Shane Warne picks Michael Vaughan as skipper of Greatest England XI
Warne didn't go for Alastair Cook in his lineup.
Shane Warne, the former Australian cricketer, got a chance to pick his greatest England XI. And he picked Michael Vaughan, the cricketer turned commentator, as his captain. Vaughan was the skipper when the Brits won the Ashes 2-1 in one of the most thrilling Ashes in 2004. The middle-order batter led them in 51 Tests in which he guided them to as many as 26 wins, losing only 11 matches.
In the ODI format, Vaughan captained the national team in 60 matches out of which they won 31 of them. The mantle of leadership didn’t affect him either. Nine of his 18 Test tons came as the England skipper. As far as Warne’s team is concerned, Vaughan bats at number three with Graham Gooch and Andrew Strauss opening the batting. The spin wizard didn’t pick Alastair Cook though.
No Stuart Broad in Warne’s XI
Kevin Pietersen and Nasser Hussain follow Vaughan in the lineup. Both were attacking batters and didn’t prefer to be bogged down. The fast and clever Alec Stewart was Warne’s option as the wicket-keeper. Andrew Flintoff is the only genuine all-rounder in the eleven.
Left-armer Ashley Giles is the sole spin-bowling option in the eleven. James Anderson, Steve Harmison and Darren Gough are the fast bowling options. Even as Gough and Harmison have hung their boots, Anderson is still going great guns in Test cricket.
However, Warne didn’t resort to picking fast bowler Stuart Broad, who has been leading the Three Lions’ pace attack for a significant amount of time now. Warne mentioned that he didn’t play against the pacer, but recalled an incident during the 2013 edition of the Ashes.
In a match during the Test series, Broad edged to the slip cordon and then refused to walk even after being declared out. Michael Clarke, the then Aussie skipper, wasn’t a happy man either.
“I still tip my hat to Stuart Broad, who can knick the ball to first slip and then not walk off, and then also be given my not out, I tip my hat to you,” Warne stated while talking about the occurring.
Shane Warne’s greatest England XI:
Graham Gooch, Andrew Strauss, Michael Vaughan (c), Kevin Pietersen, Nasser Hussain, Alec Stewart, Andrew Flintoff, Ashley Giles, Darren Gough, Steve Harmison, James Anderson.
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