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[Manormanic]

I never said or imagined Atherton to be a great. But . . . . . he only got the bad back as he got older. His record before he was captain was very promising but slipped away during his regime and after, hindered no doubt by the countless failures against Australia that you mention and the pressure of knowing a collapse was very likely once he was out!

His first problems with it were aged 24 from what I understand, which is pretty young...

[Alvaro]

What if Stewart hadn't kept wickets? He could (woulda, shoulda...) have averaged mid-40s at least. Two hundreds in Bridgetown...

[Manormanic]

What if Stewart hadn't kept wickets? He could (woulda, shoulda...) have averaged mid-40s at least. Two hundreds in Bridgetown...

Now thats an interesting one - the guy had wonderful talent as an opening bat, supreme timing and decent technique.  He was also, crucially, an excellent player of fast bowling.

Indeed, one wonders with the modern attitude to consistency of selection, planning etc, just how mucg better that mid-90s England side could have been - Stewart without the gloves (if they wouldn't stick with Russell, how about Blakey with?), Smith given support rather than brickbats, Atheron given proper medical care, the likes of Maynard and Morris encouraged to be individuals...

...the bowling attack would still have been (No Swearing Please) mind you!

[Alvaro]

Martin McCague! Neil Mallender! Alan Igglesden! Richard Illingworth! We'd have taken over the world!

[Manormanic]

Martin McCague! Neil Mallender! Alan Igglesden! Richard Illingworth! We'd have taken over the world!

Hmmm...might make a decnt club attack...

[Alvaro]

[alba caerulea]

Once again Alan Mullally has been overlooked

But yep England were miles behind Australia in that era in terms of preperation and set-up, too many people above the captain and coach back then!

[The_Bird]

Andy Flower

[uknsaunders]

Gough, Caddick, Headley, Fraser - wasn't the worst attack going

[Alvaro]

Andy Flower

Good call, but too many of his games were in the subcontinent, so average is inflated. Zim seemed to be permanently playing Pakistan on cement tracks for about five years; I'd say a limited but dedicated player.

[jw17]

This all makes me wonder if we did a modern version would Matt Prior get in anyones top 15?

[Alvaro]

Gough, Caddick, Headley, Fraser - wasn't the worst attack going

Injury prone though, and Gough aside, needed a bit in the surface to be truly penetrative.

[Alvaro]

This all makes me wonder if we did a modern version would Matt Prior get in anyones top 15?

Not ahead of Gilchrist or Les Ames as batting wicketkeepers

[Manormanic]

Gough, Caddick, Headley, Fraser - wasn't the worst attack going

No spinner, and they never took the field together...

Cork over Headley and Fraser anyway for me...

[Manormanic]

This all makes me wonder if we did a modern version would Matt Prior get in anyones top 15?

Nope.  I know what you're saying with regards to the perception that he scores important runs batting selflessly, but would he really be able to score heavily at 40-4 on a green top against a top attack?