The Alphabet XIs: E

Posted on December 28, 2011 by Matt H in Opinion

Well this was harder than we thought. It’s a very Anglo-centric team, with England providing seven players. Yet there were few other candidates from around the world, such is the paucity of eligible, but worthy, players.

1. John Edrich (England 1963-1976) 77 Tests, 5138 runs @ 43.54 Brave opener who scored 103 first-class hundreds and once hit 310* against New Zealand.
2. Matthew Elliott (Australia 1996-2004) 21 Tests, 1172 runs @ 44.44 Left-handed opener who scored two hundreds against England in 1997. Denied opportunities by the all-conquering Australian side, but would have been a regular for most other nations.
3. Bill Edrich (England 1938-1955) 39 Tests, 2440 runs @ 40.00, 41 wickets @ 41.29 John’s elder cousin and a fine batsman against quick bowling. Scored 3539 runs in the 1947 season.
4. Ross Edwards (Australia 1972-1975) 20 Tests, 1171 runs @ 40.37 “Dependable” according to one source, “brilliant cover fielder” according to another. His average of 40 is enough to warrant selection.
5. Farokh Engineer (India 1961-1975) 46 Tests, 2611 runs @ 31.08, 66 catches, 16 stumpings As well as having a fantastic name, he was one of the leading wicket keepers of his generation and a good enough batsman to score two hundreds and to have opened the batting in 26 Tests.
6. Mark Ealham (England 1996-1998) 6 Tests, 210 runs @ 21.00, 17 wickets @ 28.70 One of England’s legion of post-Botham pre-Flintoff all-rounders who were picked and jettisoned in quick succession. Good bowling figures and showed potential with the bat.
7. +Godfrey Evans (England 1946-1959) 91 Tests, 2439 runs @20.49, 173 catches, 46 stumpings An all-time great keeper, who doesn’t deserve to share the gloves with Farokh Engineer.
8. *John Emburey (England 1978-1995) 64 Tests, 1713 runs @ 22.53, 147 wickets @ 38.40 Off-spinner who bowled with Phil Edmonds for both county and country. Became more defensive with time, but a very handy bowler to have in your side. Captained England in two matches (one more than John Edrich did).
9. Phil Edmonds (England 1975-1987) 51 Tests, 875 runs @ 17.50, 125 wickets @ 34.18 Rarely an automatic selection for England, this traditional, classically orthodox left-arm spinner had a much better first-class record than international.
10. Richard Ellison (England 1984-1986) 11 Tests, 202 runs @ 13.46, 35 wickets @ 29.94 One of the many typical English swing bowlers who played intermittently in the 1980s.
11. Fidel Edwards (West Indies 2003-2011) 51 Tests, 367 runs @ 6.55, 154 wickets @ 37.45 Probably the best of the West Indian quick bowlers since Ambrose and Walsh retired, his slingy action picks up plenty of wickets, but not cheaply.