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February 23, 2011Posted on 02/23/2011 in World Cup 2011
The absent XI
From Tim Wigmore, United Kingdom
Will South Africa miss "the next Klusener's" hitting down the order?
© Getty ImagesHershelle Gibbs
His autobiography may have been a gripping read, but its vivid depiction of the cliques in the South African dressing room helped end his international career. Which is a great shame, because, even at 36, Gibbs’s panache and audacity at the crease, best illustrated in his 111-ball 175 against Australia, have the capacity to thrill – as does his fielding.
Marcus Trescothick
For a man often described as ‘stand and deliver’ in his style, Trescothick is remarkably nimble on his feet. Of all the examples of his clean striking in the opening overs of ODI innings, perhaps the best was against Glenn McGrath in the Champions Trophy in 2004: Trescothick, happy to charge virtually any quick, drove McGrath for four consecutive boundaries. If he made himself available, there is no doubt Trescothick would have been opening for England: Andrew Strauss’s forays down the wicket look almost apologetic in comparison.
VVS Laxman
Too orthodox for ODIs? Perhaps, but tell Australia, against who he’s scored four centuries at an average of 46. If Hashim Amla can become the top-ranked one-day batsman in the world, it seems strange that there is no place for Laxman in India’s side. His classical style looks incongruous in Twenty20, certainly, but a man with his range of shots and ability to accelerate could be invaluable in ODIs.
Brad Hodge
Despite seven centuries in his past 20 Australian domestic one-day games and a limited-overs know-how few batsmen can match, there’s no place for Hodge at the World Cup. Labelled the “hard-luck story of the century” by Matthew Hayden, it’s pretty hard to argue – rumours that he never fitted into the Australian dressing room are one potential explanation.
Owais Shah
Overly intense and a shoddy fielder he may be, but Shah has a six-hitting ability England appear to lack in their middle-order. That much was epitomised by an 89-ball 98, with six maximums, against South Africa in the 2009 Champions Trophy. And his ease against spin helped him average 59 in England’s last one-day series in India. In the absence of Eoin Morgan, could Shah have been England’s finisher?
Zulqarnain Haider
Remembered for fleeing mid-series against South Africa last year, promising to blow the whistle on match-fixers, Haider retired from cricket aged just 24. Those who saw his superbly gritty 88 on Test debut last summer will know he should be in South Asia now, rather than England.
Albie Morkel
The ‘next Klusener’ will not be appearing in the World Cup. For a fifth bowler, he was always too liable to be expensive with the ball. Nevertheless, South Africa may long for him when chasing eight-an-over: Morkel can exploit the batting Powerplay like few others, most notably when looting Australia for 40* (off 18) and 40 (off 22) in two match-winning innings down under in 2009.
Mohammad Nabi
Afghanistan’s skipper will rue the change in the format from 2007: if 16 teams were permitted as they were then, he would be appearing in the World Cup. An off-spinning allrounder who also has a first-class hundred to his name, Nabi is a useful cricketer who, with 13 wickets at 10 in the World Twenty20 qualifiers last year, did more than anyone to secure Afghanistan’s place in that tournament.
Mohammad Amir
Yes, yes, we know why he won’t be playing, and that is right. But there’s no denying the sight of Amir’s mastery of the left-arm craft would have added to the tournament. Facing him under lights is not a prospect any opener would relish.
Simon Jones
The notion of a fit Jones may seem ridiculous, but his performances in the Caribbean Twenty20 competition, including claiming 4-10 in four overs, served as a reminder of his reverse swing mastery of ’05, as well as his oft-ignored subtleties. Still capable of touching 90mph, could he yet play for England again, if used in a manner akin to Australia with Shaun Tait?
Shane Bond
A slight cheat of a selection in that he’s retired, but what a shame it is. His last series – nine wickets at 21 against Australia last year – suggested Bond still possessed a genuine threat at international level. With express pace and canny use of bouncers, yorkers, cutters and slower balls alike Bond, even at 35, would have provided New Zealand’s attack with the cutting edge they are conspicuously lacking.
Posted by: Waspsting at February 23, 2011 9:26 PM
Mohammed Yousuf - biggest, unnecessary omission from this WC
Posted by: Dan at February 23, 2011 9:54 PM
Not Mike Hussey?
Posted by: wayne at February 23, 2011 10:03 PM
I know he has been quite rightly banned, but I think we have been robbed of the most promising bowler in the world in Aamir. Just seeing his improvement from game to game, few better things to watch in bowling circles in the last few years.
Posted by: Omar Shakeel at February 24, 2011 1:02 AM
Mark Boucher name should be their in the list!!!
Posted by: Onesh at February 24, 2011 2:44 AM
Where the hell are Sanath Jayasuriya- 13,000 runs, Chaminda Vaas-400 wickets & Suraj Randiv???Tim, Please go through your stats next time before you print stuff!Give me a break man!!!Pathetic!
Posted by: David at February 24, 2011 2:45 AM
Not fitting into the Australian dressing room is the least of Hodge's problems. The fact is, he's the Australian Graeme Hick - brilliant at domestic level, but a serial under-performer internationally. In 21 ODI innings he has 9 scores under 10 and 13 scores under 20, with an overall average of just 30. If Australia left a potential match-winner in M Hussey at home, there was no way they were going take a guaranteed make-weight in Hodge.
Posted by: Saxon at February 24, 2011 4:27 AM
Brad Hodge should have been selected; the rest of the names? meh. Either they were not available, or they are not good enough.
Posted by: IMRAN at February 24, 2011 4:42 AM
Mohammed yousuf.....Irfan Pathan.......Mohammed Asif.....Flintoff.....?
Posted by: sukhjivan singh at February 24, 2011 5:26 AM
we want prince of kolkatta sourav ganguly and v.v.s laxman to be part of indian side in world cup 2011.laxman is very talented player he has proved in one day matches against australia..and we all about dada he is top of the world.....we miss him alot.
Posted by: seriouslyswift at February 24, 2011 6:44 AM
Your X1 omits the best 'keeper on the planet . Mark Boucher is also a significant absentee . There is little doubt that he has fallen foul of the coach ,the new selection committee and his captain . He, perhaps , has not been as effective at no.7 in recent times but he has suffered because his much vaunted top 6 have often left him to rescue the side instead of allowing him to play his usual game . However he is still the best 'keeper in South Africa by a country mile .
It is unusual that no-one in our media , nor the coach ,has made mention as to the real reason for his ommission from the SA ODI side. The coach hides behind fluffy statements such as " he knows what he has to do to get back into the side ".
His captain has the last say in the selection of the team so one can only assume that Graeme Smith either shafted his little lieutenant or didn't have the courage to stand up to his coach and convenor of selectors .
Posted by: Tom Power at February 24, 2011 7:02 AM
Really enjoyed this article!
For a 12th Man look no further than Marlon Samuels. He was the leading runscorer in the Caribbean T20 competition you mention, averaging over 60 with a strike rate exceeding 120. He's also started the Caribbean four-day competition with two hundreds in three games, including 250* against Guyana. Throw in his waspish finger spin and sharp fielding and one has to ask why the Windies could not find a place for Samuels in their squad?
Posted by: Umer Khayyam at February 24, 2011 7:08 AM
what an awesome list... each and everyone of them is missed....
Posted by: Atunu at February 24, 2011 7:34 AM
You missed Mike Hussey and Mashrafe Bin Murtaza... :s
Posted by: John Ward at February 24, 2011 7:51 AM
And remember Hamilton Masakadza of Zimbabwe, out of form and/or confidence on the international stage, maybe, but harsh to drop him. Form is temporary but class is permanent, and he has it.
Posted by: nair ottappalam at February 24, 2011 7:53 AM
Eoin Morgan is not figuring in this list!!!!!!!!!! Laxman has always been overlooked in ODIs. I think Rahul Dravid should also figure in the absent XI. My team for absent XI will be like this. Marcus Trescothick, Herchelle Gibbs, Rahul Dravid, Eoin Morgan, Mark Boucher (WK), Owais Shah, Irfan Pathan, Chaminda Vaas, Albie Morkel, Pragyan Ojha & Ajmal Shahzad. Some of the readers may kindly name the Absent Captain
Posted by: Taimur Khan at February 24, 2011 8:57 AM
A few more....
1. Michael Hussey: He is reportedly fit to play for his state side now. What a pity for Australia.
2. Muhammad Yousaf: Class tells. Pakistan are short of class up front though they have hitters in abundance.
3. Muhammad Asif: Same logic as Amir. Glad he is out though. For Amir the heart feels a pang because he was not even 19 and clearly too afraid of the underworld to admit his guilt (hence the harsh sentence).
4. Eoin Morgan: Great finisher. Pity he is not fit.
5. Shane Warne: Still the best spinner in Australia by a country mile. Was willing to play had Ponting asked him. Karetja is Aussie weak link.
6. Rohit Sharma: Dropping Sharma in India may be a mistake. Gr8 flat track bully.
7. Alistair Cook: The man who buried the aussies in an avalanche of runs only a month ago
8. Finn: Better wicket taking option than shahzad or bresnan
Honorable mention: Sanath Jayasuriya...too old but the world cup will miss the great entertainer this time round
Posted by: Oliver Jones at February 24, 2011 10:18 AM
A very compelling article which makes me not only mad at the ICC for not keeping it at 16 sides (see Nabi's paragraph), but also mad at the misfortune of injuries and the arrogance of captains. It's a bit rich that captains such as Smith and Ponting can question dressing-room harmony...
Posted by: umar at February 24, 2011 10:42 AM
Mohammad Yousuf should aslo be in this list
Posted by: Kassa at February 24, 2011 10:57 AM
No room for Jayasuriya in the absent XI?
Posted by: Navdeep at February 24, 2011 12:40 PM
What about Dravid? He has the second highest average in World Cups only behind Sir Viv (minimum 20 innings). Top run getter in the 99 World Cup. He's not as good as Bevan, but he has the ability to finish an innings of pretty well and play any batting position. Other than than, he can handle pressure and only one of the few batsmen who can handle difficult pitches. His time may have passed, but so have many others on that list. Quite surprised he's not there.
Posted by: Pawan Mathur at February 24, 2011 12:55 PM
Add Muhammad Asif, Mashrafe Murtaza, and Mike Hussey to the list
Posted by: Satish at February 24, 2011 3:11 PM
Where is Rahul Dravid here? He has a 50(22) against Newzealand. He is also a good player of Onedayer having over 10000 runs under his belt.
Posted by: srinivasan at February 24, 2011 3:29 PM
A.Morkel miss is the gain to CSK, and too hussey
Posted by: Venkat at February 24, 2011 3:49 PM
What about Rahul Dravid? At least as far as ODIs are concerned, he is surely ahead of VVS, just for his running between the wickets if not anything else.
Posted by: Irene at February 24, 2011 3:55 PM
Except for Mike Hussey, no other player will be missed in the WC.
Some of the names mentioned above are like "who?". Pointless post.
Posted by: Satnarine Maharaj at February 24, 2011 4:45 PM
What a delight it would have been to see Marlon Samuels at this World Cup . We all know why he isn't there, nevertheless his presence would have excited the spectators for his delightful and flamboyant stroke play. Maybe 2015?
Posted by: Tejus at February 24, 2011 4:46 PM
You left out Dravid. You just lost some peoples respect.
RIP.
Posted by: sajjad at February 24, 2011 4:52 PM
How about Mohammad Yousuf.... shall he not be playing to strengthen the middle order of Pakistan? A batsman of his class is very rare to watch..
One more probable man who was left out by INDIANS is RP singh...I think he deserves a place inspite of Sri Santh...what a pitty RP.
Posted by: Lasker at February 24, 2011 4:55 PM
What a funny selection???....where is Masrafee,Irfan Pathan,Symonds?? why hodge, haider.
Posted by: Omarr at February 24, 2011 6:08 PM
Hussey, Naveed, Shoaib, Yousuf, RP Singh
Posted by: shyam nair at February 24, 2011 11:54 PM
there are lot of names thats missing ..like if u r missin laxman why not rahul dravid,india can play laxman but in place of whom, and respected michael hussey,after the little master he was the one i wanted to look for."david warner"what an opening combination it wud hav bein,mohd yusuf oh boy what difference he wud have made.and there are many more.but yes albie cud have bein the next klusener.gibs and threscothick two best openers to watch.hope to see glimpse of shah in this ipl.
Posted by: Anonymous at February 25, 2011 11:55 AM
No Yousuf or Hussey? Yeah what a creditable list. Brad Hodge, you've got to be kidding me.
Posted by: Tim Wigmore at February 25, 2011 11:56 AM
Just to clarify - the XI was based on players who weren't in the 15s at any point (so no Morgan, Hussey).
Some interesting names - Boucher was not selected partly to vary things some more. Yousuf would obviously have been a good selection. I thought about Dravid but chose Laxman ahead (partly cause he's player few less ODIs)
Thanks for all the comments
Posted by: Steve Pearson at February 28, 2011 7:35 PM
Ye such a pity selectors and captains select the teams. It should be by public ballot, and then if they fail we hang them in public.
Posted by: Roshana at March 22, 2011 5:04 PM
Gibbs
Trescothick
Pietersen
Yousuf
Dravid
Flintoff
Morkel
Boucher
Amir
Asif
Ojha
players above 40 and retired players has not been considered.
Posted by: Jerry at March 31, 2011 2:31 PM
Congrats to both the finalists.. Was an excellent tournament , more a bowlers wc , in fairness we had some batsmen scoring 100s as well.
Thought SA were a little unfortunate . they ahd the best allround side .
the best bowling sides however came from Sri Lanka & Pakistan . They had lots of variety and teh capatins had so much options.
Ths final will feature 2 Asian teams in the final for the first time in world cup history . Kudos to both .
in bowling Sl have the edge , in batting India may have a slight edge with their middle order performing a little better . fielding will be a crucial factor .
This will be a pressure game , India does hold home advantage , but never under estimate the Lions .. If the Sl spinners can choke runs , will be a great final..
Good luck to both teams and may the better side win.. it is cricket and anything is possible , collapses , chokes and big hitting - has all the elements to make it a memorable final.
cricket fever is on ..
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