Best England Cricket XI - 1978 to 2020

[Paddingtonwolf]

You can have the best left hand bat we have ever had though!! You are such a bugger cyber.

 

[Stan Hullis]

Cook

Strauss

Trescothick

Atherton

(in my lifetime)

 

[Dennisons Wrong Foot]

Cook
Vaughan
Atherton
Boycott
Boycott's granny

As a kid I absolutely loved Geoffrey, and would place him above everyone from that era. But I feel that the overall quality of players has improved and that the absolute best of "today" have a better all-round game.

 

[jd1981]

Cook
Gooch
Trescothick
Atherton

 

[Tony Towner]

I feel that the overall quality of players has improved and that the absolute best of "today" have a better all-round game.

It's the same argument as football really, I don't think you can compare, it's just different. Batsmen had to contend with uncovered pitches and unlimited short stuff. Bowlers would play for their County, bowl 40 odd overs, come straight to a Test and then back to their counties again before the next one.

If you put players of yesteryear and gave them the advantages of today then they'd improve to the same level in my view.

 

[North Shropshire Lad]

Cook
Strauss
Trescothick
Atherton

 

[Sniffer]

Openers Result

Alastair Cook 49
Graham Gooch 28
Marcus Trescothick 22
Andrew Strauss 20
Mike Atherton 13
Geoff Boycott 5
Michael Vaughan 3

 

[Sniffer]

Wicket Keepers next....

 

[Tony Towner]

I'm going for the best keeper rather than the best batsman keeper
Jack Russell
Bruce French
Matt Prior

I'm discounting James Foster based on how few Tests he played, although looking it up French only played 16

 

[Deutsch Wolf]

Matt Prior
Alec Stewart
Jack Russell

 

[Johnny75]

Stewart
Prior
Russell

 

[Tredman]

Stewart
Prior
Jones

 

[darlowolf64]

Alan Knott
Jack Russell
Matt Prior

 

[Paddingtonwolf]

Alan Knott
Alec Stewart
Jack Russell

 

[Deutsch Wolf]

Knott played 6 (SIX) Tests from 1 Jan 1978 and averaged 21 with the bat...

His run of scores:

6, 7, 9, 2, 6, 3, 3, 13, 59, 36, 70*

 

[Nando]

Matt Prior
Alec Stewart
Jonny Bairstow

 

[darlowolf64]

Knott played 6 (SIX) Tests from 1 Jan 1978 and averaged 21 with the bat...

His run of scores:

6, 7, 9, 2, 6, 3, 3, 13, 59, 36, 70*

He played within the timescale allowed and he was an excellent keeper/batsman.

 

[jd1981]

Stewart
Russell
Prior

 

[Sniffer]

I can't put Knott in as although I saw him play as I was only interested in batting and bowling at that age so don't really remember him. Bob Taylor was an excellent gloveman but his batting left a lot to be desired. I liked Chris Read but he never settled into test cricket so....

Russell
Stewart
Prior

 

[Deutsch Wolf]

He played within the timescale allowed and he was an excellent keeper/batsman.

I'm sure he was.

But it's like nominating Orson Welles as the greatest actor of the 1980s