NZTailender
I can't believe I ate the whole thing
Trying to think of a novel way of coming up with random Best XIs to vs each other in some totally unrealistic scenario that could be fair and balanced in some way.
Using the team world rankings as a guide, the challenge is to make a team from nations in a certain ranking position. So Team Red is made up from sides ranked 1, 3, 5, 7, 9 for instance, and then B from 2, 4, 6, 8, 10. But given Blue is slightly handicapped with starting with second best side, perhaps they should be 2, 4, 6, 8, 9 and team A is 1, 3, 5, 7, 10. This may be flawed so I'm open to suggestions. Basically would like this thread to be an inventive way to line up two XIs to play each other which could be balanced and not Incredibly Strong World First XI plays Lesser 2nd XI. Using the rankings system, who can be in which team could continuously change, strengthening one side and weakening the other, bringing them closer together - or further apart.
That said, the current Team Red would be made up from players from India, Australia, South Africa, New Zealand and Zimbabwe. Team Blue is Pakistan, England, Sri Lanka, West Indies and Bangladesh. Team Blue automatically looks weaker Having at least 1 player from each nation could make it a bit more interesting, rather than stacking it with guns from just a select few.
Anyway having a quick go:
Red XI:
1. D Warner
2. M Vijay
3. K Williamson
4. S Smith
5. V Kohli
6. C Ervine/H Masakadza
7. BJ Watling+
8. R Ashwin
9. M Starc
10. D Steyn
11. J Hazlewood
Blue XI
1. A Cook
2. T Iqbal
3. J Root
4. Y Khan
5. D Bravo
6. J Bairstow+
7. B Stokes
8. R Herath
9. S Broad
10. Y Shah
11. J Anderson
Using the team world rankings as a guide, the challenge is to make a team from nations in a certain ranking position. So Team Red is made up from sides ranked 1, 3, 5, 7, 9 for instance, and then B from 2, 4, 6, 8, 10. But given Blue is slightly handicapped with starting with second best side, perhaps they should be 2, 4, 6, 8, 9 and team A is 1, 3, 5, 7, 10. This may be flawed so I'm open to suggestions. Basically would like this thread to be an inventive way to line up two XIs to play each other which could be balanced and not Incredibly Strong World First XI plays Lesser 2nd XI. Using the rankings system, who can be in which team could continuously change, strengthening one side and weakening the other, bringing them closer together - or further apart.
That said, the current Team Red would be made up from players from India, Australia, South Africa, New Zealand and Zimbabwe. Team Blue is Pakistan, England, Sri Lanka, West Indies and Bangladesh. Team Blue automatically looks weaker Having at least 1 player from each nation could make it a bit more interesting, rather than stacking it with guns from just a select few.
Anyway having a quick go:
Red XI:
1. D Warner
2. M Vijay
3. K Williamson
4. S Smith
5. V Kohli
6. C Ervine/H Masakadza
7. BJ Watling+
8. R Ashwin
9. M Starc
10. D Steyn
11. J Hazlewood
Blue XI
1. A Cook
2. T Iqbal
3. J Root
4. Y Khan
5. D Bravo
6. J Bairstow+
7. B Stokes
8. R Herath
9. S Broad
10. Y Shah
11. J Anderson
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