Which letter of the alphabet could field the strongest test team?

First topic message reminder :

The B team would take some beating.

Boycott
Bailey
Bradman
Barrington
Border
Botham
Boucher (wk)
Benaud (capt)
A Bedser
Barnes
Bedi

Very strong on the all rounder front - as well as Botham, Bailey and Benaud could have had Eddie Barlow (SA) as well as Keith Boyce (WI).

sirfredperry wrote:Our posts crossed after the Verity inclusion. Shucks, I should have thought of Vettori and Valentine, but it's the batting that needs bolstering and I'm not sure the guys you've dug up can cut the mustard.

True. I had similar with the batting for the F's - luckily there having CB Fry and Flintoff helped lengthen the batting

How about Bill Voce for a V team?

Funny how similar names crop up at the same time . You had Hobbs, Hammond and Hutton in the 1930s and then there was the 3 Ws in the 1950s as well as Lock and Laker and Loader, and Gooch, Gatting and Gower in the 80s.
Some times the great partnerships, although non-alliterative, go together well - Hobbs and Sutcliffe, Holmes and Sutcliffe, May and Cowdrey, Greenidge and Haynes, Larwood and Voce.

sirfred,

Vaughan
Virgin
Bryan Valentine
Clive van Ryneveld
Peter van der Merwe
Vettori
Viswanath
Van Geloven
Veivers
Venkat
Bill Voce
Alf Valentine
Hedley Verity
Chaminda Vaas

Very short of batting so need 14 players.

could add Vogler to the spin attack

Roy Virgin was a very good county player and a good one to remember. Forgot all about Tom Veivers - one of those annoying Australians who made far too many runs and took far too many wickets for my liking in Ashes Tests !
Some thought B Valentine should have taken the 46/47 MCC side to Australia rather than a past-it, disinterested Hammond.
Chaminda Vaas ! How could I forget him?
I saw Peter van der Merwe at Lord's and The Oval in 1965 versus England. I saw South Africa's next Test in England, too.......a little matter of 29 years later !

This recent Lions side had 7 first initial J's and 6 last name Bs, a record?

JJ Roy
J Root
J Vince
J Taylor
J Bairstow
J Buttler
S Borthwick
S Meaker
D Briggs
N Buck
J Brooks

sirfredperry wrote:Roy Virgin was a very good county player and a good one to remember.

Apologies for repeating a recent story but I think it's rather good!

An old friend of mine opened the batting with Roy Virgin more than fifty years ago for Somerset under 19s. They reached lunch without loss. My pal was convinced he had played the innings of his life. The scoreboard showed Somerset were on around 120. However, a closer look showed Virgin was on 90 odd whilst my friend was on 16. Virgin went on to enjoy a twenty year career in county cricket with Somerset and Northants. He also came mighty close to a Test cap more than once. My friend went on to spend a working lifetime in the Life & Pensions industry!

guildfordbat wrote:

sirfredperry wrote:Roy Virgin was a very good county player and a good one to remember.

Apologies for repeating a recent story but I think it's rather good!

An old friend of mine opened the batting with Roy Virgin more than fifty years ago for Somerset under 19s. They reached lunch without loss. My pal was convinced he had played the innings of his life. The scoreboard showed Somerset were on around 120. However, a closer look showed Virgin was on 90 odd whilst my friend was on 16. Virgin went on to enjoy a twenty year career in county cricket with Somerset and Northants. He also came mighty close to a Test cap more than once. My friend went on to spend a working lifetime in the Life & Pensions industry!

I bet only one of them will die a Virgin though

Peter Seabiscuit Wheeler wrote:This recent Lions side had 7 first initial J's and 6 last name Bs, a record?

PSB - No - my side (see start of this thread) had 11 players all beginning with B.

Sorry Corporal I must have missed the replay of that game on ESPN classics

Just wondering if they should rename the Lions the " England BJ's"

Peter Seabiscuit Wheeler wrote:Sorry Corporal I must have missed the replay of that game on ESPN classics

Just wondering if they should rename the Lions the " England BJ's"

Too much of a mouthful.

After the demolition job on the poor Indians today, Warner might make it into the Ws team. It was like watching a 20-20 match.

Thought I might take this challenge to a new level : Initials , bah ...

PE Richardson (E)
M Richardson (NZ)
R Richardson (WI)
B Richards (SA)
V Richards (WI)
V Richardson (A) (Chappells' grandfather)
D Richardson (SA) (w/k)
T Richardson (E) (great fast bowler 1890s)
and now I'm struggling , alas...
so filling up with:
Thomas Richmond , who played once for England in 1921 and took 2/86;
Arthur Richardson , modest Australian all rounder from the twenties; and
Clive Rice , a South African who should have played a lot of Tests but for circumstances beyond his control.

OK , I had to cheat a bit , though I could have had Jack Richards , a brief career in the 80s which did nonetheless include an Ashes century, as a second wicket keeper - but it would have unbalanced the team further , and I think I have enough batting Why don't more Richards and their sons bowl ?