England's greatest ever Test XI

The English famously invented the game of cricket and played in the first ever Test match in 1877 against Australia.

Since then, no other nation has played in as many Test matches (1022) or used as many Test match cricketers (695).

England cricket’s finest era was probably in the 1950s when the team went unbeaten for 14 series in a row spanning eight years, including three consecutive Ashes series wins.

This side is a team of England’s greatest players compiled to play a hypothetical Test match in home conditions. As with my previous article, I’ve mainly focused on players post World War One, although I have made an exception for one individual whose exploits I just couldn’t ignore.

1. Jack Hobbs (1908-1930) – 61 matches – 5410 runs at 56.94, 15 hundreds, 28 fifties
I kick-start things off with the greatest run-scorer and century-maker the first-class game has ever seen.

Hobbs was the first professional cricketer to receive a knighthood and enjoyed a lengthy 22-year Test match career either side of the Great War. He still holds the record for being the oldest man to score a Test match century at a remarkable 46 years and 82 days, and his partnership with Yorkshireman Herbert Sutcliffe was one of the all-time great opening partnerships in history.

Equally prolific batting in England, Australia or South Africa (he averaged over 52 in all of those countries), the legendary opener rightfully assumes his place at the top of the order for the all-time England XI.

2. Len Hutton (captain) (1937-1955) – 79 matches – 6971 runs at 56.67, 19 hundreds, 33 fifties
Len Hutton pips his fellow Yorkshireman and Hobbs’ famous opening partner Herbert Sutcliffe to the second opener’s spot.

(Photo by Central Press/Hulton Archive/Getty Images)

Hutton announced himself to the world and Don Bradman’s touring 1938 Australians in the fifth and final Test match at the Oval, scoring a world-record 364 and in the process surpassing Bradman’s previous mark of 334. He would remain a fixture at the top of the order for England until his retirement in 1955.

Hutton famously became the first professional cricketer to captain England in 1951 and captained the country in 23 Test matches. The highlight of his tenure was leading the 1954-55 Ashes winning side to a win in Australia. He assumes the captaincy of this side.

3. Wally Hammond (1927-1947) – 85 matches – 7249 runs at 58.45, 22 hundreds, 24 fifties
Hammond’s reputation as the greatest batsman of his era was surpassed only by that of his rival, Australia’s Don Bradman.

His record in Australia and South Africa was phenomenal, underlined by his performance in Australia in 1928-29, where Hammond’s series aggregate of 905 runs in five Test matches sits second only to Bradman’s 1930 Ashes as the highest run-scoring series ever. Only Bradman, Kumar Sangakkara and Brian Lara have made more than Hammond’s seven Test match double hundreds.

Finishing his career as the leading run-scorer and century-maker for England, Hammond’s 22 Test match centuries would stand as an English record for 73 years until finally surpassed by Alastair Cook in 2012. He is rated by most observers as England’s finest middle-order batsman.

(Photo by Central Press/Getty Images)

4. Denis Compton (1937-1957) – 78 matches – 5807 runs at 50.06, 17 hundreds, 28 fifties
The Brylcreem man shades Kevin Pietersen for the number four spot in our line-up. A dashing batsman in a similar vein to Pietersen, Compton was a schoolboy genius who made his Test debut for England at the age of 19. By 20, he’d recorded his first Test hundred against Bradman’s 1938 Australian side. He remains to this day the youngest batsman to score a hundred in a Test match for England.

Bradman’s post-war 1948 side was known as the Invincibles. They famously obliterated the English side 4-0 but Compton enjoyed an outstanding series and was England’s standout performer, averaging 62.44 with 562 runs. Famously, Compton also played football for Arsenal on the wing and won a league title and FA Cup for the Gunners.

He remains one of England cricket’s purest talents and transcendent figures.

5. Ken Barrington (1955-1968) – 82 matches – 6806 runs at 58.67, 20 hundreds, 35 fifties
One of the most underrated batsmen of all time, only the incomparable Don Bradman and Steve Smith have made more runs than Barrington in Test cricket at a better average.

A short, thickset man, Barrington is England cricket’s greatest middle-order accumulator and was the sheet anchor of England’s batting in the late ’50s and ’60s. He was one of England’s best performers overseas but averaged 50 at home too, with his signature innings being 256 against the touring Australians in 1964.

He is the perfect complement to Compton’s carefree stroke-making, adding a steel and dogged determination to this middle order.

6. Ian Botham (1977-1992) – 102 matches – 5200 runs at 33.54, 14 hundreds, 22 fifties; 383 wickets at 28.40, best bowling in an innings 8-34, best bowling in a match 13-106
You could make the argument that Ian Botham is England’s greatest cricketer of all time, especially if the criteria used is match-winning performances. Certainly nobody has won more matches in more ways for England than Beefy, who led the bowling attack for close to a decade and was good enough to score 14 centuries at Test level.

(Photo by Adrian Murrell/Allsport/Getty Images/Hulton Archive)

Ironically, Botham’s darkest hour as a professional cricketer – the second Test of the 1981 Ashes at Lord’s – proved to be just before the dawn that led to one of the greatest series performances in history.

Entering the Test as England skipper, Botham scored a pair and then resigned under duress after the match, ending a torrid 12-match winless spell as England captain. With England forced to follow on in the third Test, Botham produced an imperious 145 not out to set up Bob Willis’ 8-43 and deliver a come-from-behind-victory.

In the next Test, with Australia in a commanding position, a Botham spell of 5-1 delivered another England victory. He then followed up with another century in the fifth Test of that series and a ten-wicket match haul in the sixth and final Test.

It was the peak of an amazing career and Botham makes this side miles ahead of the likes of Andrew Flintoff, Ben Stokes and Tony Greig.

7. Alan Knott (wicketkeeper) (1967-1981) – 95 matches – 4389 runs at 32.75, five hundreds, 30 fifties; 250 catches, 19 stumpings
One of the finest wicketkeepers of all time, Alan Knott was a stalwart of England cricket in the 1970s. He was described by famed cricket journalist Simon Wilde as “a natural gloveman, beautifully economical in his movements and armed with tremendous powers of concentration”.

Knott was at his absolute best when keeping to Derek Underwood’s spin on crusting pitches. An underrated batsman, he was good enough to score five Test hundreds for England. He’s a fairly easy selection for the wicketkeeper’s slot in this side.

8. Fred Trueman (1952-1965) – 67 matches – 307 wickets at 21.57, 17 five-wicket hauls, three ten-wicket hauls, best bowling in an innings 8-31, best bowling in a match 12-119
Self-described as “the greatest bloody fast bowler that ever drew breath”, Trueman was the first bowler to take 300 Test match wickets. Alongside his new-ball partner Brian Statham, Trueman led the attack in probably England cricket’s finest era of the 1950s and early ’60s.

Described as ‘fiery Fred’, Trueman often clashed with the England administration but was respected worldwide for his control of pace and swing. An outstanding fielder, he was the first of the fast bowlers trusted to field close in to the bat, often at leg slip.

He takes the new ball for this line-up.

9. Derek Underwood (1966-1982) – 86 matches – 297 wickets at 25.83, 17 five-wicket hauls, six ten-wicket hauls, best bowling in an innings 8-51, best bowling in a match 13-71
The spin spot for this XI was a three-way battle between Jim Laker, Derek Underwood and Graeme Swann. In the end I went with the left-armer from Kent nicknamed Deadly.

(Photo by S&G/PA Images via Getty Images)

While Laker is probably more widely remembered, in part for being the first man to take ten wickets in an innings, many observers rate Underwood as England’s finest slow bowler.

Underwood was at his very best on sticky, rain-affected wickets, perhaps never better demonstrated than against Australia at the Oval in 1968, when a lunchtime cloudburst set up an Underwood spell of four wickets in 27 balls to clinch the Test match win for England.

He holds Laker and the excellent Swann off for a spot in this side.

10. James Anderson (2003-) – 151 matches – 584 wickets at 26.83, 28 five-wicket hauls, three ten-wicket hauls, best bowling in an innings 7-42, best bowling in a match 11-71
Jimmy Anderson has been the outstanding swing bowler of the current generation and is one of the greatest of all time.

Nobody other than perhaps Muttiah Muralitharan has been consistently better over a lengthy period of time in favourable conditions. Anderson’s record in England with the Dukes ball is and has been outstanding.

His durability, playing over 150 Test matches well into his late 30s, is something that isn’t talked about nearly enough. Of the 15 men to play the most Test matches in history, Anderson is the only fast bowler on the list.

(AAP Image/David Moir)

He shares the new ball in this team with Freddie Trueman.

11. Sydney Barnes (1901-1914) – 27 matches – 189 wickets at 16.43, 24 five-wicket hauls, seven ten-wicket hauls, best bowling in an innings 9-103, best bowling in a match 17-159
I have read plenty of literature on Sydney Barnes and I am still unsure as to what he bowled. Some say it was medium pace, others say it was quick leg spin. Whatever he put out, it was so far ahead of anyone of his time that he deserves his place on this list, even if I have to break my pre-World War One rule for him.

The beauty of this side is that we already have three genuine fast bowlers (including Botham) and one left-arm spinner, so Barnes can really come on and bowl anything he wants. Of all bowlers to take 100 wickets, he has the third best strike rate behind George Lohmann and Kagiso Rabada. If he strikes at anywhere near that rate, he’ll be a valued addition to this side.

Stay tuned early next week when I reveal the Rest of the World XI to play this team in England in what should be an interesting contest.