Phil Harrison: Vaughan would still get vote to lead England’s finest all-time XI

The endless column inches and minutes of air time that have already been devoted to the matter of whether captain Andrew Strauss and coach Andy Flower could lead their team to the top spot shows the desperate clamour for us to be able to boast as the sports-mad nation we are that, yes, we are the best in the world at something.

Last year, we hoped it would be the football team in South Africa that would lay claim to be the best in their field. As we all know, that ended in embarrassingly early fashion.

This year it was Andy Murray’s turn to disappoint, the world No 4 ‘only’ managing to reach the semi-finals at Wimbledon, again coming up short against Rafael Nadal. That followed another disappointing final appearance in the Australian Open where he was beaten by Novak Djokovic.

India arrived on these shores as the No 1 Test side in the world, inheriting the coveted spot from an Australian side who had pretty much dominated all before them.

Possessing such obvious talent as Dravid, Tendulkar and Sehwag they were the obvious successors to Ricky Ponting’s team who, with Australian cricket going through something of a rebuilding process, find themselves mid-table in fifth spot in the ICC rankings.

There will continue to be debate over whether the current England team is, in fact, the best in the world, as well as whether they are the best England team of all time. With astute captaincy from Strauss along with the obvious talent that follows him in the batting line-up – you would struggle to find a weakness in the top order.

With Matt Prior improving with the gloves and continuing to excel with the bat, you then have a feared bowling line-up containing Jimmy Anderson, Chris Tremlett, Stuart Broad, Yorkshire’s Tim Bresnan and, of course, Graeme Swann. Throw young Steven Finn into the mix and you have a 13-strong squad who are pretty formidable.

Whether they will prove to be the best England team remains to be seen but, in an attempt to keep with that line of thinking, for this particular week at least, I’ve gone with a variation on a theme, chosing my best England line-up from the last 30 years or so.

Now, it must be noted that this is the best England team based on players I have seen play. You may disagree with that criteria but I see no point in picking an all-time England XI which would have to include players I have never seen in action.

Players such as Len Hutton and WG Grace would have had claims but, for the reasons stated above, this is an England XI that dates back to the late 70s, which is when I have a reliable recollection of them in action.

The list below is comprised mainly of people whose exploits I can recall instantly – to me a better indication, perhaps, of what kind of an impact that player has had and the lasting impression they made. There are bound to be players chosen which you will disagree with, maybe even scoff at and there will certainly be others missing only for me to think of them later.

So, only after apologising in advance to my esteemed and respected colleague Chris Waters, bowing to his far greater knowledge of such things, here, with some statistics and a brief explanation behind their inclusion, is my best England Test team (well, since around 1977 anyway):

1. Graham Gooch (Played: 118, runs: 8900, hundreds: 20, highest score: 333, average: 42.58).

It took a while for Gooch to find his true calling in the England batting order but, once established as an opener, he went on to strike fear into many a bowling attack.

2. Marcus Trescothick (P: 76, R: 5825, H: 14, HS: 219, Av: 43.79).

His ability to totally dismantle an opposition attack if he was in the mood, his performances during the Ashes in 2005 will live long in the memory – just a pity the Somerset batsman was unable to play for longer.

3. Derek Randall (P: 43, R: 2470, H: 7, HS: 174, Av: 33.37).

The average may not be up there with many of his contemporaries but Randall often produced memorable moments, most notably with is 174 in the 1977 Centenary Test against Australia, or with his electrifying fielding, which was years ahead of its time.

4. Michael Vaughan (P: 82, R: 5719, H: 18, HS: 197, Av: 41.44)

One of the most elegant players to watch when fit and in the mood, Yorkshire’s Vaughan also gets the nod as this team’s captain – for obvious reasons.

5. Robin Smith (P: 62, R: 4235, H: 9, HS: 175, Av: 43.67).

Fearless in the face of the West Indian quicks from the mid-80s onwards, Smith was a joy to watch when hooking, pulling and cutting. Jettisoned too early from the England picture.

6. Alec Stewart (P: 133, R: 8463, H: 15, HS: 190, Av: 39.54).

Played in some truly poor England sides, but never, ever gave less than 100 per cent. His wicketkeeping skills also help get him the nod here, too.

7. Ian Botham (P: 102, R: 5200, H: 14, HS: 208, Av: 33.54; Bowling – wkts: 383, Av: 28.40, Best: 8-34).

Only really ever one candidate for the all-rounder role, as every cricket fan knows, one of the few players who can snatch victory from the jaws of defeat.

8. Graeme Swann (P: 34, wkts: 142, Av: 28.81, Best: 6-65, 5w: 8, 10w: 1).

Although only having played 34 Tests, the Nottinghamshire spinner is streets ahead of other spinners from the last 30 years or so. Also handy with the bat.

9. James Anderson (P: 61, Wkts: 231, Av: 30.65, Best: 7-43, 5w: 11, 10w: 1).

Struggled early on in his career, Anderson is the most potent strike bowler in the world on his day.

10. Mike Hendrick (P: 30, wkts: 87, Av: 25.83, Best: 4-28).

You could argue my Derbyshire allegiance is what got Hendrick on to the list. Maybe, but his average shows he should have played more than just 30 Tests. Can fight it out with Willis for the No 10 spot – neither could bat.

11. Bob Willis (P: 90, Wkts: 325, Av: 25.20, Best: 8-43, 5w: 16).

With his thick mane of hair flapping wildly, Willis was one of the few England quickies who, on his day, could terrorise top-class batting line-ups.