This XI might have been England’s best cricket team in generations. It’s a compilation of the best players we’ve seen since we started watching in the 1980s. It’s the side that would have beaten Steve Waugh’s Australians (maybe). If only they’d been born at a similar time so they were at the peak of their powers together.
Of course, if Keith Fletcher was the coach, and they were still playing for their counties the day before a test, it wouldn’t have made much difference. However, these are the cricketers who, more than any others, have won our hearts (and the odd test match) since we started watching cricket in the late 1980s.
1 Graham ‘Zap’ Gooch: Take Terry Alderman out of the equation and you’ve got one of the most successful openers of the modern era. The man with the Frank Zappa moustache scored one of all the all time great hundreds at Headingley in which he memorably carried his bat against Walsh and Ambrose. Gooch’s presence in the XI would inevitably annoy our number three (especially if we put him in charge of our team’s training schedule), but as this is a fictional team we can pretend they’d get on swimmingly.
2 Michael ‘Skipper’ Vaughan (Capt): Our best captain since Brearley, and perhaps England’s most elegant opener of recent times. His average took a knock when he moved down the order, but between 2002 and 2004 he was unstoppable. Scored 900 runs in seven tests against India and Sri Lanka, and became the first batsman for 32 years to score over 600 runs in a test series down under. What’s more, these runs were made against McGrath, Warne and Gillespie at their peak. It was the best I’ve ever seen an England batsman play. Like Gooch, Alastair Cook is breathing down his neck, but Vaughan’s grace at the crease, his superb captaincy skills, not to mention his ability to nail the quickstep and the American smooth, wins him a place in England’s best cricket team.
3 David ‘Lubo’ Gower: During the 1980s the notorious cricket giggle Sticky Wicket always referred to Gower as ‘Lubo’ – a reference to one of his favourite restaurants. Somehow the name summed up his laid back demeanour and charm with the ladies. Gower was a joy to watch. His cover drive was possibly the best ever, and even though he refused to move his feet, one elegant shot made us forget all the times he nicked off behind and looked like a plonker. Like many of the batsmen in this team, he would have scored bucketloads in the current era. Having said that Gower still averaged over 40 comfortably (the benchmark for elite players in those days).
4 Graham ‘The Legend’ Thorpe: England’s best player of spin of the modern era. Thorpie was also a pugnacious stroke-player against pace. Could bat with guts and determination, but also accelerate when needed. Consider this: in his seminal innings against Pakistan in Lahore, Thorpe hit just one boundary. Yet his highest tests score (200no in New Zealand) was the third fastest test double century in history; only Botham and Gilchrist have reached the milestone in less deliveries. It was a shame that injuries and personal problems robbed Thorpe of some of his most productive years. Steve Waugh’s Australians and Murali rated him as one of their toughest opponents.
5 Kevin ‘Peter’ Pietersen: Love him or loathe him, nobody can doubt KP’s pedigree. And that’s why he wins a place this incarnation of England’s best cricket team. Undoubtedly our most entertaining batsman of modern times, KP just oozed talent – and he would have been just as good in previous eras as he is now. The reason? Bowlers frequently don’t get Pietersen out; Pietersen gets Pietersen out. He gets bored; he gets cocky; he annoys us when he doesn’t play for the team. But let’s face it. He’s bloody brilliant. The perfect number five batsman in this XI.
6 Alec ‘Gaffer’ Stewart (Keeper): There were three candidates for this role: Stewart, Matt Prior and Jack Russell. You could make a case for all of them. Russell was probably the best keeper (and certainly the best painter and goalkeeping coach). Prior has improved his keeping and is probably the best keeper-batsman in the world today. However, Stewart was the best batsman of the three – and his keeping was incredibly reliable. People might claim that Stewart was a better player when he opened the batting and didn’t keep, but this misses the context. Stewart’s batting often suffered because he was behind the stumps for two days and frequently didn’t get much of a rest. Think how often the top order used to crumble in the early 90s.There would be no such worries with this team. The Gaffer could put his feet up and enjoy watching Pietersen and Co.
7 Sir Ian ‘Beefy’ Botham: He was Ian Botham. We couldn’t exactly leave him out. The perfect man to bring balance to England’s best cricket team.
8 Andrew ‘Freddie’ Flintoff: Talking of balance, let’s have a bit more of it. We haven’t made this selection on sentiment. Freddie was an outstanding bowler: fast, accurate and lethal against left handers. Heaven knows why he didn’t get more wickets. Every team needs a seamer who bowls a great line and hits the bat hard. Flintoff was brilliant at this. Of course, there were other candidates for his position, but the idea of Freddie coming in to bat at eight, after Botham, was too much to resist. It would be fun watching them bat together.
9 Graeme Swann: His competition for this role was Monty Panesar, but Swann’s batting, personality and yes, his fielding (sorry Monty), get him the nod. Indeed, this selection was a bit of a no brainer really. Which other spinner were we going to pick? Gareth Batty? Eddie Hemmings? Nick Cook? Ian Salisbury? Keith Medlycott? Give us a break.
10 Darren ‘Twinkle Toes’ Gough: My favourite England fast bowler. When selecting this side, I tried to create a balanced seam attack. Flintoff provides the height and accuracy; Botham provides the swing and aggression; Gough provides a nice contast: a genuinely quick skiddy bowler and a brilliant exponent of reverse swing. Goughie also complements the dancing prowess of the XI. Vaughan can manage the ballroom styles, but Goughie can do the salsas and pasodobles.
11 Jimmy Anderson: The thing we love about Jimmy is that he’s very consistent in all conditions. Give him a dead pitch in India or the UAE and he’ll out-think the batsman. Give him and English greentop and he’ll blow them away. He’s also a brilliant fielder – the one thing this team actually lacks (although Thorpe wasn’t bad in his younger days). As statistically our most prolific bowler in history we couldn’t exactly leave Anderson out of England’s best cricket team.
So there we have it. Do you agree? Who would you add? Who would you replace?
Before you add your tuppence worth bear this in mind: this is a test XI (so no ODI or T20 specialists please) based on England teams since the late 1980s (which was the era we discovered cricket); therefore the likes of Hammond, Barrington, Dexter and Compton (Denis, not Nick!) haven’t been considered. It’s still pretty tough to chose though …
After you’ve read this, check out our worst ever England cricket team. If you’re fond of Martin McCague it’s best not to look.
James Morgan
Nice to see Sticky Wicket get a shout out. Great fanzine from the late eighties. I probably still have a few copies knocking about somewhere. Presumably it went bust?
Interesting team, but I would have excluded Gower & Botham purely because, by the late 80’s, they were past their best (especially Beefy). Trescothick to open with Gooch, with Vaughan at three. Fraser for Beefy perhaps.
Morgs.. not sure how you can exclude Alastair Cook?? He is statistically a better player. Don’t be swayed by the tache!
I’m not sure it’s fair to compare statistics from this era with the 1990s. Only south Africa still have a potent attack. Gooch faced much better Windies, Australia, Pakistan etc attacks. It’s hard to leave out Cook, and if / when he breaks all records, but for now I think Gooch gets the nod. He carried a far inferior team. Tough call. Vaughan is possibly more controversial, but I wanted my skipper! Left hand / right hand combination at the top would be useful though …. Hmmmmm
nobody from olden days could make, it is surprising and shocking both. Question can be asked then how England were winning before 1980?
It says in the final paragraph that’s it’s a team comprised of players since the late 1980s, as this was the time the author started watching cricket. Hard to pass judgement on players you’ve never seen play. Everyone will have different XIs. It is, in effect, an England team of the late 1980s, 1990s, and 2000s.
Since the late 80’s…..
Gooch, Cook, Vaughan (c), KP, Thorpe, Flintoff, Prior, Swann, Caddick, Anderson, Harmison
Let me explain.
No Botham, Didn’t have a decent test after Melbourne 86.
Prior for the team balance. Stewart would have to bat higher and wasn’t a good enough ‘keeper, so didn’t get in on either discipline. Russell was the best keepr but the game has moved on.
Harmison and Caddick could be devestating and with the constitency of Freddie, Swann and Jimmy this would be my preferred mix of bowlers.
Vaughan is the best captain we’ve had since the 50’s
Best EVER?! What?! Hobbs, Hutton, Larwood, Verity should all be here!
Article says it’s the best since the late 1980s. The best the author’s ever seen.
Cook (Capt), Gooch, Gower, Pieterson, Thorpe, Stewart (Wkt), Botham, Flintoff, Broad, Swann, Anderson.
swap Pieterson and Thorpe to keep left handers apart. Broad in for Gough. Love Goughie but Broad will have taken twice as many wickets by the time he is done in an age of the batsmen. He is the better bat too. Bell, Prior and Gough as 12,13,14. Notable shout for Vaughan.
Dont understand the monty better bowler than swann comment. Swann has won more test matches and been number 2 in the world.
I would have said:
Cook,Gooch,Strauss(captain),Pietersen,Thorpe,Stewart,Botham,Flintoff,
Broad,Swann,Anderson
I have left Vaughan out as although Strauss may not be the better batsman he was just about a better captain despite what the win rates say
Strauss was also an extremely talented fielder never saw him or remember him dropping a catch during his England career.
There is always a problem starting from a certain date; do you judge players who were still playing by their form then or their whole career. Using the whole career method and looking at averages for bowling and batting plus the number of innings and wickets the best team (12) since the late 80s is:
Gooch
Trescothick
Robin Smith
Gower
Pietersen
Bell
Prior
Botham
Swann
Caddick
Gough
Anderson
Just realised when sending this I had missed out Cook whose average is only second to KP. Purely on batting average if you include Cook you have to exclude Gooch whose average of 42.58 is the worse in the top six of the team above
An old thread but I only just read it but I had to comment on this.
Caddick? Are you joking? He was the poster boy for plodding english seamers of the 90s.
Flintoff surely, slightly worse average but way more dangerous against quality opposition and can bat.
Cheers for the comments. I based the team on how I remember players at their peak. I admit there’s a certain subjectivity to the process. I left out Cook because I believe the standard of bowling around the world is much lower now (averages are much higher now for batsmen, and 50 is now the benchmark for a world class player whereas it used to be 40). I don’t think Cook would’ve held down a place in the team 15-20 years ago, as his technique just isn’t good enough and he’s often exposed by top class seam bowling). Vaughan gets the nod because I’ve never seen an Englishman bat as well as he did in that incredible Ashes down under (approx 2002) when he absolutely flayed the likes of McGrath, Gillespie and Warne. Cook could never play at that level IMHO. Gooch gets in due to his form in his late 30s when he was clearly the best in the world for a short time. Remember him carrying his bat against the Windies at Leeds? Just wow. I think Ambrose and Walsh etc wouldve rather fancied their chances against Cook.
Trescothick, Gooch, Vaughan, Thorpe, KP, Prior, Beefy, Flintoff, Swann, Harmisson and Willis
I started watching in the early 80s, so would include Botham on that basis, but he was half the player from 86 onwards. And I agree with Broad over Gough – Gough was mercilessly slaughtered in 2001 by the Australians. Otherwise, I’d agree entirely – although with few complaints were Trescothick or Strauss to replace Vaughan. Cook, sadly, since your piece was written, has been in all sorts of trouble.
Incidentally, if the Aussies can choose their best from the same time, you’re going to have to face Langer, Hayden, Ponting, Border, Waugh (S) (cap), Clarke, Gilchrist, Warne, McDermott, Johnson and McGrath. Merv Hughes would up the entertainment stakes, but I think McDermott and Johnson better bowlers at their peak.
I choose Johnson on the basis I’m allowed any vintage from the late 80s, rather than an overall career (otherwise you’d let Flintoff go as well – he was awesome 2004 & 5 but not quite awesome otherwise). I realise the Aussies only have four specialist bowlers, with Border and Waugh probably making up the numbers, but that was never a problem in the Waugh era.
To be honest I’d give England a decent chance on home soil – though Warne, Waugh and Border were formidable under English conditions – but on Australian soil none of the English players excelled save Gower (against weaker bowling attacks than the one I’ve fielded) and KP (excluding his last tour).
Great blog, btw, if I may say so.
I adore the Iron Bottom of 1977-86, but really: the only time he truly shone for England after that was at the 1992 World Cup. Given that the writer’s otherwise spot-on XI would have to tackle Messrs Warne, Murali, Steyn, Waqar and McGrath, I reckon it needs a more productive batsman – shift Vaughnio down to No.3 and bring in Tresco (and perhaps throw in Bello as an alternate if you insist on opening with the Lancastrian Yorkist.
It’s important to remember that when you’re testing and tagging a laptop, you’re basically doing it in two parts.It includes testing both the IEC lead and laptop charger, with each one receiving its own test tag. The laptop itself…
Test and Tag
I must be a hell of a lot older than you guys but when I hear the words English wicket keeper or English spin bowler the names Alan Knott and Derek Underwood pop into my head.
For the period being used, I’d choose…
1.Trescothick
2.Vaughan
3.Thorpe
4.Gower
5.Pietersen
6.Botham
7.Flintoff,
8.Russell (wk)
9.Swann
10. Gough
11.Anderson
Vaughan would be the captain. Russell was such a fantastic keeper, you just can’t leave him out, and he could score useful runs too.
If we were picking from the era that I started watching cricket onwards, ie 1970s, then a few names would change…
1.Boycott
2.Vaughan (captain)
3.Thorpe
4.Gower
5.Pietersen
6.Botham
7.Flintoff
8. Alan Knott (wk)
9.Swann
10 Anderson
11.Willis
Knotty was an incredibly good wicketkeeper and a fine batsmen with 5 test centures, over 30 half centuries and an average of 32.50 in an era of Lillee, Thompson, the Windies quicks, uncovered wickets. Swann gets in ahead of deadly Derek Underwood only because of his better batting. Willis, with over 300 test wickets, edges out Gough.
The trouble with this whole debate is defining the precise era under discussion and deciding if you pick players based on their performance in that era or their whole career. If it is genuinely a “late” 80s to the current era side for test cricket you would probably have to leave out Botham and Gower. On that basis my side would be:
Gooch
Trescothick
Vaughan (capt)
Thorpe
Pietersen
Stewart (wkt)
Flintoff
Swann
Hoggard
Gough
Anderson
For the other era mentioned i.e. 1970 onwards I would adjust the team as follows:
Gooch
Boycott
Vaughan (capt)
Gower
Pietersen
Botham
Knott (wkt)
Swann
Gough
Anderson
Willis
Early nineties really for me, memories from before that are patchy, so would be:
Cook
Gooch
Ramprakash (it’s my team and I’ll pick who I bloody well like)
Pietersen
Thorpe
Stewart
Flintoff
Simon Jones
Swann
Gough
Anderson
Ramprakash averages 50+ if given a run in a decent side; Simon Jones is the best bowler in the world for five years with better rehabilitation from my top-quality physios: both selections unarguable. Maybe. Although I’m not sure there’s anyone great that they’re keeping out.
Any England team chosen would get well beaten by the Australian, South African, Pakistani or West Indian equivalent, even if the WI equivalent would be the 1990 team plus Lara. Fairly even with India and Sri Lanka, if on a non-turning pitch? Shows how weak we’ve been for the last 25 years, really.