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...
Is Nick Compton the natural replacement for Strauss?
Picture the scene. Giles Clarke is in the Long Room, quaffing cheese scones and sipping sherry. He turns to John Stephenson, the MCC’s Head of Cricket – the only man in the world who is better groomed than Mark Nicholas – and utters “well old boy, now that fine chap Strauss has retired, who’s going to uphold the best traditions of English cricket?”. Stephenson replies: “well Giles, there is a young fellow called Compton”. “Compton eh?” says Clarke. “I have two questions: does he...
The ten most memorable England test wins of the 2000s
1. V West Indies, Lord’s, 2000 The turning point. From one-nil down, we went on to win the series – the first against WI for 31 years – before beating both Pakistan and Sri Lanka the following winter. An era of success, which climaxed at the Oval in 2005, began here. The match itself was a breathless classic – and remember, West Indies were still a decent side then. 21 wickets fell on the second day as Caddick’s 5-16 helped dismiss the visitors for 54 and left us chasing 188 to win. Courtney...
