My Favorite England Cricket Team

My favorite England cricket team

In lieu of the first test of the summer,  I have decided to compile my list of my favorite England team. I have only really watched cricket since the 2005 ashes, so therefore I am not going to mention any players from before then. I know this means I am not including such players as Botham and Gower, you may disagree with this but I can't judge people based on highlights and purely a record. 

1. Alistair Cook 

161 Caps, 12,472 runs, 45.35 average 33 100s, 50 50s 

Need I say any more, statically the best English batsman of all time. The highest scorer in terms of runs scored and with the number of 100s scored. People don’t remember but during the 2009 ashes, there were many frequent calls for Cook to be dropped. If my memory serves Cook scored an important 50 in one of the last tests which kept him in the squad for the next ashes. Then the rest as they say is history. In my humble opinion, I think that the test series is probably the greatest by an Englishman. He hit 766 runs in that test series on an average of 127. Cook inspired the first Ashes test victory down under for over 20 years. His place on my list would have been sealed with just his performance in this series. Cook was never the most fluid or good looking batsman. He just ground out runs, had his sweet spots, and scored from there. Not the best to look at but always the first name on any team sheet. 

2. Marcus Trescothick 

76 caps, 5,825 runs, 43.70 average, 14 100s, 29 50s

The obvious answer here is Andrew Strauss but I went for Marcus and I will tell you for why. Marcus Trescothick had upon some searching had a better average than Strauss. Everyone always says England cricket has never replaced Strauss, but I think its Trescothick was the bigger loss to the top order of England. He was a very good counter-attacking batsman and was an instrumental part of the 05 series and is a very overlooked English cricket member. Without the stress disorder that he suffered from, which ruled him out of International consideration from 2006, his career was only 6 years and you can't hold him accountable for any medical or mental condition that Marcus may have suffered from. A big what if? The question is how good Marcus could have been for England if he hadn’t had suffered from any mental illnesses. 

3. Jonathan Trott 52 Caps, 3,835 runs, 44.08 average, 9 100s, 19 50s 

Jonathan Trott is a man in the same ilk as Alistair Cook. The type of cricketer of you get me out or I am not going anywhere. Jonathan Trott first came into the Ashes side during the 2009 ashes side and hit a century in his first test against the Aussies, helping victory come in the last test of the 09 series. Voted ICC and ECB Cricketer of the year in 2011, Trott’s highlight was in the 2010/2011 Ashes series. Cook and Trott were brick walls and proved to be an unmovable wall throughout the series. Not the most elegant of players but had a knack of scoring runs until later in his career. In 2013, Trott left the Ashes series citing problems with stress and anxiety and his international career faltered after this. No one can put any blame on him for this and the rest of his career should be judged by this. 

4. Kevin Pietersen 104 caps, 8,181 runs, 47.28 average, 23 100s, 35 50s 

The most enigmatic player of my generation, KP could win a test match by himself. One of the cleanest strikers of the ball of all time and the man who I would choose to lead a counterattacking charge for my team. Kevin has had many a problem with the English team but I do not want to dwell on that. When KP first came into the team during the 05 ashes, the only words I can describe his performances were majestical. With the blonde streak in his hair and standing up to the Aussies at every possible chance, you can’t ask for much more from the South African born man. He stood up to the bullying and looked to dominate Shane Warne, whenever he possibly could. A not too bad spinner of the ball as well and could provide some help to my later selection of bowlers. 

     5. Joe Root  92 caps, 7,599 runs, 48.40 average, 17 100s, 48 50s

    The baby faced assassin and current England captain. Joe Root is not as aggressive as KP and not as defensively sound as Trott and Cook but that is not to say he is not as effective. The highest average out of any of the aforementioned players which speaks for itself. Equally as effective in the longer or shorter formats, due to his ability to move the ball around the field at will. Joe Root has been in the English team since 2012 and whilst having some ups and downs, Joe has been a mainstay in the test lineup. Joe could be one of the best English players to ever don the white kit if he can sort out his conversion rate. Root has been consistently hitting 50s in recent years but very rarely converting them to the big ones and going on to score, is severely hindering him. 

6. Ben Stokes 63 caps, 4,056 runs, 36.54 average, 21 50s, 9 100s. 147 wickets @ 32.68, 4 5 wicket hauls 

What can be said about Ben Stokes after the year of 2019 that he had? During the Summer of 2019, Ben Stokes hit two once in a lifetime innings a few weeks apart. Ben’s Ashes innings is one of the most prominent examples of the will of a single man, in particular, carrying his team across the finish line. The pure definition of an all-rounder, whether he is bowling, fielding or batting, Ben Stoke is in the game. The only tiny negative that I can think of with Ben Stokes is his consistency. However, if Ben Stoke was pulling off game-saving knocks every week, I would wonder if this man is even human. His catch against Australia at Trent Bridge is one of the most remarkable things I have ever seen on the cricket pitch. Even Stuart Broad, his England teammate was visibly shocked and he sees Ben train every day. I haven’t even mentioned his 258 against South African, which is probably the best example of counter-attacking cricket. If he was to retire now, he would still be an England legend but hopefully, we can have many years of Ben Stokes magic still to come in the future 

7. Andrew ‘Freddie’ Flintoff 

79 caps, 3845 runs, 31.77 average, 26 50s, 5 100s. 226 wickets @ 32.78, 3 5 wicket hauls

As I mentioned previously, I started watching cricket during the 05 ashes, Freddie was the hero of this series. Looking at his stats after his career, he doesn’t stand out the way he played. Freddie was the originator of the Ben Stokes effect, just making stuff happen. Always involved, one of the best catchers I can remember and had some of the best spells, I can remember as an English man. 09 ashes he led by example impeccably and his runout of Ricky Ponting and his celebration of that was fitting for the big man. I will not talk about his struggles with alcohol and captaincy as well as the infamous pedal incident as these are so well known and tarnish the big man’s reputation. 

8. Geraint Jones 

34 caps, 1172 runs, 23.91 average, 6 50s, 1 100s. 

This was my hardest choice of the whole eleven. Matt Prior was the obvious choice here but I never trusted him as an England player. His match-saving knock against the Kiwis deserves a mention. In recent years, there has not been a stand out keeper so once again I go back to the 2005 ashes. Geraint was not incredible in that season nor did he have the greatest England career. However, what he does provide is very good wicketkeeping and being a solid batter. Also, the adage of too many cooks spoil a broth could be very prevalent here and that’s why Geraint is my choice under the circumstances. 

9. Graeme Swann

60 caps, 255 wickets @ 29.96, 17 5 wicket hauls

One of the biggest characters in the dressing room and one of the funniest cricket characters that I can remember. A bit like Freddie, Swann may be better known now as a media mainstay but he was an incredible spinner in his day. Shined in both the 2009 Ashes and the 2012/13 Ashes, Graeme is head and shoulders than any spinners that I can remember. He took 4 wickets in the final innings of the 09 series as well as being a fairly competent batsman, as well as a very good catcher in the slip cordon. What England would do for a spinner right now who can hold down an end as good as Swanny used to do a few years ago. Unfortunately, an elbow injury curtailed him when he was approaching his peak which hurt England and from which they haven’t recovered from yet. An honorable mention has to go out for Monty Panesar, one half the spin brothers with Swann who is a fan favorite for obvious reasons. 

10. Stuart Broad

138 caps, 485 wickets @ 28.50, 17 5 wicket hauls

Once this man gets his tail up, no batsman can get in his way. Memorable bowling spells include 8-15 against Australia which was voted as Men's best spell of the decade, 7-72 against West Indies and 6-46 against India as well as a hat trick in that spell. When Stuart Broad got into his rhythm, there is no stopping in. His consistency as well is such a big part of his game. The second-highest wicket-taker of England test matches only behind someone to come later on this team. A champion of swing and an England team would not be the same without this man. It will be an awful shame to see him eventually retire and waking up to watch the first day of the Trent Bridge test will never be the same. 

11. James Anderson 

151 caps, 584 wickets @ 26.43, 28 5 wicket hauls

What an absolute hero Jimmy is. One of if not the best bowler of this generation and almost certainly the best bowler ever for England. James started off his career as a swing bowler and was pigeonholed as one for much of his early career. However, Jimmy has proved that he can do it anywhere in the world and in any condition. The first name on the English team sheet for around a decade and he was one of the first on my team. The fourth highest wicket-taker of all time and the highest fast bowler on the list, Jimmy was all about consistency. He cannot compare to Broad on spells but he always seems to take a few wickets in the innings and I am sure he will be knighted when he retires from cricket. Not much I can really say apart from absolute legend. 

Congratulations if you made it this far down of my team. 

With all that happens in the past few months, I would be doing myself and others a disservice by ignoring what is happening around the world. As a privileged white male, my voice is not the one that needs to be heard. I have linked https://blacklivesmatter.com because these are the voices that deserve to be heard.