Ponting's an interesting one. His Ashes batting average is 'only' 44, but I had him on my wishlist (somewhere towards the bottom of a list of about 20-25 players I would call 'great' Ashes players). I guess part of that is because I remember Ponting at his best - the 2001-2009 Ponting - not the scratchy, nervous 2010/11 Ponting or the raw young Ponting of 1997 or 1998/99. The 100 he made at Brisbane on the first day of 2006/07 was fantastic, probably at the peak of his powers and setting the tone in a massively important series for Australia. Scary to say that he probably underperformed in Ashes cricket, considering he only averaged around 40 in the 2001 and 2005 tours of England.
DRAFT! Ashes history...
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StinkyBoHoon
National Board President
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the quick 78 he made in the 2009 series was brilliant, higher scores in that match for australia but that was the one that won it. england all out for 102 and it took ponting and watson less than 30 overs to pull way out in front. after that happened I really didn't see them losing the 5th test.
Aislabie
Test Cricket is Best Cricket
ANDREW FLINTOFF
This player has been chosen not for their incredible stats, or for their performances over the course of long careers. I have chosen Andrew Flintoff because in 2005 he beat Australia on his own. You may say that he was in a "great England side" and maybe he was, but that side had Ian Bell (before he was ready for Test cricket), Geraint Jones and Ashley Giles in it. Flintoff, whenever anyone failed to fire, filled the void.
His batting, which in his early career was reckless, became destructive and match-turning, changing the course of the series in the course of an hour or two. His bowling, which had once struggled for impact became express and hostile, and he made the great Adam Gilchrist his bunny. His hands at slip were infallible. He even made the odd foray into the outfield to flaunt his bullet arm. By the time he played in the next Ashes, the captaincy played havoc with his form. In 2009, he played a hero's role once again to earn back the Ashes. As Andrew Strauss said, "Freddie had one last piece of magic left in him." His body never recovered.
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This player has been chosen not for their incredible stats, or for their performances over the course of long careers. I have chosen Andrew Flintoff because in 2005 he beat Australia on his own. You may say that he was in a "great England side" and maybe he was, but that side had Ian Bell (before he was ready for Test cricket), Geraint Jones and Ashley Giles in it. Flintoff, whenever anyone failed to fire, filled the void.
His batting, which in his early career was reckless, became destructive and match-turning, changing the course of the series in the course of an hour or two. His bowling, which had once struggled for impact became express and hostile, and he made the great Adam Gilchrist his bunny. His hands at slip were infallible. He even made the odd foray into the outfield to flaunt his bullet arm. By the time he played in the next Ashes, the captaincy played havoc with his form. In 2009, he played a hero's role once again to earn back the Ashes. As Andrew Strauss said, "Freddie had one last piece of magic left in him." His body never recovered.
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cricket_icon
International Cricketer
- Joined
- Apr 13, 2011
ANDREW FLINTOFF
This player has been chosen not for their incredible stats, or for their performances over the course of long careers. I have chosen Andrew Flintoff because in 2005 he beat Australia on his own. You may say that he was in a "great England side" and maybe he was, but that side had Ian Bell (before he was ready for Test cricket), Geraint Jones and Ashley Giles in it. Flintoff, whenever anyone failed to fire, filled the void.
His batting, which in his early career was reckless, became destructive and match-turning, changing the course of the series in the course of an hour or two. His bowling, which had once struggled for impact became express and hostile, and he made the great Adam Gilchrist his bunny. His hands at slip were infallible. He even made the odd foray into the outfield to flaunt his bullet arm. By the time he played in the next Ashes, the captaincy played havoc with his form. In 2009, he played a hero's role once again to earn back the Ashes. As Andrew Strauss said, "Freddie had one last piece of magic left in him." His body never recovered.
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If there was ever a cricketer born for the Ashes and whipping the Aussies it was this man. Great pick!
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Aalay, has he picked, is he going to, can I get mine in?
Ian Botham 
Ashes statistics (batting) - Matches: 36. Runs: 1,673. Average: 29.35. Centuries: Four. Highest Ashes score: 149*.
Ashes statistics (bowling) - Overs: 1360.1. Maidens: 297. Runs: 4093. Wickets: 148. Average: 27.65. Best Ashes figures: 6-78
The game of cricket has seen some great batsmen and bowlers in the history but having an all-rounder who can do both job equally well is always an asset for the team. Ian Botham is one of the finest all-rounders the game has ever seen. He is certainly the best all-rounder England cricket team has produced. He had the ability to change the game single handily. He played his first ashes series in 1977 Australia's tour to England. He made his debut in the third test at Trent Bridge and immediately made an impact by taking 5 wickets in the first inning. For me, his best inning came in the 3rd test of 1981 Ashes series. When England were asked to follow on, Ian came in and absolutely smashed Australian bowlers all around the park and made 149 from 148 deliveries. With help of Bob Willis, he turned the match into England's favour. Botham did this throughout 1981 ashes series which means he ended up as a man of the series. This 1981 ashes series is also known as Botham's ashes. Ian Botham was the fastest to the double of 1000 runs and 100 wickets. Ian Botham is still on the top of highest wicket takers list for England players in tests. He has 383 wickets from 102 test matches.
Stats analysis: Ian Botham | Specials | Cricinfo Magazine | ESPN Cricinfo
Ian Botham - 'The first real mega superstar' | Legends of Cricket | Video | ESPN Cricinfo
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cricket_icon
International Cricketer
- Joined
- Apr 13, 2011
Botham is yet another Ashes giant and I'm going to add possibly the greatest Ashes captain ever, get ready:
1. J Hobbs
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7. R Benaud C
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Not sure where I'd have him in the batting order just yet
Richie Benaud
Matches: 27 Runs: 767 HS: 97 Batting Avg: 19.66 100s: 0 Wickets: 83 Best Bowling: 6/70 Bowling Avg: 31.81 5fors: 4 Catches: 32
Matches: 27 Runs: 767 HS: 97 Batting Avg: 19.66 100s: 0 Wickets: 83 Best Bowling: 6/70 Bowling Avg: 31.81 5fors: 4 Catches: 32
Richie Benaud was a good allrounder verging on great, a terrific leg spinner over shadowed by a certain Shane Warne, his Ashes stats are pretty standard at best, no centuries, his best figures are decent yet not outstanding...so why is here? I hear you ask. Simple really, he is possibly the greatest mind to ever play the game.
As a captain he retained the Ashes on 3 separate occasions and was a bowler who didn't so much destroy England as constantly teasing them, nagging away, an annoying mosquito stuck in your room yet you can't catch it. Benaud was a cricketing genius, he knew when to attack and when to defend (although he enjoyed the former far more). Along with Ricky Ponting and Michael Vaughn, Benaud is one of the few captains who defined a generations worth of Ashes cricket.
As a captain he retained the Ashes on 3 separate occasions and was a bowler who didn't so much destroy England as constantly teasing them, nagging away, an annoying mosquito stuck in your room yet you can't catch it. Benaud was a cricketing genius, he knew when to attack and when to defend (although he enjoyed the former far more). Along with Ricky Ponting and Michael Vaughn, Benaud is one of the few captains who defined a generations worth of Ashes cricket.
He has taken that same astute awareness and undying love of the game into the commentary box, something which can not be said of lesser voices in the modern game.
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Not sure where I'd have him in the batting order just yet
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Well Ian Botham being picked takes away one option I was considering, now I've only got about 5 possible choices instead of 6 
Decisions, decisions...
Couple of interesting talking points can be had from the overnight picks:
Botham vs Flintoff? Who do you like? Flintoff was great in 2005, really stitched up the Aussie left handers. Katich and Gilchrist were deer in the headlights, and it meant Australia usually went from 4 down to 6 down pretty quickly... Botham had an influence on more series than Freddie, probably more consistent with the ball as well. Flintoff couldn't really find that 2005 magic again, except at Lord's 2009. It's a bit like the Hobbs vs Sutcliffe debate, different tastes for different folks...
And Richie Benaud...is he the best captain in Ashes history? Not sure, but he wouldn't be far away. Other candidates? From the stats, Allan Border has the most wins in Ashes Tests (13). Border also had to regain the Ashes and fight through a tough period with a less talented side. Bradman has won/retained the most Ashes series with 4. There are a couple of other captains out there with excellent winning records, some particularly renowned for their strategic abilities.
Decisions, decisions...Couple of interesting talking points can be had from the overnight picks:
Botham vs Flintoff? Who do you like? Flintoff was great in 2005, really stitched up the Aussie left handers. Katich and Gilchrist were deer in the headlights, and it meant Australia usually went from 4 down to 6 down pretty quickly... Botham had an influence on more series than Freddie, probably more consistent with the ball as well. Flintoff couldn't really find that 2005 magic again, except at Lord's 2009. It's a bit like the Hobbs vs Sutcliffe debate, different tastes for different folks...
And Richie Benaud...is he the best captain in Ashes history? Not sure, but he wouldn't be far away. Other candidates? From the stats, Allan Border has the most wins in Ashes Tests (13). Border also had to regain the Ashes and fight through a tough period with a less talented side. Bradman has won/retained the most Ashes series with 4. There are a couple of other captains out there with excellent winning records, some particularly renowned for their strategic abilities.
Sulaiman7
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Fenil
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You need someone in your batting order who can control the innings, preferably if he can make good runs with tailenders at the other end. You cannot ask more if he has a great Ashes record and has an ability to build up a strong side besides being a great strategist and a useful part time bowler. Who is he? None other than Stephen Rodger Waugh!
Writeup later.
Writeup later.
Fenil
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Steve Waugh
Ashes Record
As a Player | As a Captain
A skipper is as good as his team but the team can be better if they get a good captain who can lead them from the front and Steve Waugh is one such cricketer. Classy batsman of his time, Waugh is probably the best captain Australia has ever had. Steve Waugh was a perfect all-rounder and a captain every team would dream of. He served as an Australian Captain both in ODI?s and Test from 1999 to 2004. He has a record of winning 16 consecutive test victories. Under his captaincy, Australia has also won the World Cup of 1999. Steve has also played a major role in nourishing the talents of new players in his team like Ponting and Lee. He was often known as ?Mr cool? by his team mates. He has even better record in the Ashes both as a player and as a leader. With a batting average of 58 and 88% wins under his leadership, he is the perfect man to have in the team. Plus his ability to get the best out of the tailenders given that he was not a lower order batsman makes him even more special.
*The red bars indicate the player's test match innings, while the blue line shows the average of the ten most recent innings at that point. Note that this average cannot be calculated for the first nine innings. The blue dots indicate Waugh's unbeaten innings
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War
Chairman of Selectors
- Joined
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Johnny Wardle
Unless his elbow causing him to quit soon, Graeme Swann will overtake Derek Underwood as the leading England slow bowler of all time & maybe when he retires he will be rated as the greatest too. This will be notable achievement especially for an english off-spinner and art ENG have struggled to produce with much top bowlers except for Jim Laker & Ray Illingworth.
Left-arm spin is ENG main spin forte as leg-spin is to Australia. Blyte, Briggs, Verity, Lock, Underwood. But one specific left-arm spinner who was basically ahead of times & probably will forever go unmentioned as times passes is Johnny Wardle.
As distinguished English cricket writer Rob Steen mentioned in an article about him Johnny Wardle and the importance of being memorable | Opinion | Cricinfo Magazine | ESPN Cricinfo - "he was maverick in less tolerant times, when conformity was all and daring to be different was not a marketable commodity. With his unique ability to bowl left-arm orthodox & chinaman with equally skill - its not a stress to say he was the most skilled English spinner ever.
It always has puzzled me how in those days if the cricket authorities could bann aussies Ian Mekiff, Gordon Rorke, S Africa's Geoff Griffin & Kiwi Gary Bartlett for chucking - but allowed Lock to get away with chucking for almost two decades. Because essentially while Laker was # 1 - Lock kept Wardle from playing more Ashes other tests in for England.
If Wardle had played from the 70s onwards it is indeed possible Underwood would not have had a career & in modern times when Warne/Murali ran rampant & off-spinners bowling the doosra, he would have been celebrated for his skills as a spinner.
Unless his elbow causing him to quit soon, Graeme Swann will overtake Derek Underwood as the leading England slow bowler of all time & maybe when he retires he will be rated as the greatest too. This will be notable achievement especially for an english off-spinner and art ENG have struggled to produce with much top bowlers except for Jim Laker & Ray Illingworth.
Left-arm spin is ENG main spin forte as leg-spin is to Australia. Blyte, Briggs, Verity, Lock, Underwood. But one specific left-arm spinner who was basically ahead of times & probably will forever go unmentioned as times passes is Johnny Wardle.
As distinguished English cricket writer Rob Steen mentioned in an article about him Johnny Wardle and the importance of being memorable | Opinion | Cricinfo Magazine | ESPN Cricinfo - "he was maverick in less tolerant times, when conformity was all and daring to be different was not a marketable commodity. With his unique ability to bowl left-arm orthodox & chinaman with equally skill - its not a stress to say he was the most skilled English spinner ever.
It always has puzzled me how in those days if the cricket authorities could bann aussies Ian Mekiff, Gordon Rorke, S Africa's Geoff Griffin & Kiwi Gary Bartlett for chucking - but allowed Lock to get away with chucking for almost two decades. Because essentially while Laker was # 1 - Lock kept Wardle from playing more Ashes other tests in for England.
If Wardle had played from the 70s onwards it is indeed possible Underwood would not have had a career & in modern times when Warne/Murali ran rampant & off-spinners bowling the doosra, he would have been celebrated for his skills as a spinner.
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vaibhavtewatia
Panel of Selectors
^^Btw, what the hell is the umpire upto there? Checking the front-foot no-ball 
My pick? I was tossing up between Steve Waugh and Ken Barrington. So I'd better take Barrington now, he was lucky to make it this far in my view!
Ken Barrington
Ashes record:
Tests: 23
Runs: 2111
Average: 63.96
High Score: 256 at Old Trafford, 1964
100s: 5
Best series: 1962/63 tour of Australia, 582 runs @ 72.75 with 2 100s
I might have just paired the two hardest men to dismiss in Ashes history. To describe Barrington the player I will use the help of my trusty "Illustrated History of Test Cricket", to expand on a few things. Here are the key things to know about Barrington:
*Right handed middle order batsmen who played for England in the late 50s and throughout the 60s - his peak years were the early-mid 60s. He spent time at 3,4 and 5 in his career. Renowned player of spin.
*He changed his technique midway through his career to become more front on, to help tighten his defence against pace bowling. His loseness there had caused him to be dropped from the England side. That batting style would make Shiv Chanderpaul a decent modern comparison to Barrington. And mindset wise, England's current #3 would also be a good comparison - they both play/played at their own pace, and scored heavily through the leg side.
*Barrington had a notoriously wide bat, as noted with frustration by opposing captains like Benaud, Simpson and Lawry. In fact, Barrington was dropped a couple of times in his career for scoring too slowly:
Now we know how he played, lets examine his record:
*Barrington went past 50 in 18 of his 39 Ashes innings, remarkably consistent (only Bradman, Sutcliffe and a still to be picked, mystery Aussie have a better ratio of 50+ scores per innings in the Ashes).
*He performed well in all 5 of the Ashes series he played in, averaging 45, 72, 75, 66 and 56.
*4 of this 5 Ashes centuries came in Australia, backing up his reputation as a quality player at home or abroad.
*Twice he scored 500+ runs in a series (582 @ 72.75 in 1962/63 and 531 @ 75.85 in the return series of 1964). Only 8 batsmen have twice scored 500 runs or more in an Ashes series.
Barrington died of a heart attack in 1981, and he had been an England selector and then manager in the years after he retired.
1 ?
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Ken Barrington
Ashes record:
Tests: 23
Runs: 2111
Average: 63.96
High Score: 256 at Old Trafford, 1964
100s: 5
Best series: 1962/63 tour of Australia, 582 runs @ 72.75 with 2 100s
I might have just paired the two hardest men to dismiss in Ashes history. To describe Barrington the player I will use the help of my trusty "Illustrated History of Test Cricket", to expand on a few things. Here are the key things to know about Barrington:
*Right handed middle order batsmen who played for England in the late 50s and throughout the 60s - his peak years were the early-mid 60s. He spent time at 3,4 and 5 in his career. Renowned player of spin.
*He changed his technique midway through his career to become more front on, to help tighten his defence against pace bowling. His loseness there had caused him to be dropped from the England side. That batting style would make Shiv Chanderpaul a decent modern comparison to Barrington. And mindset wise, England's current #3 would also be a good comparison - they both play/played at their own pace, and scored heavily through the leg side.
*Barrington had a notoriously wide bat, as noted with frustration by opposing captains like Benaud, Simpson and Lawry. In fact, Barrington was dropped a couple of times in his career for scoring too slowly:
Now we know how he played, lets examine his record:
*Barrington went past 50 in 18 of his 39 Ashes innings, remarkably consistent (only Bradman, Sutcliffe and a still to be picked, mystery Aussie have a better ratio of 50+ scores per innings in the Ashes).
*He performed well in all 5 of the Ashes series he played in, averaging 45, 72, 75, 66 and 56.
*4 of this 5 Ashes centuries came in Australia, backing up his reputation as a quality player at home or abroad.
*Twice he scored 500+ runs in a series (582 @ 72.75 in 1962/63 and 531 @ 75.85 in the return series of 1964). Only 8 batsmen have twice scored 500 runs or more in an Ashes series.
Barrington died of a heart attack in 1981, and he had been an England selector and then manager in the years after he retired.
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Fenil
PC Cricket Leagues Legend
- Joined
- Jan 1, 2011
I was looking to pick one of Botham, Waugh and Barrington. After Botham was picked, I was confused between the two batsmen. In the end I went for Waugh because he of his captaincy skills.
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