The Best Ashes XI?

As the latest Ashes contest draws nearer, the BBC has started a debate by asking viewers and listeners to name their best Ashes XI. They don't lay down any boundaries so I assume they mean the best Ashes XI since that first contest in 1882.

Such debates are always huge fun with the only guarantee being that they are entirely subjective. My interest in the Ashes began in earnest in 1981 and I have studied its history fastidiously since. In common with most of the posts on the BBC website, I agree that the first name on the list has to be that of Bradman - there is nothing to add. He would bat at three and I would place Wally Hammond right behind him at four. In cricket strategy, it is said that you want your openers to take the shine off the new ball and make as many runs as they can without losing their wicket. Numbers three and four are reserved for your two best batsmen and few could argue with the names of Bradman and Hammond. As a former bowler, it would give me nightmares just even contemplating bowling at them knowing that they could gorge themselves on any bowling as it took their fancy. The two opening batsmen are a real challenge. For one thing, batsmen before the war had to ply their trade on uncovered wickets and so their techniques became highly adaptable to all conditions - favourable or not. On this basis, it would be difficult to consider any opener from the last fifty years or so unless their sheer weight of runs demanded it.

My first opening slot would go to Herbert Sutcliffe. Anyone who averages over 60 in tests from that era having faced some of the toughest, meanest bowlers ever seen has to be selected. Ideally, I would prefer a left handed batsman to partner him but the other candidates on my list are all right handed. In the end, I had to choose between Hobbs and Hutton. I give the nod to the Master because anyone who can score 99 centuries after their 40th birthday is impossible to ignore. It would be a fitting partnership because they often did open together and are generally regarded to be the best opening pair we have ever sent out.

Choosing my number five was always going to be hard due to the high number of high quality names I would have to ditch. In the end, I had to decide if I wanted an out and out batsmen or someone who could give me a little bit more. Resisting the temptation to be greedy, I have gone for an out and out batsman. I have reserved the right to go back to the Golden Age of cricket. I was therefore left with a straight choice between the English aesthete par excellence, C.B.Fry, or the mercurial Australian Victor Trumper. He died far too young from Bright's disease which we now call the nephrotic syndrome. Either way, his was a huge loss to cricket and all of his contemporaries cite him as being the outstanding batsman of their time.

For my number six, I need a genuine all-rounder who can take charge of a match either through his bowling or his batting or indeed his catching. Nobody else but Botham could tick all three boxes so he occupies the pivotal role in this side. I can't think of anyone else who has single handedly decided the outcome of as many Ashes test matches. For my wicketkeeper, I need the best glove man available. From all that I have read, the wearer of the gloves has to come from Kent but which one? Both Knott and Ames were more than able batsmen to augment their prowess with the gloves. But I want the best glove man so it has to Godfrey Evans.

Because I already have Botham to turn to for bowling duties with Hammond to provide more than adequate cover, I can afford the luxury of two pace bowlers and two spinners. For my first spinner, I go for Hedley Verity who sadly lost his life in his prime during the Second World War. Put simply, he removed Bradman more than any of his contemporaries and was instrumental in the success of Yorkshire during the 1930s. He is widely considered to be the finest slow left arm bowler to play for England. My next spinner is a choice between an off-spinner or a leggie. While it would be tempting to go for Warne, I have to plump for Laker who I feel was the most complete spinner of them all. Two to go.

My only dilemma here was to choose who to partner Sidney Barnes. With 189 test wickets at a cost of just 16 runs each at a rate of one every 7 overs, he just picks himself. The best pace bowler I have seen in the Ashes is Terry Alderman whose 42 wickets in a rubber in 1981 reflect the depth of his talent. His compatriot Lillee is difficult to ignore as indeed are the great duo of Ray Lindwall and Keith Miller. For all that I go for the man with the genuine Rolls Royce action which allowed him to remain at the peak for so much longer than other bowlers. Thus he conquered 300 test wickets before anyone else. Frederick Sewards Trueman is my last pick. I confess that my team is somewhat strong in its Yorkshiremen but it would be devil to beat.

Sutcliffe
Hobbs
Bradman
Hammond
Trumper
Botham
Evans
Verity
Laker
Barnes
Trueman

12th man Cowdrey