Despite the complete lack of cricket to watch, I’ve found this period of time to be quite conducive to random pondering and what ifs.
The first one is this: a hypothetical Test match of two teams made up of the best players from the world’s northern countries and southern countries.
Apart from the fun of picking the XIs, which I’ve done below, it popped into my head that this could be an interesting one-off match to actually organise, for whenever international sport is able to resume. There would be little pressure on the players to be at their absolute best after the long lay-off, yet fans from around the globe could find it relevant to them.
I deliberately haven’t called it southern hemisphere versus northern hemisphere because of a bit of cheeky fiddling I did to the definitions: I’ve included the West Indies in the southern team. This is just to balance numbers, otherwise it would be only three major Test-playing nations for the south (sorry Zimbabwe!) against five (apologies to Ireland and Afghanistan). I admit I’m skewing the equator a fair bit to squeeze the Windies in like this, but it makes this hypothetical much more fun.
So without further ado, here are my two XIs, and my reasons below.
Southern XI: David Warner, Tom Latham, Marnus Labuschagne, Steve Smith, Kane Williamson, BJ Watling, Jason Holder, Pat Cummins, Kagiso Rabada, Kyle Abbott, Nathan Lyon.
Northern XI: Rory Burns, Shan Masood, Cheteshwar Pujara, Virat Kohli, Babar Azam, Ben Stokes, Kusal Perera, Ravindra Jadeja, Stuart Broad, James Anderson, Jasprit Bumrah.
Southern XI
Warner was an easy choice, and surprisingly so was Latham when you look at his recent stats. While he didn’t impress too much in the series against Australia, that was an aberration from his normal form – he averaged exactly 50 in 2019 and was a stubborn thorn in India’s side for their recent series.
Labuschagne, Smith and Williamson are obvious. Labuschagne nudged Williamson out of first drop due to his superior recent form.
(Photo by Ryan Pierse/Getty Images)
For the keeper’s spot I picked Watling over the more hyped Quinton de Kock because for a long time he’s been the more invisible (and therefore proficient) keeper, and the more consistent batsman. He is fantastic at obdurately preserving his wicket and letting the quicker scoring batsmen do their thing.
Watling is batting at six because I’ve picked Jason Holder to bat at seven as the team’s all-rounder. He’s a very handy and occasionally damaging batsman, as well as one of the best bowlers in the world. His bowling really flies under the radar, but the stats show that his accurate out-swingers are seriously good – his ICC ranking of number three is no fluke.
Otherwise, the rest of the bowlers are no surprises, except perhaps Kyle Abbott. I’ve picked him because he is still an outstanding bowler, and for this special one-off Test match his Kolpak contract shouldn’t be relevant. He has simply torn up county cricket in the past couple of years.
Northern XI
This team has a different balance to it, and its selection issues were different too. The openers were harder to pick, simply because there weren’t the same stand-out performers. So I’ve gone a bit more speculative. Rory Burns, who may not have a large body of work, was impressive in the Ashes and has shown a Smith-like ability to embrace his weird technique and let it work for him. In 2019 he scored 824 runs at 45, a very creditable performance for an opener.
Shan Masood is admittedly even more speculative. He had a decent if not amazing 2019 (440 runs at 40), but I was impressed with his tour of Australia. His stats weren’t stunning but his technique looked solid and his temperament was sound, not letting himself get ruffled by short balls or edges. Two 50s and a lowest score of 19 shows that he was never overwhelmed. He might not go on with it, but I like him.
For the next batsmen we return to the blindingly obvious, with Pujara, Kohli and Babar Azam. While Babar might not have been as exceptional in Tests as in the white-ball formats, he’s still ridiculously good and is ranked number five for a reason. Ben Stokes is a similarly easy choice and provides a very good fifth bowling option.
(Photo by Gareth Copley/Getty Images)
The choice of wicketkeepers for the northern team was surprisingly poor. Rishabh Pant is not yet settled into Test cricket, neither Bangladesh nor Pakistan provide stars and England are torturing themselves by continuing to pick Jos Buttler for Tests. Kusal Perera is the best option – I’m not sure about his keeping but his batting has the potential to be match-winning, as South Africa well know.
Their bowlers are much easier to pick. Unfortunately I have to pick the English pace duo of Anderson and Broad. Although Bumrah wasn’t at his best in New Zealand I’d still pick him ahead of his compatriots or someone like Shaheen Shah Afridi, the closest competitors.
I went with Jadeja over Ravi Ashwin as the spinner because I am in awe of his accuracy, which makes him more dependable around the world, plus Ashwin’s form has dipped and Jadeja’s batting is seriously good. He scored exactly as many runs as Shan Masood at a better average of 60, and down at eight he’d have the freedom to either blaze or build.
In terms of who’d win, I’m leaning towards the Southern XI. Their shorter batting list is balanced by having more overall depth than the Northerners, and I feel the Southerners’ bowlers are slightly more adaptable.
badmanners
Roar Rookie
I reckon you should have picked de Kock because then you could have him and Warner room together! I'm sure they'd have a bit to talk about.
Brian
Guest
Anderson nearing 40 and its been over a year since he could walk 5 days in a row. Didn't put in Wasim Akram either.
joss heddle-bacon
Roar Rookie
labuschagne has the highest test average since Bradman so I think he's pretty much bolted on, but I agree with your point about Burns, he hasn't yet proved himself.
Packer
Guest
You’re leaving Anderson out a team playing in England ?!? Where he averages sub20 in the past 5 years ?
Brian
Guest
If such a game was to take place it would either be at Lord's or a similar Asia XI v World XI game in India, assuming its at Lord's North Karunaratne Pujara Root Kohli Azam Stokes Rahim Holder Jadeja Broad Bumrah South Latham Elgar Williamson Smith Taylor Labuschagne De Kock Cummins Rabada Lyon Boult
Josh H
Roar Rookie
Most of my points have already been made by others but just a few things: 1. Swap Labs and Kanos - pretty self-explanatory, Kane should be batting higher because he's simply more Test proven, and he bats 3 anyway. 2. Perera ain't much of a keeper, Rahim is a considerably better option 3. There are plenty of superior openers to Masood at this point, Agarwal, Karunaratne, Iqbal, and honestly Masood isn't even the best opener in his own team, Azhar Ali is (remember his 302 against WI?), idk if you did enough research here 4. Would definitely rather have Boult or Hoff over Abbott, yeah Kyle's had a good county season but after so long out of the test arena he's probably naturally going to be a bit off the pace 5. Shami would have to be close to Broad as well, him and Ishant are in excellent form; there's also nothing wrong with having both Ashwin and Jadeja in the same team, especially when you have Stokes to bowl his meds Otherwise though, a good effort.
Ruairidh MacDonald
Roar Rookie
re Abbott, I suppose I'm looking at general cricket form, not just Tests. I can't remember his stats from county cricket but they're seriously impressive. I agree thought that he's got good competition behind him, Wagner would be next for me you're right with the Windies, we'd certainly do fine without them at the moment, but who's knows in the future with south african cricket not looking overly healthy
Ruairidh MacDonald
Roar Rookie
You're right, the location would be crucial. I'd definitely not pick Warner either if it's in the UK. I suppose with Jofra I feel like we haven't seen him for long enough, in Tests particularly. A lot of his hype comes from his performances in ODIs, which of course he could translate into Tests, but he simply hasn't had the time/opportunities to do so
Ruairidh MacDonald
Roar Rookie
Oops I obviously haven't done my homework, I didn't realise Perera gave up his keeping so long ago. I was wondering how to get a Bangladeshi player in, seems like Rahim is the perfect fit there. With Tamim, I thought his form has not been quite as impressive in the last year or so, but he's not far away
Paul
Roar Guru
Abbott's record with both bat and ball is pretty fair Dave. Granted it's been a while since he played Tests but his numbers still stack up. There's also something about Rabada that doesn't gel with me. He's constantly in trouble for doing or saying stupid things and all the talent in world isn't any use, if he's out due to suspension. I also wonder how he'd get on with the rest of the team, especially a certain D Warner? Assuming Williamson's captain, he'd well and truly have his hands full IMO
DaveJ
Roar Rookie
Well spotted. Kusal Perera hasn’t kept since 2016, only kept in 6 Tests, and doesn’t have a great batting record anyway. Rahim has played most of his 70 tests as keeper and has a v solid average (37).
DaveJ
Roar Rookie
Drop Rabada and keep Abbott? As noted below, Abbott hasn’t played since 2017 and only played since 11 Tests. Philander also a shoo-in on that basis, and Burns and Labuschagne are too recent.
DaveJ
Roar Rookie
I can’t see how Kyle Abbott gets a guernsey if we’re picking on recent form and he hasn’t played since 2017. Only played 11 Tests anyway. Much better case for Starc, Boult, Wagner or Hazlewood, or Philander if we are looking at longer term record. Would have thought Agarwal (average 57) or Rohit Sharma (46) were way ahead of Burns (33) even if they haven’t been as impressive away from home as in India. A strong case for Mohammed Shami or even Ishant Sharma over Broad. Would have gone for de Kock over Watling but it’s a close call. Don’t think the South needs the Windies to even things and happy to give them back Holder. So Warner, Latham, Williamson, Smith, Taylor, Labuschagne, de Kock, Cummins, Starc, Rabada, Lyon. If we did even things up, why not give us Sri Lanka, as the most southern northern team?
Tigerbill44
Roar Guru
Yes, I was certainly expecting Rahim, he has been pretty consistent for some time.
matth
Roar Guru
I would have thought the keeper's spot could have gone to Rahim. Tamim Iqbal for one opener as well.
Patrick
Roar Pro
Nice concept. Leaving the Windies in the North here’s what I’d go with: North: Mayank Agarwal, Rohit Sharma, Chesteshwar Pujara, Virat Kohli, Babar Azam, Mushfiqur Rahim wk, Jason Holder, Ravindra Jadeja, Ravi Ashwin, Jimmy Anderson, Jasprit Bumrah. – If Labuschagne can make the South team after 14 Tests, Agarwal can make the North after 11. Rohit Sharma has done really well as an opener, and despite a reputation as a white-ball player, has a fantastic First Class Record. Stokes is very unlucky, but Jason Holder squeezes him out. South: David Warner, Tom Latham, Kane Williamson, Steve Smith, Ross Taylor, Marnus Labuschagne, BJ Watling wk, Pat Cummins, Neil Wagner, Nathan Lyon, Kagiso Rabada. -Can’t see a standout all-rounder (De Grandhomme’s probably the clostest), so Ross Taylor comes in as an extra batsmen. Marnus gets pushed to six to reward experienced teammates for their longevity. The only other thing to consider is conditions. For the Souths, Warner probably gets left out for Dean Elgar in England. Maharaj may come in as an extra spinner in Asia (ironically he hasn’t done very well there, but with Steve O’Keefe retired its hard to find a better option). If we include De Grandhomme as an all-rounder, there’s a squad of 14. For the Norths, Jimmy Anderson’s record in Australia isn’t terrific, so perhaps someone with more pace could be useful as a back-up. Jofra Archer is the obvious option, but hasn’t really been consistent, so I’ll go with Shami- did well last time in Australia, and a strong overall record. Ben Stokes gets picked as a reserve all-rounder, and we can throw in a back-up given the relatively new opening partnership- I’ll go Karunaratne so that Sri Lanka’s represented. Overall, India, Australia, and New Zealand dominate the teams, which is pretty reflective of where the other sides are at.
Paul
Roar Guru
This is certainly a thought provoking piece for a first article, Ruairidh. I like your justifications for the various contentious decisions you've made, though I suspect there are far more than you've mentioned. If for example, these teams played a game in England, there's no way I'd pick Warner in the Southern XI, given his disasterous last Ashes campaign. Similarly, if the game was played in Australia, I'd drop Watling & Rabada and include de Kock and Neil Wagner. If the ICC rankings are anything to go by, that northern XI attack looks woefully weak, especially if the game was played outside England. It's interesting the great hope for England cricket, Jofra Archer doesn't get a run, though his series in New Zealand did him no favours. The northern XI might only get a sniff if the games were played under ideal bowling conditions in England or India, otherwise I think the southern XI would get the money for sure.
The Late News
Roar Rookie
How unexpected Tiger!
The Late News
Roar Rookie
Now...venue? Would make some selection changes if conditions were part of the thought process.
JD Kiwi
Roar Rookie
Mate, you could leave the equator where it is, we'd still do them!