Despite the game being born in their backyard, England Cricket Team struggled far too long to take home a major ICC Trophy. Although they won the T20 World Cup in 2010, it was in 2019, when the team won its first ICC 50-over World Cup, that the long-standing dream was realized. At the moment, England has one of the best ODI teams on the planet. In this article, we take a look at the all-time best England XI in ODI cricket history.
Openers: Marcus Trescothick and Alec Stewart (WK)
It was for just six years that Marcus Trescothick played ODI cricket for England. Nevertheless, he ended up becoming one of the most influential openers for the Three Lions. In 123 games, the left-hander could manage 4335 runs at an average of 37.37.
Partnering Trescothick at the top is Alec Stewart, the former England skipper. The wicket-keeper batsman was a fine cricketer at the top of the order. Overall, the player scored 4677 runs in 170 encounters. He also has 159 catches to his name. Hence, he features in this best England XI in ODI cricket.
Middle-Order: Joe Root, Kevin Pietersen and Eoin Morgan (C)
Middle-order is one department where England has also been successful in featuring some top cricketers. The second-highest run-scorer for England in ODIs so far, Joe Root bats at No.3. He has scored over 5000 runs and still has a long way to go.
Kevin Pietersen was part of just 134 ODI games for England. The South African-born batsman was the best cricketer in his country at one point. Including nine centuries and 25 fifties, KP scored a total of 4422 runs for England.
Eoin Morgan captains the all-times best England XI in ODI cricket history. He was the man who got them a World Cup and hence, he is the right choice. Not just that, Morgan also happens to be the highest run-scorer for ODIs for England right now.
All-Rounders: Paul Collingwood and Andrew Flintoff
Paul Collingwood and Andrew Flintoff will feature in the all-rounders’ unit of this squad. Apart from captaining his country for a while, Collingwood was also one of the important batsmen for his side for some years. In 197 games, the all-rounder scored a total of 5092 runs and picked up as many as 111 wickets.
While Collingwood had more of an impact in the batting unit, Flintoff was influential in both departments. The tall all-rounder picked 168 wickets along with scoring 3293 runs in a total of 138 games.
Bowlers: Adil Rashid, Stuart Broad, Darren Gough and James Anderson
Adil Rashid always seems to go under the radar concerning his skills. Actually, he happens to be the most successful English spinner in ODIs so far. The leg-spinner has collected 158 wickets in 109 games at an average of 32.41. Apart from that, he is also a decent hand with the bat in the tail-end.
The remaining three members of the bowling attack are the three highest wicket-takers for England in ODI’s so far. While James Anderson ranks at the top with 269 scalps from 194 games, Darren Gough and Stuart Broad follow the legend with 234 wickets from 158 matches and 178 wickets from 121 encounters, respectively.
James Anderson and Stuart Broad are still active in the game but do not play ODI cricket. While they also have done exceedingly well in the five-day format, Gough also had a decent Test career. The pacer collected a total of 229 wickets with the red ball.
