30: Anya Shrubsole
As
a child, I was aware of Rachel Hayhoe-Flint and her fellow posh girls in skirts
but it was only about ten years ago when women’s cricket broke through and
turned pro. One of the biggest names to emerge from England’s youthful set-up
was Anya Shrubsole, I suppose I was especially interested because she’s from
Somerset but her medium-pace bowling was famed for its economy, especially in
limited-overs, and she took 4-11 in the Ashes T20 finale I
watched in Cardiff five years ago. Her 6-46 effectively won England the World
Cup in 2017.
29: Hashim Amla
There’s something almost supernatural watching a batsman oozing elegance, compiling runs by means of technical excellence, timing, finding the gaps, knowing when to play and when to leave. For several years, Hashim Amla seemed to epitomise such cricketing wizardry. He was close to international retirement when I saw him struggle for fluency against Afghanistan in last year’s World Cup at Cardiff but several years earlier he was probably the finest ODI and Test batsman in the world. I also found it immensely satisfying watching a devout Muslim succeeding in South Africa, a nation which for so long treated such people as 2nd-class citizens.
28: John Snow
In
the early 1970s, genuinely quick bowlers with attitude were usually associated
with Australia or the West Indies. However, England had its own fiery fast man
in John Snow. He was constantly in trouble with umpires and authorities and I
remember in 1971 disliking him intensely for deliberately barging Gavaskar to
the ground and slinging his bat towards him. However, in time I came to
appreciate his bowling and in the back garden I would copy his bowling action
more than anyone’s.
27: Craig Overton
Pace bowlers have traditionally struggled on the flat Taunton pitches but in the early Noughties along came not one but two extremely promising teenagers from North Devon: Craig and Jamie Overton. As twins they were pretty much indistinguishable and, based on the names printed on their shirts, I dubbed them ‘Coverton’ and ‘Joverton’. The former has proved himself the most consistent, in form and fitness, and so gets the nod over his twin, although both have been superb so far this year. Unlike Jamie, Craig has thankfully signed a new contract with Somerset.
26: Malcolm Marshall
However, when it comes to high-class quicks, surely none can measure up to Malcolm Marshall. Like Snow, he was sub-six feet tall but could generate fearsome pace off even a short curving run-up, delivering perfect bouncers, yorkers, seam or swing apparently at will. His first-class career bowling average was an extraordinary 19.10 and barely 20 in Tests where he often bowled first-change for the West Indies. He also took over a thousand wickets for Hampshire and, 21 years after his tragic death from cancer, he is remembered as one of the greatest fast bowlers - ever.
25: Zaheer Abbas
In the ‘70s and early ‘80s, the bespectacled Pakistani was probably the most prolific batsman in county cricket, and that includes the likes of Boycott, Richards and Lloyd. Glancing at the weekly averages in the newspaper, Zaheer Abbas would inevitably appear near the top, with few others able to beat his aggregate of runs and centuries. I saw him play for Gloucestershire only once, making just 8 in a 1981 Sunday League clash, but I’d love to have witnessed him in his Championship or Test pomp. With the red ball, I’d rate him above Miandad and Inzamam any day.
24: Mike Procter
Coincidentally, Mike Procter also played in that 40-over game at Bath, top-scoring with 91, but he was a different kind of Gloucestershire legend. Robbed of international cricket throughout the ‘70s, the South African bestrode the county game like a colossus, definitely one of the best all-rounders of his generation. He struck 48 first-class hundreds and claimed well over 1,000 wickets, with a mix of off-spin and whirlwind pace delivered with a distinctive ‘wrong-foot’ chest-on action. I also loved his easy-going attitude at a time when the game was going through major changes.
23: Geoff Boycott
When it comes to love-hate characters in cricket, Boycott was possibly the most Marmite of them all – and still is. He played up to the forthright, bloody-minded Yorkshire stereotype as player and commentator but on the pitch his prolific run-scoring simply had to be admired. His career aggregate of 48,426 first-class runs, most of them for his county, will surely never again be surpassed. I remember vividly when at Leeds in ’77 for England he struck that boundary through mid-on to register his 100th ton, an emotional moment, and not just for Boycott himself.
22: Saeed Anwar
One of the finest innings I remember witnessing live was the 102 completed by Saeed Anwar for the Pakistan tourists against Essex one warm August afternoon in 1996. The left-handed opener reeled off a series of crisp drives, cuts and pulls to delight purists like me, and his strokeplay proved easy on the eye in countless Tests and ODIs during the Nineties, notably in his 146-ball 194 against India in ’97. He was also unusual in that his Test record is better outside Pakistan than at home.
21: Aravinda de Silva
When
Sri Lanka announced themselves as a major force on cricket’s global stage by
winning the 1996 World Cup, Aravinda De Silva was the undisputed Man of the
Match in the final, taking 3-42 and steering his side to victory with an
unbeaten 107. I saw him score an unremarkable 42 at Lord’s in a one-off Test in
1991 but I always enjoyed watching him bat. I hadn’t realised he was shorter
than me - after all, most of the Sri Lankan side back then were
vertically-challenged – but it was Aravinda’s carefree approach to batting and
ready smile which were his most endearing traits.
