not gonna keep repeating myself, i dont mind critcism, as long as its constructive which it is, but if u feel u can make a better side than feel free

Just answer one question CF.
Would you decide the batting order based on their fielding positions or their batting capabilities?

Gibbs
Amla
Kallis
De Villiers
Cronje (capt)
Rhodes
Klusener
Boucher (wk)
Pollock
Steyn
Donald

Cronje a controversial pick, but match-fixing aside he was a very good captain, and an excellent, fighting cricketer. No spinners, but just couldn't leave out any of the bowlers. On spinning tracks probably Boje in for one of the bowlers.

when did i ever pick them on their fielding capablilties?

to be fair CF, i think your side would look much better balanced with De Villiers moved up to 4. Also, Hall is a better batsman than Boje or Pollock and could come in higher (depending on situation: Pollock and Boje both bigger hitters).

Boje isnt a big hitter, Hall is a bit hitter.

What about Justin Kemp?

Firstly I'm not a big cricket follower, but I'm basing most of my choices on the 1999 ICC World Cup, where South Africa should've won.

1. Amla
2. Gibbs
3. Kallis
4. de Villiers (w/k)
5. Cronje (c)
6. Rhodes
7. Klusener
8. Pollock
9. Boje
10. Steyn
11. Donald

These are the reasoning behind my choices.

* Amla is an automatic pick. Record is the best of anyone to have ever player ODIs.

* Gibbs was explosive and a match winner. Fantastic fielder to boot.

* Kallis and de Villers are automatic picks.

* Cronje was a 50-50 pick vs Boucher, South Africa's best captain vs one of the great glovemen of all time. Today I went for Hansie on another day it could be Mark!

* Rhodes the best fielder of my lifetime.

* Klusener one of the great finishers of all time. Fine bowler.

* Pollock and Boje genuine all rounders. Can bat anywhere in the order. Polly one of the great bowlers on all time.

* Donald was South Africa greatest spearhead. Steyn may surpass him, but Donald, at his best was frightening.

* Steyn was a 50-50 vs Morkel. I just love Steyn so went for him.

Overall batting down to 9, with 7 bowling options. Although there is only one spinning option. Not many would want to face Donald, Steyn, Polly, the Zulu and Kallis.

very good side demon. Good reasoning as well mate

cricketfan90 wrote:very good side demon. Good reasoning as well mate

Thank you cricketfan90

almost the same side as mine Demon just swapped in Boucher for Boje. Glad someone else has Cronje in there.

Mad for Chelsea wrote:almost the same side as mine Demon just swapped in Boucher for Boje. Glad someone else has Cronje in there.

I rate Cronje as one of the best captain's I've seen Mad for Chelsea. Throw in he was a fine fielder, useful bowler and a fighter with the bat. Ideal member of the swashbuckling side I've selected!

Cronje was a very good captain and useful bowler but I would prefer to play an extra batsman as Kallis is in mot sides, including mine as the 6th bowler.

Some players that have dipped under the radar are:

Ntini
Cullinan
McMillan
Kemp

i thought about cronje, but wasnt sure whether to include him over the match fixing business

Ntini while good is not at the same level as Donald, Steyn or Pollock IMO. Cullinan isn't as good as De Villiers, and I prefer Cronje. McMilan while an excellent all-rounder again is not good enough to displace Klusener or Pollock. Kemp could be a decent option, maybe at 6, but that would mean leaving out Johnty, which I can't bring myself to do.

there is certainly plenty of runs in my side, steyn at 11 can give it a hit.

Mad for Chelsea

I agree but I thought some may have mentioned them.

Yes, good side Cricketfan.

De-Villiers at seven is a little low.

i have already stated my reasons for that. De villiers would probably be my captain as well. Him or smith.

cricketfan90 wrote:i have already stated my reasons for that. De villiers would probably be my captain as well. Him or smith.

I was only pulling your leg

Stella wrote:Cronje was a very good captain and useful bowler but I would prefer to play an extra batsman as Kallis is in mot sides, including mine as the 6th bowler.

Some players that have dipped under the radar are:

Ntini
Cullinan
McMillan
Kemp

For me, I can't see the need for the extra batsman. Polly and Boje have International hundreds at 8 and 9 in the order is frightening for the opposition.

I did consider Makhaya, but I feel Steyn/Morkel are just ahead. Makhaya is a Proteas legend without a doubt though.

Stella wrote:

cricketfan90 wrote:i have already stated my reasons for that. De villiers would probably be my captain as well. Him or smith.

I was only pulling your leg

yh i no

Hashim Amla - Avg 55.24 - S/R 92.51
Herschelle Gibbs - Avg 36.13 - S/R 83.26
Jaques Kallis - Avg 45.45 - S/R 72.88 - bowling Avg 31.93 - econ 4.82
Abie De Villiers (wicketkeeper) - Avg 45.68 - S/R 91.29
Hansie Cronje (captain) - Avg 38.64 - s/R 76.47
Jonty Rhodes - Avg 35.11 - S/R 80.9
Lance Klusener - Avg 41.1 - S/R 89.91 - bowling Avg 29.95 - econ 4.7
Shaun Pollock - bowling Avg 24.5 - econ 3.67
Morne Morkel - bowling Avg 23.39 - econ 4.82
Alan Donald - bowling Avg 21.78 - econ 4.15

Dale Steyn in my opinion is to expensive and has been wacked a few times.

With herschelle gibbs, jonty rhodes you have two of the best fielders, Kallis provides you with one of the top slip fielders, Kallis, Klusener and Pollock gives you three great all rounders, which allows the Proteas to bat all the way to 9. and Hansie Cronje was a great captain.

Gibbs's s/rate surprises me.
Thought it may be higher.

Good team, btw.

your main weakness biltong old thing is that you only have ten players. Other than that, very good team

yh same that is very suprising.

biltongbek wrote:Hashim Amla - Avg 55.24 - S/R 92.51
Herschelle Gibbs - Avg 36.13 - S/R 83.26
Jaques Kallis - Avg 45.45 - S/R 72.88 - bowling Avg 31.93 - econ 4.82
Abie De Villiers (wicketkeeper) - Avg 45.68 - S/R 91.29
Hansie Cronje (captain) - Avg 38.64 - s/R 76.47
Jonty Rhodes - Avg 35.11 - S/R 80.9
Lance Klusener - Avg 41.1 - S/R 89.91 - bowling Avg 29.95 - econ 4.7
Shaun Pollock - bowling Avg 24.5 - econ 3.67
Morne Morkel - bowling Avg 23.39 - econ 4.82
Alan Donald - bowling Avg 21.78 - econ 4.15

Dale Steyn in my opinion is to expensive and has been wacked a few times.

With herschelle gibbs, jonty rhodes you have two of the best fielders, Kallis provides you with one of the top slip fielders, Kallis, Klusener and Pollock gives you three great all rounders, which allows the Proteas to bat all the way to 9. and Hansie Cronje was a great captain.

But only 10 players.So if you add Boje to the list it is perfect.
Morkel is a better ODI bowler than Steyn.

Yeah, I was in a rush when I did the team and stupidly forgot to count them, not very bright am I.

Who' your all important eleventh player then, biltongbek?

I would think it needs to be a batsman.

Because the batting line up is quite strong and you have Kallis, de Villiers, Amla and Gibbs who can all bat long spells, I would consider someone with a high strike rate, and add them somewhere in the middle, Greame Smith is good, he could be put in the middle to be a pinch hitter. Maybe JP Duminy, he can bat well and also bowl a spell if necessary.

His batting average is 40.98 and S/R 85.41, his bowling isn't great but his economy rate is under 5.

am I the only one picking Boucher? Sure De Villiers can keep, but he's a far better fielder, whereas Boucher is a top quality keeper and a useful batsman in a crisis. Imgine De Villiers, Gibbs and Johnty in the ring, scary thought eh?

i was tempted to pick boucher, but if u give AB the gloves, then you have extra room for another allrounder, or batsman, etc, and it gives you more options

Boucher must be one of the most underrated Cricketers of his era.

BUT I'd still have De-Villiers as keeper

Not many have picked a team but based on our picks, the 606v2 team would be:

Gibbs
Amla
Kallis
De-Villiers (wkt)
Cronje
Rhodes
Kluesner
Pollock
Boje
Steyn
Donald

good side pretty much my side, apart from donald, and cronje.

Same as mine apart from I had Smith instead of Cronje.

Might do an England one next. A bigger but possibly not better pool to chose from.

same as mine with Boucher in for Boje.

i did think about Boucher, but dont you think that if you give AB the gloves then you get another batsman/allrounder in the side instead.

Boucher's a good combative lower order batsman, and a much better keeper than De Villiers. Also De Villiers is a brilliant fielder. I understand people picking De Villiers as keeper, but surprised I was the only one to go with Boucher. Maybe it's because I keep wicket myself, and tend to always go with the better keepers when picking a "best XI"