Combined Australia-England Ashes XI

6. Adam Gilchrist

Adam Gilchrist will be considered one of the most aggressive batters of all time in Test cricket. Batting down the order, the southpaw used to play fearlessly during his tenure in the Australian Test team. He served his nation in four editions of the Ashes from 2001-07, in which he accumulated 1083 runs in 28 innings of 20 outings at a strike rate of 92.01.

Gilchrist powered Australia with batting exploits in the 2001 and 2002-03 Ashes victories but remained an unsung hero. In 2005, his team faced a Test series defeat at the hands of England after 18 years and the wicketkeeper batter emerged as one of the Aussie stalwarts who failed to turn up against bowlers on English wickets.

In November 2006, England toured Australia for the 5-match Test series, and the hosts didn’t miss a chance to come heavily on the visitors. Noting underconfident England under Andrew Flintoff, Gilchrist also utilised an opportunity to dominate the opponents in the second innings of the third Test in Perth. Smashing a 57-ball ton, he became the fastest centurion in the Ashes.