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Only four places remain up for grabs in our greatest Ashes XI of all time. Today, we’ll decide who the side’s spinner is.
An overwhelming majority of you voted to play a single spinner and three quicks – to go along with a pace-bowling all-rounder – so there’s just a sole spot for a tweaker in this side.
Unsurprisingly, it was Shane Warne who was the most popular of all the spinners in our initial poll a couple of weeks ago. Indeed, not only was Warney also the most popular overall bowler, but he was also the most-selected player in any position, picked in 95 per cent of all sides.
He’s pitted against England off-spinner Jim Laker, who came in second amongst all spinners with 12 per cent of the vote.
Warne’s record against England was, to put it mildly, phenomenal. From his first ball in Ashes cricket which bamboozled Mike Gatting to helping the Aussies to a clean sweep in his final series in 2006-07, the Victorian often produced his best performances against the Old Enemy.
In 36 Ashes Tests, he took 195 wickets, almost 30 more than the next-best Dennis Lillee, and all at the excellent average of 23.25. His strike rate – 55.1 – wasn’t too shabby either.
Jim Laker’s record against Australia was impressive as well. The Englishman only played 15 Ashes Tests, but in those he took 79 wickets at 18.27, to go with a strike rate of 50.7. Of course, his numbers are skewed by his world-record performance at Old Trafford in 1956, when he returned match figures of 19 for 90. But that in itself perhaps only makes his record even more impressive.
Alas, only one of these two can make the side, so who’s it going to be? The Australian leg-spinner who claimed more Ashes scalps than anyone else, or the English off-spinner who took the most wickets in a single match? Cast your vote, then let us know in the comments below whether you picked Shane Warne or Jim Laker.
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