Tuesday 21 November 2017 06:41, UK
Ahead of Thursday's first Ashes Test, Rob Key picks his combined XI from Australia and England - but who's in and who's out?
The former Kent and England batsman has run the rule of the players available to both sides at the Gabba - and a couple who aren't - to put his side together. It looks a pretty formidable line-up with a number of big name players missing out.
If this XI is anything to go by it should be a good winter for England, dominating the line-up as they do. Read on to see who makes Key's combined Ashes XI...
An easy decision. It would be good to watch them bat together because they would complement each other quite well. There is no debate about these two. You have Cook who is one of England's best ever players and Warner who is probably one of the best batsmen in the world, at the moment.
I'd have Steve Smith batting at three with Joe Root at four - and they'd probably argue about who had to bat a No 3! I'd have Root as captain though and I'd let him choose - because I'm biased. I'd say that they are the two best players in the world right now, they are just phenomenal run scorers.
In Test cricket, Smith and Root are starting to edge away from the rest of the pack, which would include Kane Williamson and Virat Kohli. They are just the best two Test batsmen in the world in the middle order.
I would Jonny Bairstow but I wouldn't have him 'keeping. When you name England's best three batsmen you have Cook, Root and Bairstow - differing players but all very, very competent players as well, some of the best England have had. I don't think England will push Bairstow as high as five in this series.
If you play a batsman then he is in there to bat and will go in at five, whereas Bairstow is 'keeping as well so will go in behind him at No 6, where he likes batting. He'll just stay in a position where a wicketkeeper-batsman bats, Adam Gilchrist batted at seven and never went any higher because they played six batters, three seamers and Shane Warne! If he is going to keep then I'd go the same way with Bairstow but if you have him as an out and out batsman, as I would, then he goes five.
Obviously he isn't out in Australia for the first Test but I'm having Ben Stokes because if you're talking about the best players in the world at the moment, Ben Stokes is up there.
My keeper would be Jos Buttler. I like him and it is nothing against Ben Foakes, who is a fine player, but Buttler is a rare talent. If something did happen to Bairstow then I would be very happy to see Buttler walking out at No 7 at the Gabba or any of the Australian grounds. He would find a way in Test cricket, he is too good a player not to.
People can tweet in abuse and tell me that he hasn't got any red-ball runs. He does want to play red-ball cricket, it is just a different world we live in now and you can't expect players to turn down the IPL and all of these things to go and play for their county in April. I think you have to make allowances for rare talent and Jos Buttler is that, for me.
It's a no-brainer for me. Nathan Lyon is a good off-spinner and so is Moeen Ali - but Ali bats. He is a better cricketer than Lyon by a mile - that one is pretty simple I think.
Starc gives you that extra bit of pace and he just gets in ahead of Woakes because he is left-arm and he is quicker. It isn't so much the fact he is a left-armer, it is the out and out pace that he has. Starc is something different and he has more variation but Woakes is unlucky to miss out.
Two of the best bowlers England have ever had and the best new-ball pairing in world cricket at the moment. You just can't leave of these two out, they would arguably get into England's best ever XI, let alone a combined England-Australia XI for this year.
In a way, Josh Hazlewood is a poor man's Anderson so I don't see the point in picking a poor man's Anderson when you've got the Jimmy Anderson.
