So my friend Andrew asked me an interesting question earlier. If able to make composite teams, who would I pick for England – based solely on current form at the time – if I had the victorious Ashes team from 2005 and the current 2011 crop together? And, who would I pick to play against them if I had the Australia 05’ team and the Indian team England are currently up against.
Well here goes, it’s tough to pick with and injured Sehwag, so I’ll have to omit him on this occasion.
England
1. Marcus Trescothick (05’ Opening Batsmen)
One of the best openers these shores have seen, a fantastic batsmen who took the attack to McGrath, Lee and Co in 2005. Much missed ever since succumbing to his stress illness.
2. Andrew Strauss (05’ Opening Batsmen, 11’ Captain)
Joined Trescothick in 2005 and scored many runs in that series. His captaincy vs India so far has been superb, we only hope his batting will soon follow it up.
3. Jonathon Trott (11’ Batsmen)
England were struggling for a solid No.3 batsmen. Then came Trott in 2009, he hasn’t looked back since. 2nd highest average in test history. Only made one fifty at Lord’s but struggled with shoulder injury at Trent Bridge.
4. Kevin Pietersen (05’ Batsmen)
Despite playing well above his average for the first time in a long time, I went for the 05’ Pietersen. This is because this was a Pietersen new to the scene, with no fear. He blasted McGrath, Warne and Lee. He also played one of the best backs to the wall hundreds I’ve ever seen at the Oval. A Pietersen before the left-arm spin “weakness”.
5. Ian Bell (11’ Batsmen)
Fresh off a sublime hundred and looking at ease at the crease, Bell has finally developed into the player we were hoping for and boy does he look good!
6. Matt Prior (11’ Wicket-keeper, Batsmen)
No brainer! This man is in the form of his life with bat and gloves. Churned out runs at an aggressive strike rate and he just doesn’t seem to make mistakes behind the stumps anymore. Long may it continue!
7. Andrew Flintoff (05’ All-Rounder)
Player of the Series in 2005 for a reason. The best all-rounder England have had since Botham tormented Australia with bat and ball all series long and made a vital contribution.
8. Stuart Broad (11’ All-Rounder)
Another man in ridiculous form. For once with bat and ball. Averaging 60.6 so far this series and has already claimed 15 wickets. Might impressive stuff!
9. Graeme Swann (11’ Off Spinner)
Yet to hit his stride with the ball in this series, but is indubitably world-class. Has provided useful runs too.
10. Simon Jones (05’ Seam Bowler)
One of the true tragedies of English seam bowling. A fantastic performer in the 05’ Ashes. Able to swing the ball both ways and reverse an old ball. Unfortunately never able to shake off his injury problems since.
11. James Anderson (11’ Seam Bowler)
A similar bowler to Jones, but probably has more disguise to his variations. 2nd best bowler on the planet after Dale Steyn at the moment and it is hard to argue with that!
Australia 05’ and India 11’
1. Justin Langer (05’ Opening Batsmen)
Grit may well have been his middle name. Grinded out countless inning’s and played some great one’s in the 05’ Ashes. A fighter.
2. Rahul Dravid (11’ Opening Batsmen)
The Wall has become a phenomenon of his own. Constantly overshadowed by the No.4 but this series he has shone in the face of recent criticism with 2 great hundreds in vain.
3. Ricky Ponting (05’ Batsmen and Captain)
Another determined individual. Who can forget his match-saving 156 at Old Trafford? A much-maligned skipper, but had tough boots to walk in.
4. Sachin Tendulkar (11’ Batsmen)
Despite the fact he has not found form yet in England, you cannot argue with the inclusion of arguably the greatest batsman ever. A pure player. 56 at Trent Bridge could act as a warning to England.
5. VVS Laxman (11’Batsmen)
The most understated of the Indian Big 3, but a player of vast class and poise. Starting to look good enough to worry England.
6. Michael Clark (05' Batsmen)
An excellent stroke-maker and probably the best player of spin in the world right now. He is a man to be regarded highly.
7. Adam Gilchrist (05’ Wicket-keeper, Batsmen)
Undoubtedly the great keeper/batsman not only of his generation, but ever. An integral part of the all-conquering Aussie team. Only Viv Richards would manfully compete with his aggression and strike rate.
8. Shane Warne (05’ Leg Spinner)
The best leg spinner of all time. No mug with the bat either, in fact probably one of the best to never score a hundred. But his performances with the ball more than speak for themselves.
9. Brett Lee (05’ Seamer)
With Shoaib Akhtar, the fastest bowler of his and most generations. Full of passion and grit as well as being a superb competitor and gentleman.
10. Zaheer Khan (11’ Seamer)
May not have been too active so far with injury preventing him. But when he did bowl he looked dangerous and we all know what he can do when fit.
11. Glenn McGrath (05’ Seamer)
One of the best and most accurate seamers ever, able to take wickets on any deck with his persistant line, length and deceptive pace.
A number of places in these teams were tough to call and justify. The fact that Zaheer Khan has so far been elusive this series makes his selection contentious, but everyone is aware of what he can do when able.
England beat the Aussies and are beating India yet - pound for pound, player for player - you’d probably say the Australian/Indian team are stronger, even without Sehwag around.
Embarrassingly for India, I have picked the only Indian batsmen that have both played well and played the short ball appropriately. Yuvraj, Mukund and Raina have all struggled to master the bouncer.
There is also a difference between England beating Australia and England beating India. In my option, the gap between England and Australia was the two runs they lost by at Edgbaston. England went a long way to winning the Ashes that day, if Australia had won, I’m sure they would have taken the series having gone 2-0 up.
India on the other hand, have managed to lose by a cumulative of over 500 runs over two matches so far in this series. That shows a vast gap in ability if you ask me.
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