Former England cricketer, Michael Vaughan is widely known for surfacing his opinion on various topics related to cricket. Some tend to like and acknowledge what he says, while some often disagree with Vaughan’s point of views. Nonetheless, the former English skipper doesn’t bother what others say about him and continues to voice out his opinion.
In the process, Vaughan has picked cricketers from the 1960s to present time in order to make a best all-time XI. The former British cricketer-turned-commentator was allowed to pick two players from each era, and he started the proceedings with the legendary English cricketer Geoffrey Boycott who began his career in 1964. The former great had been a prime asset for England and finished his international career with 9169 runs in 144 matches.
From the 70s, Vaughan went for one of England’s greatest captains Sir Ian Botham and arguably the most skillful batsmen in the history of the game, Sir Viv Richards, from the Caribbean islands. Botham scored 7313 runs and took 528 wickets in 218 international matches, while Richards clubbed 15,261 runs in 308 appearances for the West Indies team.
Then from the 80s, Vaughan picked two best talents the cricketing world has ever produced. The Greater Manchester player selected Sachin Tendulkar and Wasim Akram from the 80s era. Tendulkar finished his career with the highest number of runs in both ODI and Test formats in the world while Akram ended his career with the leading wicket-taker for Pakistan in both the formats.
Similarly, from the next decade, Vaughan picked Australian duo of Adam Gilchrist and Shane Warne. Both played a crucial role in changing the dynamics of cricket. Gilchrist transformed the way wicket-keepers used to bat while Warne turned to be a leg-spin sensation.
Vaughan elected England’s finest swing bowler and leading wicket-taker James Anderson from the 2000’s era. He also went with former South Africa captain Graeme Smith from the same decade. Anderson is currently the highest wicket-taker amongst seamers, while Graeme led the golden team of Proteas with some gems like Jacques Kallis, AB de Villiers, and Dale Steyn.
From the current decennium, Vaughan picked genius Steve Smith and speedster Pat Cummins. Smith has so far played 237 international games and in which the right-handed batsman has amassed 12,070 runs, while Cummins finished 2019 as the leading wicket-taker in Test, taking as many as 59 scalps in 12 matches.
Here is Michael Vaughan’s all-time XI:
Geoffrey Boycott, Graeme Smith, Steve Smith, Viv Richards, Sachin Tendulkar, Adam Gilchrist, Ian Botham, Wasim Akram, Shane Warne, Pat Cummins, James Anderson.
🏏 @MichaelVaughan's all-time XI ft two players from 60's, 70's, 80's, 90's, 00's, 10's
1. Boycott 60's
2. Graeme Smith 00's
3. Steve Smith 10's
4. Viv Richards 70's
5. Tendulkar 80's
6. Gilchrist 90's
7. Botham 70's
8. Akram 80's
9. Warne 90's
10. Cummins 10's
11. Anderson 00's pic.twitter.com/St0IdWvDJy— BBC 5 Live Sport (@5liveSport) April 27, 2020
