[Cricket] Best England cricket eleven

[jakarta]

It’s players you’ve seen Jakarta

As per previous quote, I will withdraw my selections.

BTW no way way Broad gets near my Side as he is selfish and not very bright - Trueman for me.

 

[Gwylan]

As per previous quote, I will withdraw my selections.

BTW no way way Broad gets near my Side as he is selfish and not very bright - Trueman for me.

Everyone above a certain age will have Trueman - best fast bowler of my lifetime. A test average of 21 tells its own story

 

[Titanic]

Everyone above a certain age will have Trueman - best fast bowler of my lifetime. A test average of 21 tells its own story

A few years too early for me.

I am teetering on Willis for Broad.

 

[Questions]

I included two spinners but Willis for one of them most of the time.

 

[GT49er]

Been having some long breaks at work because of the heat and decided between us to pick our top 11.
We can only pick players we actually saw play (not live)

Took us 3 days…… but nowhere near the disagreements I thought there would be.

Gooch
Cook
Peterson
Root
Stewart
Botham
Stokes
Broad
Underwood
Swann
Anderson

Not sure about capt….. probably Cook.

What do you reckon ?

Just to show how impossible this is, here is a completely alternative side arguably equally good:

Boycott
Milburn
Gower
May
Barrington
Dexter
Knott
Trueman
Snow
Laker
Lock

Reserves: Greig, Cowdrey, Edrich, Prior and Willis.

Shame your perfectly reasonable 'must have seen' rule rules out Hobbs, Fry, Rhodes and Larwood, but fair enough.

...........and can I have Brearley as a non-playing captain?

 

[Eeyore]

He wasn't a batter but that's unfair - he did score a first class century.

In a tied match at Hastings.

 

[Cheeky Monkey]

My average is 2 plain and 2 cinnamon flavoured a month but they are Yank shit really.

 

[Titanic]

Wsiden's all-time England Test XI, based on the ICC rankings:

1. Len Hutton
2. Jack Hobbs
3. Peter May
4. Denis Compton
5. Joe Root
6. Alec Stewart (wk)
7. Ian Botham
8. Tony Lock
9. Derek Underwood
10. Sydney Barnes
11. George Lohmann

 

[Gwylan]

Wsiden's all-time England Test XI, based on the ICC rankings:

1. Len Hutton
2. Jack Hobbs
3. Peter May
4. Denis Compton
5. Joe Root
6. Alec Stewart (wk)
7. Ian Botham
8. Tony Lock
9. Derek Underwood
10. Sydney Barnes
11. George Lohmann

It would be a bold move to go into a game without an out and out pace bowler. Botham was a devastating swing bowler but he wasn't the sharpest.

 

[Titanic]

It would be a bold move to go into a game without an out and out pace bowler. Botham was a devastating swing bowler but he wasn't the sharpest.

Also surprising that Jimmy Anderson or Fred Trueman don't make it... I wonder how the 'rankings' worked?

 

[Cowfold Seagull]

...........and can I have Brearley as a non-playing captain?

Probably the best role for him.

As a Middlesex boy growing up l saw a lot of Mike Brearley at Lords. One of England's greatest test captains in my book, but didn't cut the mustard as an opening bat often enough.

 

[Gwylan]

Also surprising that Jimmy Anderson or Fred Trueman don't make it... I wonder how the 'rankings' worked?

I'd have been shocked if Anderson made it - he's not in the top 10 when it comes to England fast bowlers' averages

But Trueman is a surprise omission

 

[Gwylan]

Probably the best role for him.

As a Middlesex boy growing up l saw a lot of Mike Brearley at Lords. One of England's greatest test captains in my book, but didn't cut the mustard as an opening bat often enough.

Very harsh. He scored 25,000 first class runs at an average of nearly 38 - that's not too shabby, Remember that he was picked as an opening bat for England before he became captain

 

[GT49er]

It would be a bold move to go into a game without an out and out pace bowler. Botham was a devastating swing bowler but he wasn't the sharpest.

It would be a bold move to go into a game with that 'pace' attack without uncovering the pitches and roughing them up a bit to match 19th. and early 20th. century standards!

 

[Cowfold Seagull]

Very harsh. He scored 25,000 first class runs at an average of nearly 38 - that's not too shabby, Remember that he was picked as an opening bat for England before he became captain

I know it wasn't shabby! he wouldn't have been picked to play for his country if it was, but l do think that his place in the team was assured to a certain extent, because he was a master tactician and a great captain.

 

[Gwylan]

It would be a bold move to go into a game with that 'pace' attack without uncovering the pitches and roughing them up a bit to match 19th. and early 20th. century standards!

Indeed. Bowlers who played in uncovered wicket days have an in-built advantage which isn't reflected in averages. I wonder if any stattos have tried to work out a common format so it's possible to compare like with like. Lohmann, in particular, is fortunate. He has a test average of 10 ... but that's boosted by those matches on a matting wicket where he finished with an average of 5.

Batters have it the other way round - that's why I'm always surprised that Ranji never fits into all-time England teams. He had a batting average of 50 at a time when mid-30s was decent

 

[Cheshire Cat]

Boycott
Gooch
Cowdrey
Gower
Root
Grieg
Botham
Knott
Snow
Underwood
Anderson

 

[big nuts]

1985-present

1.Gooch
2.Cook
3.Root
4.Pietersen
5.Stewart
6.Stokes
7.Botham
8.Flintoff
9.Swann
10.Broad
11.Anderson

Can make a good 2nd XI, with Panesar to come in for a bowler if a spin option is required.
1.Trescothick
2.Strauss
3.Trott
4.Vaughan
5.Gower
6.Thorpe
7.Prior
8.Gough
9.Simon Jones
10.Harmison
11.Fraser

 

[Machiavelli]

Wsiden's all-time England Test XI, based on the ICC rankings:

1. Len Hutton
2. Jack Hobbs
3. Peter May
4. Denis Compton
5. Joe Root
6. Alec Stewart (wk)
7. Ian Botham
8. Tony Lock
9. Derek Underwood
10. Sydney Barnes
11. George Lohmann

Not just you, but what is it that so many saw in Alec Stewart?

 

[vegster]

Not just you, but what is it that so many saw in Alec Stewart?

A shed load of runs scored from multiple batting positions ?