1.
Matthew Hayden
2.
3.
Ricky Ponting
4.
5.
Andrew Symonds
6.
Ben Stokes
7.
Brendon McCullum
8.
Gilbert Jessop
9.
Wasim Akram
10.
Sydney Barnes
11.
Shoaib Akhtar
Obviously cricket at the turn of the 20th century was a very different game to the one we play now, but Sydney Barnes stands head and shoulders above the rest as the bowler whose skills would undoubtedly stand the test of time and find a place in the present day. Bowling briskly (probably about a Collingwood or de Grandhomme pace, which in his day would have seemed far quicker), he could swing the new ball both ways, before switching to off- and leg-breaks spun from his fingers with no noticeable dip in pace. The closest analogue in the present day would be someone like Mustafizur Rahman, and before that Bob Appleyard. This kind of bowler really doesn't come along very often, and when they do they only usually have a small number of overs in them before their bodies give out on them.
Sydney Barnes remained the best bowler in England until at least his mid-fifties. Playing for Staffordshire in what was then a combined county second XI and minor counties level, he took 76 wickets at 8.21 apiece - again, I stress, he was in his mid-fifties - older than
Merv Hughes in this photo and the equivalent of Jimmy Anderson rocking up and ruining everyone in 2035. When the West Indian tourists faced him, they are alleged to have said that he was the best bowler they faced all tour.
His presence should certainly help us get 20 wickets.
@Naman7 again