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Cricket glossary World XI: Fielder, Bowler, DRS…

Here is an XI of names to match the words that have become a part of our cricketing vocabulary.

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Who better than Arthur Fielder to lead this side? © Getty Images
Who better than Arthur Fielder to lead this side? © Getty Images

Monsoon is the time to create World XIs, for it rains all around, making it impossible to catch live sport, or even take a stroll. Abhishek Mukherjee creates a World XI of players with names to match cricket jargon.

When it rains outside, cricket fans usually indulge in one of their favourite pastimes — creating World XIs. Cricket has had way, way more than its fair share of dream teams. The overweight, the southpaws, the bespectacled, we have done them all.

But what about the sport itself, and the jargon related to it? What about the stump and the bail, the ball and the bat, the rope and the crease, and more? Let us create an XI of names to match these words that have become a part of our vocabulary.

Note: The list excludes, for obvious reasons, cricketers who have lent their names to cricket (and not the other way round). The likes of Vinoo Mankad and Bernard Bosanquet, thus, are left out.

Peter Bowler: Bowler’s batting was often slow enough to put spectators into a deep stupor, which makes him the ideal choice for the old-fashioned opener’s slot. Though he played 318 First-Class matches (for three English counties as well as Tasmania), scored 1,000 in ten seasons, and kept wickets if needed, he never got a Test cap.

Paul Bail: Bail was not an ace batsman (he averaged a mere 27.61), but he reached the 1,000-run mark, which is better than some men on the list. He scored a dazzling 174 for Cambridge in a Varsity match of 1986, but he is generally remembered by his 78 not out against a rampant Derek Underwood the season before.

DRS Bader: Douglas Robert Steuart Bader, CBE, DSO & Bar, DFC & Bar, FRAeS, DL was with the Royal Air Force during World War II with 20 aerial victories under his belt. He also played a solitary First-Class match in 1931, for RAF against Army. Though RAF lost by an innings, Bader top-scored with 65 in the first innings.

Thomas Box (wicketkeeper): Box served Sussex from 1826 to 1856 as an outstanding gloveman, finishing with 236 catches and 162 stumpings from 247 matches. He remained largely unscathed despite standing up on atrocious pitches, and his batting went up as his career progressed, scoring eight fifties.

Willie Over: Over certainly did not have the most attractive of names, but the Victorian all-rounder will do the job for us. A handy middle-order batsman who once top-scored with 91 against Tasmania, Over was also extremely accurate with his medium-paced bowling.

Glen Hook: A Chinaman bowler! Hook was essentially a batsman whose greatest innings came in an Army match of 1942-43. Chasing 222 North Island Army were reduced to 107 for 5. Hook could not win it (the side collapsed to 190), but he stood firm with 54 not out. His best figures (3 for 9) came against the touring MCC side of 1935-36.

William Roller: The tall, hefty Roller was a distinguished 19th-century all-rounder who bowled medium-pace. His batting average of 21.10 and bowling average of 19.62 justifies his selection as well. The highest point of his career came in 1885, when he slammed 204 and took a hat-trick against Sussex at The Oval. Oh, he also kept wickets.

Arthur Fielder (captain): A Kent star who could be extremely fast on his day, Arthur Fielder played First-Class cricket for 14 years till World War I brought an end to his career. He also played 6 Tests. His career reached its peak when he claimed 25 wickets from 4 Tests at 25.08 in the 1907-08, bettering even Syd Barnes. As the biggest of all names in the team, he also gets to lead.

Gregor Maiden: Maiden played three ODIs (economy rate 4.75) and two T20Is (5.80) for Scotland, mostly for his accurate off-breaks. He is a miserly bowler, which is somewhat obvious given his surname. As long as he keeps his hands off maidens, it will not be an issue…

Cyril Edge: Edge had an extremely impressive debut, taking 4 for 74 and 3 for 89 against Worcestershire. Unfortunately for the Lancastrian, he never got to play a Roses match, and his First-Class career remained limited to 29 wickets from 9 matches at 30.10. He saved his best for his last First-Class match, where he claimed 4 for 97 for Minor Counties against a full-strength West Indian side.

Tom Ball: Ball was very, very fast. A teenage Ball had once dismissed Jack Walsh, Sid Barnes, and Colin McCool in the same match, but World War II robbed valuable years of his career. He came back to take a five-for including Denis Compton. Unfortunately, only three of his matches were given First-Class status, from which he claimed 8 wickets at 27.62. Ball, our surprise weapon, will open bowling with Fielder (and presumably have a ball).

Carol Dela Pace (substitute): Dela Pace had four humble performances for Brazil Women in ICC Americas Women’s T20 Championship 2012, scoring 3 on debut and two ducks. She also bowled a solitary over. But then, what is cricket without some pace?

John Gully (substitute): Gully never had a spectacular career. His three matches, all for Canterbury in the 1982-83 Plunket Shield, yielded a mere 53 runs at 8.83. He did not bowl, so keeping him in the side was a very difficult task. However, Gully has taken three catches, and since all New Zealand cricketers are good fielders…

Team (in batting order): Peter Bowler, Paul Bail, DRS Bader, Thomas Box (wk), Willie Over, Glen Hook, William Roller, Arthur Fielder (c), George Maiden, Cyril Edge, Tom Ball.

Substitutes: Carol Dela Pace, John Gully.

(Abhishek Mukherjee is the Chief Editor and Cricket Historian at CricketCountry. He blogs here and can be followed on Twitter here.)

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