England haven’t been the finest side in the world for many years. In fact, they haven’t produced an individual great like Sachin Tendulkar, Jacques Kallis, Brian Lara, or Steve Waugh for a long time either.
However, they have been lucky enough to develop some great characters with huge personalities. Cricket is all about entertainment at the end of the day, and nobody can say that England haven’t always been very watchable – especially as triumph or disaster seem to lurk around every corner.
Underpinning these entertaining teams have been entertaining players. England have been blessed with some sensational talents over the years. Here we look at five of the best – and to be clear, current internationals are not included!
NUMBER 5 – Darren Gough
When ‘Goughie’ burst on the international test scene in June 1994 his performances with both bat and ball suggested he could become the next great all rounder. That never transpired as his batting average was, at best, average. Still Gough more than made up for it with his bowling.
Over a 14 year international stint he took over 450 wickets and became the first Englishman to rack up a double century of wickets in ODI cricket. The Talksport radio host, who was regularly praised for his professionalism during his career, has recently made a return to the England fold too in a coaching capacity in further evidence of his patriotism and love of the game.
NUMBER 4 – Fred Trueman
Trueman has a pretty damn impressive record for England with 307 wickets to his name and a strike rate of 49.4. The rapid-armed Yorkshireman would have had many more wickets to his name too if it wasn’t for his outspoken personality that rubbed the ECB up the wrong way on occasion.
This ‘tell it as it is’ personality, however, made him a great pundit and commentator. And he wouldn’t have been the same player without that cantankerous edge.
NUMBER 3 – Andrew Flintoff
‘Freddie’ Flintoff is one of the best all round players the world – not just England – have seen in recent times. If you combine all three forms of the game, then Flintoff knocked over 1,000 boundaries with the bat. He was just as lethal with the ball in his hand too as he took a total of 400 wickets.
Remarkably, despite the volumes mentioned, the averages he posted aren’t out of this world. However, the man with a frame that wouldn’t look out of place in the NFL Super Bowl had a larger than life personality and that rubbed off on his teammates. Freddie was an inspiration.
If you’re still in doubt about just how good ‘Freddie’ was then we suggest you go and re-watch the 2005 Ashes!
NUMBER 2 – Jack Hobbs
It’s impossible not to include a man who is arguably the most incredible batsman the world has ever seen. Hobbs, whose stats are dampened due to World War 1, registered over 61,000 first class runs and hit just shy of 200 centuries – he managed 199 – with the majority of them coming when he was beyond the age of 40.
The Surrey batsman was so good that his fellow pros nicknamed him ‘the master’. Who wouldn’t want to watch someone like that bat?
In 1953 he received a knighthood, which ensured his place in the history books as the first cricketer to receive such an honour.
NUMBER 1 – Sir Ian Botham
In the normal world the term all rounder means a player who bats, bowls and fields. However, ‘Beefy’ was more than that. He became a national icon and a media sensation. The press couldn’t get enough of him.
During his England career, Botham notched over 7,300 runs and took a once world record breaking 383 test wickets (with a further 145 in ODIs). He was passionate, patriotic, and produced plenty of eye-catching moments.
Off the field, Botham was rarely out of the headlines too. He fell out with Somerset, admitted smoking pot, had a tumultuous relationship with the authorities, and also did stellar work for charity. In 2007 he became Sir Ian Botham and fully deserved it was.
Can you think of other great entertainers that played for England? There’s always Kevin Pietersen, of course, but he was quite a polarising figure; therefore the nation never really warmed to him in the same way.
Alex Windsor
I saw the headline and the first three players that came to mind were Botham, Gower and Lamb.