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International Coach
Cricinfo Readers' Ashes XI
It reflects, perhaps, the closeness of the 2005 Ashes that the Ashes XI that Cricinfo's readers have picked contains six Englishmen and five Australians. The difference comes bang in the middle of the side, perhaps, where Andrew Flintoff bats at No. 6. Of the 4590 readers who voted to pick the Cricinfo Readers Ashes XI, 4524 voted for Flintoff. And yet, he wasn't the most popular choice. Fittingly, Shane Warne, one of the greatest players of any era, walked away with 4526 votes.
Ten of the 11 players in the side faced no competition. The only contest was for the last bowling place, for which Steve Harmison, with 2710 votes, beat Brett Lee, with 2509. Andrew Strauss, with his century at the Oval, made a late surge, but his 2043 votes weren't enough to keep out Marcus Trescothick (3826) or Justin Langer (2885). Ricky Ponting, with 3809 votes, got the most votes among the other batsmen, but was barely in the running for the captaincy: Michael Vaughan got 2705 votes to Ponting's 937, with Shane Warne gathering 540.
Cricinfo's staffers carried out a similar internal poll among themselves, and came up with exactly the same team. Our readers, it would seem, get the writers they deserve. Vaughan was our captain as well, and, interestingly, more of us voted for Warne as captain than for Ponting. But in the imaginary match in which our notional Ashes XI will play, both men will have to listen to Vaughan.
1 Justin Langer
2 Marcus Trescothick
3 Ricky Ponting
4 Michael Vaughan (c)
5 Kevin Pietersen
6 Andrew Flintoff
7 Adam Gilchrist (wk)
8 Shane Warne
9 Simon Jones
10 Steve Harmison
11 Glenn McGrath
It reflects, perhaps, the closeness of the 2005 Ashes that the Ashes XI that Cricinfo's readers have picked contains six Englishmen and five Australians. The difference comes bang in the middle of the side, perhaps, where Andrew Flintoff bats at No. 6. Of the 4590 readers who voted to pick the Cricinfo Readers Ashes XI, 4524 voted for Flintoff. And yet, he wasn't the most popular choice. Fittingly, Shane Warne, one of the greatest players of any era, walked away with 4526 votes.
Ten of the 11 players in the side faced no competition. The only contest was for the last bowling place, for which Steve Harmison, with 2710 votes, beat Brett Lee, with 2509. Andrew Strauss, with his century at the Oval, made a late surge, but his 2043 votes weren't enough to keep out Marcus Trescothick (3826) or Justin Langer (2885). Ricky Ponting, with 3809 votes, got the most votes among the other batsmen, but was barely in the running for the captaincy: Michael Vaughan got 2705 votes to Ponting's 937, with Shane Warne gathering 540.
Cricinfo's staffers carried out a similar internal poll among themselves, and came up with exactly the same team. Our readers, it would seem, get the writers they deserve. Vaughan was our captain as well, and, interestingly, more of us voted for Warne as captain than for Ponting. But in the imaginary match in which our notional Ashes XI will play, both men will have to listen to Vaughan.
1 Justin Langer
2 Marcus Trescothick
3 Ricky Ponting
4 Michael Vaughan (c)
5 Kevin Pietersen
6 Andrew Flintoff
7 Adam Gilchrist (wk)
8 Shane Warne
9 Simon Jones
10 Steve Harmison
11 Glenn McGrath