A complete of 445 cricketers have performed an Ashes Take a look at for England in opposition to Australia, going all the way in which again to the primary official sequence below that title in 1882-83.
Whereas Australia maintain solely a minor edge in sequence victories – 34 to 32, with seven attracts – they’ve held the urn for nearly three a long time longer than England, 84 years to 55.
Ben Stokes leads the newest technology Down Beneath, determined to regain the urn over the subsequent two months for the primary time because it disappeared again into enemy arms in 2017-18.
The 16-man squad that Stokes leads will every hope to crack this checklist of England’s best Ashes gamers at some point, however who for now are the highest 25? Right here, Wisden Editor and Each day Mail Sport cricket correspondent LAWRENCE BOOTH ranks them from 25 to 1.
And there are a couple of shocking omissions…
(all stats solely from official Ashes Assessments, thus excluding 1877 and 1980 sequence).
Ben Stokes is able to lead England Down Beneath within the 74th Ashes sequence, together with his facet seeking to win the urn again for the primary time since 2017-18
What number of of England’s 16-man squad will find yourself on this checklist in future years?
25. Derek Underwood
25 Ashes Assessments, 1968-77. Key Ashes stats: 88 wickets at 26.26, 4 five-fors.
‘Lethal’ Derek’s Ashes spotlight got here early in his profession: seven for 50 on the Oval to sq. the 1968 sequence on the final gasp, after spectators had helped mop up the outfield following a downpour.
However there have been different performances of which most gamers may solely have dreamt: 10 wickets on a fungus-infected Headingley pitch that prompted darkish mutterings from Australia in 1972; 11 at batsman-friendly Adelaide throughout England’s ill-fated 1974-75 tour; a match-winning six-for at Previous Trafford in 1977.
If there was any assist to be discovered from the floor, Underwood’s brisk left-arm spin would invariably discover it.
25. Derek Underwood: If there was any assist to be discovered from the floor, Underwood’s brisk left-arm spin would invariably discover it
24. Michael Vaughan
10 Assessments, 2002-05. Key stats: 959 runs at 47.95, 4 centuries.
Between Mike Brearley and Stokes, the very best man-manager amongst England captains was Vaughan.
When Australia wildly celebrated a nail-biting draw within the third Take a look at at Previous Trafford in 2005 – during which Vaughan hit a first-innings 166, the primary century of the sequence – he made certain his crew soaked up the importance of the second: an all-time nice Aussie crew, he identified, had been delirious over a draw, and there for the taking.
A number of weeks later, it was Vaughan’s England who had been celebrating.
Don’t neglect, both, his runs throughout a dropping trigger in 2002-03: three very good centuries in a tally of 633, in opposition to a masterful assault in house situations.
24. Michael Vaughan: Between Mike Brearley and Stokes, the very best man-manager amongst England captains was Vaughan
23. Bob Willis
31 Assessments, 1971-83. Key stats: 128 wickets at 26.14, seven five-fors.
Willis did way over bowl like a demon one afternoon in Leeds, however it’s honest to say his eight-for-43 destruction of Australia in 1981 sits on the prime of his CV.
Written off by the press and troubled by wonky knees, he appeared in a trance as he ran by means of Kim Hughes’s crew, prompting Richie Benaud to look at: ‘It was virtually as if he was in one other world.’
Wisden was equally impressed: ‘Willis bowled as if impressed. It’s not unusual to see him carry out for England as if his very life trusted it, however this was one thing distinctive.’
Willis took six different hauls of 5 or extra in opposition to Australia, however Headingley ’81 was his crowning glory.
23. Bob Willis: Willis did way over bowl like a demon one afternoon in Leeds, however it’s honest to say his eight-for-43 destruction of Australia in 1981 sits on the prime of his CV
22. Douglas Jardine
10 Assessments, 1928-33. Key stats: 540 runs at 31.76.
You didn’t suppose we’d go away him out, did you?
The brains behind the Bodyline ways designed to neuter Sir Donald Bradman in 1932-33, Jardine may need been an murderer in one other life, possessing nous and dedication in equal measure, plus a fanatical hatred of Australians.
‘They don’t appear to love you a lot, Mr Jardine,’ mentioned team-mate Patsy Hendren through the 1928-29 tour. Jardine replied: ‘It’s f***ing mutual.’ He nurtured his antipathy for the subsequent 4 years, and when he was named captain for ’32-33, Pelham Warner quipped: ‘Nicely, we could nicely win the Ashes, however we could lose a Dominion.’
Down Beneath, he unleashed Harold Larwood and leg concept (and a Harlequin cap whereas batting, which riled the locals), and rattling the implications. England gained 4–1, and Bradman averaged a mere-mortal 56. It stays essentially the most ruthless victory in Take a look at cricket.
22. Douglas Jardine: The brains behind the Bodyline ways designed to neuter Bradman in 1932-33, Jardine may need been an murderer in one other life
21. John Snow
20 Assessments, 1968-75. Key stats: 83 wickets at 25.61, 4 five-fors.
Simply as England’s 2–0 win Down Beneath in 1970-71 stays one of the underrated of all their triumphs, so Snow by no means fairly will get the credit score he deserves for his ferocious quick bowling.
He took 31 wickets at 22 on that journey, regardless of the Australian umpires’ refusal to grant England a single lbw resolution in six Assessments, whereas his seven for 40 to win the fourth at Sydney haven’t since been bettered by England Down Beneath.
When the groups returned to the SCG for the sequence finale, Snow was warned by umpire Lou Rowan for bouncing Australian tailender Terry Jenner, then grabbed by a drunken spectator on the boundary.
Ray Illingworth led his crew off the sphere in protest, earlier than returning to win again the Ashes. Snow, a printed poet, cherished the drama.
21. John Snow: Within the 1970-71 sequence finale, Snow was warned by umpire Lou Rowan for bouncing Australian tailender Terry Jenner
Snow was then grabbed by a drunken spectator on the boundary, and England captain Ray Illingworth led his crew off the sphere in protest
20. Ben Stokes
24 Assessments, 2013-23. Key stats: 1,562 runs at 36.32, 41 wickets at 38.95, 4 centuries, two five-fors.
Stokes makes the checklist not as a result of his total stats are particularly eye-catching, however as a result of his peaks are towering – and since he’s able to scaring Australia.
His piece de resistance was, and will all the time be, his unbeaten 135 at Headingley in 2019. However there’s additionally his century on a cracked WACA pitch on his first Ashes tour in 2013-14, an simply forgotten hundred to present England a sniff at Lord’s in 2019, and his almighty 155 on the similar venue, together with 9 sixes, 4 years later.
We haven’t even talked about a pair of six-fors, at Sydney and Trent Bridge. Stokes frightens Australia, whether or not or not they care to confess it.
20. Ben Stokes: This man frightens Australia, whether or not or not they care to confess it
19. Andrew Flintoff
14 Assessments, 2005-09. Key stats: 856 runs at 34.24, 43 wickets at 36.11, one century, two five-fors.
Some could marvel why the person who in 2006-07 captained England to their first Ashes whitewash for 86 years makes this checklist.
Then once more, 2005… It was greater than the numbers, although they had been fairly good: 402 runs at 40, and 24 wickets at 27. It was the aura.
The Australians reckon Flintoff’s bowling that summer season was as quick and as hostile as something they ever confronted, and his working-over of Adam Gilchrist was central to England’s success.
A century at Trent Bridge was adopted by a five-for on the Oval, and eventually an inebriated open-top bus trip by means of the streets of London as all the nation raised a glass.
19. Andrew Flintoff: The Australians reckon Flintoff’s bowling in 2005 was as quick and as hostile as something they ever confronted
18. Geoffrey Boycott
34 Assessments, 1964-81. Key stats: 2,579 runs at 46.05, six centuries.
Not everybody appreciated Boycott’s tempo. After scoring 63 not out on the primary day at Perth in 1978-79, he obtained a be aware from Jack Birney, a neighborhood politician: ‘You may have performed for Australian cricket what the Boston Strangler did for door-to-door salesmen.’ A praise, actually.
Boycott scored seven meticulous a whole lot in opposition to Australia together with one within the non-Ashes sequence of 1980, essentially the most well-known of which got here in 1977 after a self-imposed three-year exile.
His first innings again, after operating out native hero Derek Randall, was 107 at Trent Bridge, and his third a wonderful 191 in entrance of his adoring followers at Headingley.
That made him the primary participant in historical past to attain his one hundredth first-class century in a Take a look at match – the sort of stat he cherished.
18. Geoffrey Boycott: Padding up in preparation for his one hundredth Take a look at, at Lord’s in 1981. Boycott scored seven meticulous a whole lot in opposition to Australia
17. Hedley Verity
18 Assessments, 1932-38. Key stats: 59 wickets at 28.06, three five-fors.
An imperturbable left-arm spinner from Yorkshire, Verity dismissed Don Bradman eight instances, greater than every other Take a look at bowler – most famously at Lord’s in 1934, when he eliminated him on successive days for 36 and 13.
His match figures of 15 for 104 – nonetheless England’s greatest there – led to their final Ashes win in St John’s Wooden till 2009.
He performed his half within the Bodyline win, too, taking 5 for 33 to spherical off the sequence at Sydney.
A captain within the Second World Conflict, Verity died of his wounds in Italy in 1943 aged simply 38, and his headstone at Caserta, north of Naples, stays a poignant place of pilgrimage for cricket lovers.
17. Hedley Verity: An imperturbable left-arm spinner from Yorkshire, Verity dismissed Don Bradman eight instances, greater than every other Take a look at bowler
16. Kevin Pietersen
27 Assessments, 2005-14. Key stats: 2,158 runs at 44.95, 4 centuries.
Disguising a praise as an insult, the Australians known as Pietersen ‘FIGJAM’, which stood for ‘F*** I’m Good, Simply Ask Me’.
And he actually was good, depositing Glenn McGrath into the Lord’s pavilion on his Take a look at debut in 2005, then securing the urn with a blistering counter-attack on the final day on the Oval, the place his 158 had Vaughan hailing his ‘genius’.
Different examples adopted: 158 and 227 on successive visits to Adelaide, and 113 at Previous Trafford.
It ended messily, as Pietersen fell out with coach Andy Flower through the 2013-14 debacle, however by then he had figjammed his approach into Ashes folklore.
16. Kevin Pietersen: His 4 centuries included back-to-back masterpieces at Adelaide, together with a Take a look at-best 227 in 2010 (pictured)
15. Bobby Peel
20 Assessments, 1884-96. Key stats: 101 wickets at 16.98, 5 five-fors.
‘Mr Stoddart, gie me t’ball.’ With these phrases, Yorkshire left-arm spinner Bobby Peel let his captain know he was about to make historical past.
Australia had begun the sixth day at Sydney in 1894 on 113 for 2, needing solely 64 extra runs for a 1–0 lead. The earlier night, fearing the inevitable, Peel and his team-mates had drowned their sorrows.
However heavy in a single day rain had given option to morning sunshine, and in these days pitches remained uncovered: Peel knew a ‘sticky canine’ when he noticed one.
Stoddart shuffed his man below the bathe to sober up, then set him to work. Peel completed with six for 67 because the Australians folded to 166 all out, turning into the primary crew to lose a Take a look at after implementing the follow-on – and the one crew to take action till Headingley ’81.
15. Bobby Peel: ‘Mr Stoddart, gie me t’ball.’ With these phrases at Sydney in 1894, Yorkshire left-arm spinner Peel let his captain know he was about to make historical past
14. Denis Compton
28 Assessments, 1938-56. Key stats: 1,842 runs at 42.83, 5 centuries.
Michael Parkinson as soon as noticed that Compton was so chaotic he would arrive in a cloud of mud, even whereas strolling with a stick. However, boy, he may bat.
In June 1938, having simply turned 20, he marked his Ashes debut with a century at Trent Bridge. After the conflict, certainly one of his first deeds was to attain twin a whole lot at Adelaide. A glowing 184 adopted, once more in Nottingham, in opposition to Australia’s 1948 Invincibles, and – a month later – his masterpiece, an unbeaten 145 at Previous Trafford after a blow on his (helmetless) head from Ray Lindwall.
Compton was a uncommon breed: an English cricketer common with Australian followers, who would supply him beer over the boundary.
‘I believe he restricted himself to 2 a day at most,’ mentioned his captain, Wally Hammond. ‘One within the morning and one within the afternoon.’
14. Denis Compton: Elevating his bat in 1948 after reaching certainly one of 5 centuries in opposition to Australia
13. Alec Bedser
21 Assessments, 1946-54. Key stats: 104 wickets at 27.49, seven five-fors.
How good was Alec Bedser, the enormous Surrey seamer who regarded line and size as a way of life selection?
Put it this manner: he’s the one bowler to have dismissed Don Bradman for 2 Take a look at geese. And when Bedser eliminated him 4 instances in succession through the 1948 sequence, Bradman shrugged: ‘It’s important to get out to somebody, and who higher than Bedser?’
Then there was the Australian opener Arthur Morris, whom Bedser dismissed 18 instances. His zenith got here at Trent Bridge in 1953, when match figures of 14 for 99 would virtually actually have led to victory however for rain.
When Bedser was dropped, for good, after one Take a look at of the 1954-55 sequence, it precipitated a nationwide outcry.
13: Alec Bedser: When he was dropped, for good, after one Take a look at of the 1954-55 sequence, it precipitated a nationwide outcry
12. Wilfred Rhodes
41 Assessments, 1899-1926. Key stats: 109 wickets at 24.00, 1,706 runs at 31.01, one century, six five-fors.
To name Rhodes versatile did him scant justice.
A miserly gradual left-armer who batted for England in each place from one to 11, he as soon as placed on 323 for the primary wicket at Melbourne with Jack Hobbs, and on the age of 48 was recalled for the 1926 decider on the Oval, the place his match figures of 45–24–79–6 had been key to England’s 289-run win.
On the Oval 24 years earlier (after Gilbert Jessop’s document 76-ball hundred), he had walked out at No 11 with England needing 15. He was reportedly greeted by his fellow Yorkshire George Hirst with the legendary quip ‘we’ll get ’em in singles’, although neither man may recall the dialog.
Regardless, England gained by one wicket.
12. Wilfred Rhodes: Standing furthest proper, with Percy Chapman (second left) and Jack Hobbs (second proper) inspecting the Oval pitch forward of his recall on the age of 48 in 1926
11. David Gower
38 Assessments, 1978-91. Key stats: 3,037 runs at 46.01, 9 centuries.
A few years in the past, I known as Gower to ask for recollections of his hundred at Adelaide in 1982-83. He replied: ‘What about my a whole lot at Perth, Melbourne and Sydney?’
And it’s true: they had been good too, as a result of nothing he did with a bat may ever look dangerous.
Half of Gower’s 18 Take a look at a whole lot got here in opposition to Australia, so solely Jack Hobbs amongst Englishmen has extra Ashes tons.
And Gower will all the time have 1985: three a whole lot, together with a double at Edgbaston, and the timeless picture of him brandishing a reproduction of urn on the Oval balcony, blond curls, wry grin and all.
11. David Gower: Celebrating profitable the sixth Ashes Take a look at in 1985 on the Oval, with a useful sprinkling from behind by Ian Botham
10. Jim Laker
15 Assessments, 1948-59. Key stats: 79 wickets at 18.27, 5 five-fors.
Some Australians stay satisfied that the best bowling feat in Take a look at historical past – Laker’s 19 wickets at Previous Trafford in 1956 – owed a lot to a doctored pitch, although that doesn’t clarify why left-arm spinner Tony Lock managed just one wicket on the different finish.
Nor was it a freak: two months earlier than his Manchester miracle, Laker had taken 10 for 88 within the Australians’ first innings throughout a tour recreation in opposition to Surrey on the Oval.
Maybe they simply weren’t excellent in opposition to off-spin.
Laker’s post-Take a look at celebrations had been maybe the lowest-key in sporting historical past: breaking apart the motorway drive again house, he stopped at pub for a drink and a sandwich, and sat unnoticed by different clients whereas highlights of his feat performed out on the TV display within the nook.
10. Jim Laker: He achieved the best bowling feat in Take a look at historical past with 19 wickets at Previous Trafford in 1956
9. Stuart Broad
40 Assessments, Key stats: 153 wickets at 28.96, 1,019 runs at 18.87
Broad has extra wickets in opposition to Australia than any England bowler, his haul together with – most famously – eight for 15 on the primary morning in Nottingham in 2015.
However his Ashes position transcended wicket-taking and moved into the altogether extra nebulous realm of agent provocateur.
He refused to stroll at Trent Bridge in 2013, laughed within the face of the Gabba boo boys, declared the Covid Ashes of 2021-22 ‘a void sequence’, and signed off with the series-squaring wickets in 2023, having earlier switched the bails to magically set off the dismissal of Marnus Labuschagne.
At the same time as a pundit, he’s taking part in a shot a ball.
9. Stuart Broad: The last word showman signed off with the series-squaring wickets in 2023, having earlier switched the bails to magically set off the dismissal of Marnus Labuschagne
Refusing to stroll at Trent Bridge in 2013 having nicked to Michael Clarke at slip, through the gloves of Brad Haddin
8. Harold Larwood
15 Assessments, 1926-33. Key stats: 64 wickets at 29.87, three five-fors.
It was Larwood’s spell to Bradman on the Oval in 1930 that sowed the seed.
He completed with one for 132, Bradman made 232 and Australia gained by an innings, but it was sufficient to steer Douglas Jardine that the Don didn’t prefer it up him. ‘I’ve received it!’ he exclaimed when rewatching footage. ‘He’s yellow!’
On cruel Australian pitches in 1932-33, Larwood steamed in to take 33 wickets at 19, his run-up recalling ‘the Flying Scotsman thundering by means of an east coast station’, based on Aussie opener Jack Fingleton.
Not till Bradman fell for the ultimate time within the sequence would Jardine permit an exhausted Larwood to depart the sphere, the 2 males strolling off facet by facet in silence.
8. Harold Larwood: Australia captain Invoice Woodfull geese to keep away from a Larwood bouncer at Brisbane on the Bodyline tour in 1933
7. Sydney Barnes
20 Assessments, 1901-12. Key stats: 106 wickets at 21.58, 12 five-fors.
Many good judges consider that Sydney Barnes, who bowled quick cutters and regarded himself as a spinner not a seamer, was the best bowler who ever lived.
And, till Broad ran rampant at Trent Bridge greater than a century later, Barnes bowled arguably essentially the most well-known opening spell in any Ashes Take a look at: 11–7–6–5 at Melbourne in 1911-12, organising an eight-wicket win.
He wasn’t all the time common with team-mates. When the boat to Australia for the 1901-02 tour hit a storm, England captain Archie MacLaren supposedly muttered: ‘If we go down, no less than that bugger Barnes will go down with us.’
However he was one hell of a bowler, his normal view being that if the batsmen weren’t nicking him, it was as a result of they ‘weren’t taking part in nicely sufficient to get out’.
7. Sydney Barnes: Many good judges consider that Barnes, who bowled quick cutters and regarded himself as a spinner not a seamer, was the best bowler who ever lived
6. Wally Hammond
33 Assessments, 1928-47. Key stats: 2,852 runs at 51.85, 36 wickets at 44.77, 9 centuries, one five-for.
Hammond laid down his Ashes marker early, scoring 905 runs at 113 with 4 a whole lot throughout Percy Chapman’s triumphant tour of 1928-29. No England participant has ever managed extra in a Take a look at sequence.
And he barely paused for breath: 35 innings in Australia introduced him a median of practically 62, and solely Bradman’s ascent robbed Hammond of the title of ‘world’s greatest batsman’.
His cowl drive was to die for, and he had the greed of all of the greats. Group-mate Charlie Barnett reckoned: ‘If I used to be fortunate, I had a median of two balls an over to make my runs.’
6. Wally Hammond: His cowl drive was to die for, and he had the greed of all of the greats
5. George Lohmann
15 Assessments, 1886-96. Key stats: 77 wickets at 13.01, 5 five-fors.
Of the six eight-wicket hauls taken by England bowlers in Australia, Lohmann has two. Much more impressively, they’re the 2 greatest: eight for 35 at Sydney in 1887, eight for 58 on the similar venue 5 years later.
He bowled medium-pacers, transferring the ball each methods and allying supernatural accuracy (his Take a look at economy-rate was 1.88) with intelligent experimentation.
If something, he was not fairly at his greatest in opposition to Australia: his total bowling common was an absurd 10.75.
Tuberculosis ultimately tamed him as no batsman may, however when Lohmann died at 36, his legend was lengthy safe.
5. George Lohmann: Of the six eight-wicket hauls taken by England bowlers in Australia, Lohmann has two
4. Herbert Sutcliffe
27 Assessments, 1924-34. Key stats: 2,741 runs at 66.85, eight centuries.
An urbane Yorkshireman, Sutcliffe performed in six Ashes sequence between 1924 and 1934, and averaged no less than 50 every time.
Within the first, he had three innings within the two Assessments at Melbourne, and scored 176, 127 and 143.
No English cricketer who performed greater than seven Ashes Assessments averaged greater than his 66.85. A corridor of famer, then, by any requirements.
The nice Australian leg-spinner Invoice O’Reilly summed him up: ‘Sutcliffe was the hardest competitor I ever confronted in a Take a look at match… it was an beautiful feeling to get one previous his defensive bat.’
4. Herbert Sutcliffe: Pictured strolling out to bat (proper) with Percy Chapman, no man who performed greater than seven Ashes Assessments averaged greater than his 66.85
3. Len Hutton
27 Assessments, 1938-55. Key stats: 2,428 at 56.46, 5 centuries.
Hutton started his Ashes profession, aged 21, with a spherical 100 at Trent Bridge in 1938, and two months later compiled 364 – a Take a look at document that stood for 20 years – on the Oval.
The Second World Conflict robbed him of a number of years, and his left arm of two inches, due to an accident within the fitness center throughout commando coaching.
However he re-emerged as insatiable as ever, taking his place within the pantheon when he presided over a 3–1 win in Australia in 1954-55, certainly one of solely 5 sequence victories for England Down Beneath for the reason that Conflict.
His dry humour didn’t all the time chime with the locals. Recognizing among the struggling Australians having a espresso earlier than the fifth Take a look at of that journey, he supplied them an hour’s free teaching.
3. Len Hutton: Striding out to bat alongside Invoice Edrich (left) on the Oval in 1938. Hutton scored a world-record 364
2. Jack Hobbs
41 Assessments, 1908-30. 3,636 runs at 54.26, 12 centuries.
Hobbs can justifiably declare to be England’s best Ashes batsman: he has essentially the most runs, essentially the most centuries (12, together with 5 at Melbourne alone), and took half in two 4–1 wins in Australia, in 1911-12 and 1928-29.
He was additionally on the coronary heart of England’s emotional victory in 1926, when Australia had been overwhelmed for the primary time for the reason that First World Conflict. Solely Colin Cowdrey, with 43, can prime Hobbs’ 41 Assessments in opposition to the Aussies.
And he was all the time unfailingly modest, slipping away from the jubilant plenty on the Oval together with his spouse through the Vauxhall entrance, the place a buddy was ready with a automobile: ‘Thus we received quietly away from one of the great scenes that the world of cricket has ever identified.’
2. Jack Hobbs: Hobbs (centre) bolts for the pavilion on the Oval in 1926 after England beat Australia by 289 runs to win the five-Take a look at sequence 1-0
1. Ian Botham: The 1981 Ashes alone would have earned Botham his place. However there was a lot else apart from
Underlying all of it was the curious sense that Botham genuinely disliked his opponents
1. Ian Botham
32 Assessments, 1977-89. 1,486 runs at 29.13, 128 wickets at 27.65, three centuries, seven five-fors.
The 1981 Ashes alone would have earned Botham his place: a six-for, a fifty and 149 not out at Headingley, 5 for 11 at Edgbaston to pinch one other cliffhanger, 118 at Previous Trafford and 10 wickets on the Oval.
However there was a lot else apart from: five-fors in every of his first two Ashes Assessments, 11 wickets on the WACA, and a roistering century at Brisbane within the first Take a look at of Mike Gatting’s victorious 1986-87 tour, when he took Merv Hughes and Co to the cleaners.
Underlying all of it was the curious sense that Botham genuinely disliked his opponents.
Evidently, he was later appointed the UK’s commerce envoy to Australia on his elevation to the Home of Lords.
