Well that's annoying - all three of my candidates for an opening spot have gone out of the window. I now need to decide between either patching up my batting as best I can or just doubling down and picking some bowlers. I think I'll go for one of each.
David Gower
90s Tests - 848 runs @ 53.00 (3 centuries, best 157*) in 11 matches
Test career - 8,231 runs @ 44.25 (18 centuries, best 215) in 117 matches
First-class career - 26,339 runs @ 40.08 (53 centuries, best 228) in 448 matches
One of England's most visually pleasing batsmen, his output of runs only increased with age as he was England's highest-averaging batsman in the decade. He would ultimately retire with plenty of cricket still in his legs, pushed out of the England side by the attitudes and approach of Graham Gooch as England captain. His free-scoring style of play has persuaded me to pencil him in at number five, but he'll probably end up at number three because there aren't likely to be enough batsmen to go reasonably above him.
Angus Fraser
90s Tests - 168 wickets @ 26.86 (13 5WI, best 8/53) in 43 matches
Test career - 177 wickets @ 27.32 (13 5WI, best 8/53) in 46 matches
First-class career - 886 wickets @ 27.40 (36 5WI, best 8/53) in 290 matches
The treatment of England's best seam bowler in the 90s makes me question if they even wanted to win. By his own admission, Gus Fraser was a boring bowler who "spent 95% of [his] career bowling the same ball". The thing is, that is also a description that could be applied to bowlers like McGrath and Pollock. Fraser never quite reached their heights, but he was consistently excellent against the best opposition of his day. He also had a knack for running through teams, and spent the overwhelming majority of his career in the top 10 of the ICC bowling rankings (topping out at number 5 behind only Ambrose, Donald, McGrath and Pollock). Who is to say that with the actual backing of captains and selectors, Fraser couldn't have scaled even greater heights?
@Aislabie's XI so far:
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David Gower
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Angus Fraser
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@blockerdave