. Also including a kit design, just like our domestic draft a few years ago... 
. Here goes, with the batting order in a typical ODI:Team Crimson Avengers:
Grant Flower (C)
Solomon Mire
David Houghton
Sean Williams
Wesley Madhevere
Ryan Burl
Elton Chigumbura
Charles Coventry (WK)
Eddo Brandes
Peter Rawson
Ray Price
Grant Flower: Zimbabwe's very own Steve Waugh. A man who, with sheer hard work, overcame lack of batting "talent" and contributed exceptionally towards the team's cause against some of the best bowling attacks around the world. Whenever even the celebrated 90s team had its Zimbabwe Collapse moments, Grant more often than not stood like a rock anchoring the innings, pretty much like what Rahul Dravid did for India on overseas test tours. Possibly Zimbabwe's most successful ODI opener. Grant Flower also has 100+ ODI wickets bowling to some of the best batsmen of the day. So, I also trust him with his full quota of classical left arm spin. Possibly the most complete fielder ever to come out of Zimbabwe too. People mentioned Jonty Rhodes and Grant Flower in the same breath at their peak. He made backward point position his own and took some breathtaking catches. This man can lead by example, and since he did not get enough opportunities to lead Zimbabwe, I would also make him the captain of my side - so that his work ethic rubs off on others. No disrespect to Houghton, who was himself a massively hard working cricketer, but he has the all important job of marshaling the middle order. And Houghton would remain part of the brains trust.
Solomon Mire: Brings in the experience of playing with the Aussies and sharing their dressing room in grade cricket, who we are up against at HSC. Brings the belligerence to the top order that can complement Grant Flower's calmness and allow him to build his innings. Mire is given licence to replicate what he did against SL in SL and against touring Pak and Aussie teams in the T20 tri-series, where he was a stand out performer. Can also roll his arm over as second change bowler if the pitch is seamer friendly.
David Houghton: The first Zimbabwean cricketing legend. 1987 World Cup. 142 vs New Zealand. Enough said. A lot of his contemporaries believe that Houghton was way ahead of his time and was a perfect fit for today's T20 cricket and its innovative ways. Houghton's ODI average probably suffered because he had to keep playing for so many years after his prime, just because there weren't many players available to replace him. An outstanding cricketing brain, he'll anchor the middle order at 3 and help skipper Grant with on field decision making.
Sean Williams: One of the very few post 2000 Zimbabwean cricketers to have a consistent rate of producing 50+ scores. Has graduated to converting them to match winning ones of late too. Possibly the most naturally gifted cricketer to play for Zimbabwe after Andy Flower - and it shows in the fluency when he bats. Rightfully takes the no.4 spot in the line up. Can be called on to bowl some tight accurate left arm spin in case the pitch is spin friendly. Also an exceptional fielder.
Wesley Madhevere: Young gun with over 700 youth ODI runs, averaging 43 in his debut series away from home at a strike rate of 90+ and impressing one and all as a future star. Showed remarkable ability to take on the bowlers and rotate strike with ease, a feature needed for the batsman coming in at 5. Can be called upon to bowl some useful off-spin if necessary.
Ryan Burl: Another guy with over 700 youth ODI runs, and although his senior career hasn't kicked on due to various reasons including getting injured at wrong times and falling out with the authorities, he brings in the ability to hit some big sizes or score through strike rotation depending on the match situation. Also brings a nice left-right batting combination balance and useful leg spin if needed by the skipper.
Elton Chigumbura: We got our last ODI win against Australia thanks to his batting. We also got out last T20I win against Australia due to his bowling as one of the primary contributions. Out of the 3 matches we have ever won against the Aussies, he has had a huge say in 2 of them. He could not contribute to the other win just because he wasn't yet born. At his peak, Chigumbura was a sensational power hitter (more sixes for Zimbabwe than any other player?) and a consistently 135+ fast bowler who was a nightmare to the left handed batsmen in particular. A very safe pair of hands and good outfielder too.
Charles Coventry: A man who could upper cut Brett Lee for six in a large Indian stadium, a man who held the record for the highest ODI score in history before the 200 barrier was breached. Explosive hitter with great hand-eye co-ordination and can take any attack apart on his day. His international career never took off due to so many stop-starts but his talent was there to be seen. He also takes up the gloves and lets Houghton focus on his batting anchor role.
Eddo Brandes: Legendary chicken farmer who tore through the English line ups multiple times; taught reverse swing to the originators of reverse swing - the Pakistanis - on their own soil; and gave the most befitting reply to the Aussie sledging which is now part of the cricketing folklore. A consistent 140+ bowler in his prime and someone who could smoke a few big sixes on his day.
Peter Rawson: Terrorizing pace that reduced India to 17/5 before Kapil Dev did something extra-ordinary. Rawson's raw pace is well documented and he just could not get enough games to show his worth to the world. His first class and List A numbers are more than convincing to say that he was one of the best fast bowlers to come out of Zimbabwe, if not the best ever. Even John Ward, who has watched about 50 years of cricket in Zimbabwe has said on these forums that Rawson could be the best ever from the country. He was also a more than useful batsman who only bats at 10 in this line up because we have other more aggressive players go ahead of him due to this being an ODI.
Raymond Price: Former World no. 2 ODI bowler. No other Zimbabwean bowler ever rose to such levels. Finished his career with 100+ wickets and an economy rate of 3.99! Even in the era of T20 cricket that revolutionized ODI batting. Most said he was a spinner with a fast bowler's mindset. Aggressive to the core, and never afraid to take on a battle. And he is no tail-ender with the bat, having won a couple of close games with the bat too for his country. Basically, everybody loves Raymond
So, there - a team of high quality batsmen, with batting potential till 10, and 9 people who can roll their arm over - 4 pacers, 3 left arm spinners, an offie and a leggie, and the other two who can keep. A real all-round ODI team. Aussies, beware!
And the kit for team Crimson Avengers:
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- Kit.png (281.54 KiB) Viewed 2200 times
