5 most successful English batting pairs of all time in Test cricket

Michael Atherton and Alec Stewart

2 Michael Atherton and Alec Stewart

They were both former England captains, and two of the finest batsmen in the side during the 1990s when English cricket seemed to be at its lowest point. Opening batsman Atherton was known for digging in and staying at the crease for as long as possible, while middle-order batsman Alec Stewart was the more flamboyant of the two.

Stewart was an excellent cutter and puller, who was known to go for his strokes whenever he could. They batted together 89 times from 1990 to 2000 and scored 3687 runs in total, making them the 2nd most successful pair in the history of English cricket.

They put on a century-plus stand 9 times and crossed the 50 run barrier 20 times. Their highest partnership of 226 came in the Manchester Test against South Africa back in 1998.