The only criteria for selection is you have had to have seen the player live in any format or level of cricket!
Alastair Cook – Nearly 12,500 Test runs says it all. If there was someone you’d want to bat for your life it’d be Cook. I’ve witnessed a number of his hundreds all around the world and the guy is a legend. And I never use that word loosely.
Mike Atherton – What a player Athers was. If it wasn’t for his back he’d have been one of the great opening bats of all time. Those two innings against South Africa (the 185 not out and the Allan Donald spell) show just how good he was.
Jonathan Trott – Why can’t he still be playing? Sometimes it needs a player to retire to realise just how missed he is. The best number 3 I’ve seen in England colours and my kind of batsman!
Graham Thorpe – My favourite player of all time. An absolute fighter. In an era when England had a conveyor belt of batsmen Thorpey was the constant. He was also our one batsman who was comfortable to face Shane Warne. Cook, Atherton, Trott and Thorpe what a top 4!!
Robin Smith – In the early 90s Smith was a sensational batsman especially against the quicks. How good was that square cut! Currently reading his book. Very sad. But the way he’s turned his life around says everything about his character.
Andrew Flintoff – My namesake! In 2005 this guy brought so many memories. A brilliant bowler who didn’t get the quantity of wickets he deserved and when he took it to the opposition with the bat, wow, just wow. He loved playing against the Aussies!
Jack Russell – I’ve always believed play your best wicket-keeper. And Jack was the best. He averaged 27 with the bat and in a fielding innings he would save an extra 23 runs an innings with his true keeping ability. That would give him the same contribution of these keeper-batsmen of today. Play your best wicket-keeper and do not underestimate what they bring to a side. Ben Foakes anyone…
Graeme Swann – The joker of the side but a fine spin bowler. Helped by the introduction of DRS but gets in just ahead of Tuffers. He was instrumental in England reaching number one in the world.
Stuart Broad – Can sometimes be frustrating but on his day, especially against Australia at home, he’d get into one of those spells we all remember. How can I forget that spell in Johannesburg. Sensational on his day.
Angus Fraser – A bit like Trott with the bat, Gus Fraser was that bowler who’d keep things tight. But had it not been for that hip injury early in his career which kept him out for two years he could have been as good as Glenn McGrath but that injury cost him. The fact he still battled back and produced a number of world class bowling spells says it all.
Jimmy Anderson – How can Jimmy not be picked? Our best bowler of all time. People say he didn’t perform overseas. Absolute bollocks. His early career could have been better but he was rarely fully fit in Ashes series down under. When he was in 2010 he performed. In 2017 he was our best bowler. I’ve seen him perform in India and I loved the way he adapted his role depending on conditions. Another legend.