A few evenings ago, Shane Warne named his greatest Ashes XI. So we’re going to do the same.
If you missed it, Warney’s XI was composed only of players who he played with or against, as long as their first name didn’t begin with S (a disclaimer which evidently only applied to this combined XI – Steve Waugh did make his greatest Australian Ashes XI). It looked a little something like this:
Rather than limit ourselves to a particular era, we’re going to open it up to the entirety of Ashes history and see what XI we end up with. Because we’ve got so many names to work with as a result, from Barnes to Boycott, Spofforth to Smith and everyone in between, we’re going to run this in a slightly different way than how we usually do our team selection polls.
We’ll run this first vote as per normal: everyone picks their preferred XI in the form below. But rather than calling it a day after that, we’re then going to take the top two players for each spot and put them up against one another, with the winner of each of those individual polls making it into the final team.
In the case of ‘positions’ with more than one vacancy – all of them except for the all-rounder and wicketkeeper – we’ll take twice as many players as required and pit the player with the most votes against the one with the least, and the one with the second-most against the second-least so on and so forth.
For the sake of simplicity, we’ve split the voting into two opening batsmen, three middle order batsmen, an all-rounder, a wicketkeeper, and four bowlers. We will let you choose whether you’d prefer to go with three quicks and one spinner or two quicks and two spinners from the four specialist bowlers.
Got it? Fantastic.
Now all that’s left to do – for the time being at least – is to pick your side. If someone you’d like to select isn’t listed in the poll (given we’re dealing with more than a century of cricketers here, there are going to be some missing names. We’ve roughly provided five options for every position in the XI), you can manually add them in yourselves.
Once you’ve chosen your XI, be sure to let everyone know who you picked and why in the comments below.
Because this is an Ashes XI, you should only consider a player’s performances in Tests between Australia and England. And to make that a little easier, here are the Ashes records of all the players we’ve offered up for selection:
Opening batsmen
Geoffrey Boycott
Tests: 38 | Runs: 2945 | Average: 47.50 | 50s/100s: 14/7
Alastair Cook
Tests: 35 | Runs: 2493 | Average: 40.20 | 50s/100s: 11/5
Matthew Hayden
Tests: 20 | Runs: 1461 | Average: 45.65 | 50s/100s: 2/5
Jack Hobbs
Tests: 41 | Runs: 3636 | Average: 54.26 | 50s/100s: 15/12
Len Hutton
Tests: 27 | Runs: 2428 | Average: 56.46 | 50s/100s: 14/5
Justin Langer
Tests: 21 | Runs: 1658 | Average: 50.24 | 50s/100s: 5/5
Arthur Morris
Tests: 24 | Runs: 2080 | Average: 50.73 | 50s/100s: 8/8
Bill Ponsford
Tests: 29 | Runs: 2122 | Average: 48.22 | 50s/100s: 6/7
Herbert Sutcliffe
Tests: 27 | Runs: 2741 | Average: 66.85 | 50s/100s: 16/8
Mark Taylor
Tests: 33 | Runs: 2496 | Average: 42.30 | 50s/100s: 15/6
Justin Langer and Matthew Hayden. (Photo by Hamish Blair/Getty Images)
Middle-order batsmen
Ken Barrington
Tests: 23 | Runs: 2111 | Average: 63.96 | 50s/100s: 13/5
Allan Border
Tests: 47 | Runs: 3548 | Average: 56.31 | 50s/100s: 21/8
Donald Bradman
Tests: 37 | Runs: 5028 | Average: 89.78 | 50s/100s: 12/19
Greg Chappell
Tests: 35 | Runs: 2619 | Average: 45.94 | 50s/100s: 12/9
Denis Compton
Tests: 28 | Runs: 1842 | Average: 42.83 | 50s/100s: 9/5
David Gower
Tests: 42 | Runs: 3269 | Average: 44.78 | 50s/100s: 12/9
Wally Hammond
Tests: 33 | Runs: 2852 | Average: 51.85 | 50s/100s: 7/9
Mike Hussey
Tests: 15 | Runs: 1304 | Average: 59.27 | 50s/100s: 9/4
Stan McCabe
Tests: 24 | Runs: 1931 | Average: 48.27 | 50s/100s: 10/4
Kevin Pietersen
Tests: 27 | Runs: 2158 | Average: 44.95 | 50s/100s: 13/4
Ricky Ponting
Tests: 35 | Runs: 2476 | Average: 44.21 | 50s/100s: 9/8
Steve Smith
Tests: 27 | Runs: 2800 | Average: 65.11 | 50s/100s: 9/11
Michael Vaughan
Tests: 10 | Runs: 959 | Average: 47.95 | 50s/100s: 1/4
Mark Waugh
Tests: 29 | Runs: 2204 | Average: 50.09 | 50s/100s: 11/6
Steve Waugh
Tests: 46 | Runs: 3200 | Average: 58.18 | 50s/100s: 14/10
Both Waugh brothers had outstanding Ashes records. (Laurence Griffiths/ALLSPORT)
All-rounders
Ian Botham
Tests: 36 | Runs: 1673 | Batting average: 29.35 | 50s/100s: 6/4 | Wickets: 148 | Bowling average: 27.65 | Bowling strike-rate: 57.2
Andrew Flintoff
Tests: 14 | Runs: 856 | Batting average: 34.24 | 50s/100s: 6/1 | Wickets: 43 | Bowling average: 36.11 | Bowling strike-rate: 64.1
Tony Greig
Tests: 21 | Runs: 1303 | Batting average: 36.19 | 50s/100s: 10/1 | Wickets: 44 | Bowling average: 37.79 | Bowling strike-rate: 78.9
Keith Miller
Tests: 29 | Runs: 1511 | Batting average: 33.57 | 50s/100s: 6/3 | Wickets: 87 | Bowling average: 22.40 | Bowling strike-rate: 65.7
Ben Stokes
Tests: 14 | Runs: 921 | Batting average: 38.37 | 50s/100s: 4/3 | Wickets: 34 | Bowling average: 35.94 | Bowling strike-rate: 55.9
Wicketkeepers
Adam Gilchrist
Tests: 20 | Runs: 1083 | Average: 45.12 | 50s/100s: 6/3 | Dismissals: 96
Brad Haddin
Tests: 20 | Runs: 1366 | Average: 41.39 | 50s/100s: 11/3 | Dismissals: 80
Ian Healy
Tests: 33 | Runs: 1269 | Average: 30.95 | 50s/100s: 6/2 | Dismissals: 135
Alan Knott
Tests: 34 | Runs: 1682 | Average: 32.98 | 50s/100s: 1/2 | Dismissals: 105
Rod Marsh
Tests: 42 | Runs: 1633 | Average: 27.21 | 50s/100s: 9/1 | Dismissals: 148
Adam Gilchrist on the way to his final Ashes hundred. (Photo by Paul Kane/Getty Images)
Bowlers
Terry Aldermann
Tests: 17 | Wickets: 100 | Average: 21.17 | Strike-rate: 47.1
James Anderson
Tests: 32 | Wickets: 104 | Average: 34.56 | Strike-rate: 67.7
Richie Benaud
Tests: 27 | Wickets: 83 | Average: 31.81 | Strike-rate: 87.7
Sydney Barnes
Tests: 20 | Wickets: 106 | Average: 21.58 | Strike-rate: 54.2
Stuart Broad
Tests: 32 | Wickets: 118 | Average: 29.35 | Strike-rate: 55.1
Pat Cummins
Tests: 10 | Wickets: 52 | Average: 21.84 | Strike-rate: 47.0
Clarrie Grimmett
Tests: 22 | Wickets: 106 | Average: 32.44 | Strike-rate: 86.4
Mitchell Johnson
Tests: 19 | Wickets: 87 | Average: 25.81 | Strike-rate: 43.1
Jim Laker
Tests: 15 | Wickets: 79 | Average: 18.27 | Strike-rate: 50.7
Harold Larwood
Tests: 15 | Wickets: 64 | Average: 29.87 | Strike-rate: 63.3
Dennis Lillee
Tests: 29 | Wickets: 167 | Average: 21.00 | Strike-rate: 50.9
Ray Lindwall
Tests: 29 | Wickets: 114 | Average: 22.44 | Strike-rate: 59.0
Glenn McGrath
Tests: 30 | Wickets: 157 | Average: 20.92 | Strike-rate: 46.3
Bill O’Reilly
Tests: 19 | Wickets: 102 | Average: 25.36 | Strike-rate: 77.0
Fred Spofforth
Tests: 18 | Wickets: 94 | Average: 18.41 | Strike-rate: 44.5
Jeff Thomson
Tests: 21 | Wickets: 100 | Average: 28 | Strike-rate: 49.5
Fred Trueman
Tests: 19 | Wickets: 79 | Average: 25.30 | Strike-rate: 55.2
Frank Tyson
Tests: 8 | Wickets: 32 | Average: 25.31 | Strike-rate: 53.8
Derek Underwood
Tests: 29 | Wickets: 105 | Average: 26.38 | Strike-rate: 76.1
Shane Warne
Tests: 36 | Wickets: 195 | Average: 23.25 | Strike-rate: 55.1
Bob Willis
Tests: 35 | Wickets: 128 | Average: 26.14 | Strike-rate: 56.9
HR
Roar Rookie
He was very good - we've been blessed with some exceptional keepers over the last few decades (Healy, Gilchrist and Haddin are all absolutely top-drawer). He must have really hated Watto though, snaffling all those catches from him :stoked:
DingoGray
Roar Guru
This is near impossible.
Daniel Jeffrey
Editor
The better one
JGK
Roar Guru
Huh? The 2006/7 Ashes was won of the great team performances of all time. 5 batsmen over 300 runs, 4 bowlers over 20 wickets. Only 12 players used the whole series.
Michael Mouse
Guest
L Hutton H Sutcliffe Bradman S Smith S Waugh K Miller A Gilchrist S Warne T Alderman G McGrath J Laker
Rowdy
Roar Rookie
A back-handed slap if there ever was one. Warne can be a real Virgo snark at times.
Nick
Roar Guru
That's not true. He had a stellar series in 2010-11 That won the ashes. Matt Hayden certainly did no such thing on English soil. Four years before that as a youngster he hit a good century at Perth of all places. 2013-14 was ordinary, sure. Still managed 3 fifties. Last series he set a record for biggest away innings at the MCG. That's a heck of a lot better than what Matt Hayden has done in the UK. Your memories are rose tinted because of what he and Langer did only in Australia. Hayden bullied opposition in Australia and was ordinary away. Incredibly so in England. You have to reward players who stepped up overseas.
Rowdy
Roar Rookie
The real one. Not the dilettante.
Rowdy
Roar Rookie
Absolutely. Monty Python even made fun of him with a mock variety show called, "13 Weeks of Off-spin Bowling with Jim Laker". And he took those famous wickets on an infamous pitch.
matth
Roar Guru
It’s a tough call but someone had to miss out
Micko
Roar Rookie
Steyn ahead of Hadlee! :shocked:
matth
Roar Guru
Not a bad world XI. I’ll bite: Sunil Gavaskar Barry Richards George Headley Sachin Tendulkar Viv Richards Garry Sobers Kumar Sangakkara Wasim Akram Malcolm Marshall Dale Steyn Muttiah Muralidaran
Micko
Roar Rookie
Yeah, seen it, gave you a thumbs up. I'm starting to think I stuffed up with Jim Laker. Did that freak 19 wicket Test exaggerate how good he was?
matth
Roar Guru
It’s down below
13th Man
Roar Rookie
Cook was useless in Aus apart from one series... No way he gets in
13th Man
Roar Rookie
Yep Gilchrist oops
Paul searle
Guest
I did a australian ashes test team and who i though would and could play the game the best and steve waugh as 12th man but very hard to pick a overall ashes test side so just picked my aussie side lets see if get a English side to play against them
Mark Picozzi
Guest
Surprised dennis lillee wasnt there
JGK
Roar Guru
Botham was comfortably both for the first half of his career. After his 51st Test (out of 103) he was averaging 38 with the bat (with 11 tons) and 23 with the ball which is comparable to Miller's 58 Test career.
DJM
Roar Rookie
And coincidentally the Australian bowling side in 28/29 was probably the weakest we’ve ever put on the field. Grimmett was the only test class bowler and the English just sat on him, so I am told.