Greatest England Test XI of all time

#2 Bowlers

Fred Trueman is unarguably the greatest fast bowler produced by England

Armed with a smooth bowling, Fred Trueman terrorised batsmen across the globe by combining manic pace with unswerving accuracy. The sheer effect of his devastating prowess was evident right from his debut when he left an unsuspecting Indian lineup reeling at 0/4. In all, he played 67 Tests and became the first bowler to scale the 300-wicket mark.

Classifying Derek Underwood as just a slow left-arm orthodox spinner is akin to categorising Elvis Presley as just a musician. From a short run-up, he generated stifling pace and left his opponents bewildered by extracting sharp turn. With 297 wickets from 86 matches at an average of 25.83, he is England's most prolific spinner of all time.

The sight of James Anderson running in and making the Dukes ball talk on familiar conditions is one to truly behold. In an era where quality seamers are becoming increasingly rare, he is an artist and magician rolled into one. His tally of 523 wickets from 134 matches at an average of 27.40 is the highest in England's Test history.

Unlike in the modern era where the demarcation between seam and spin is quite distinct, the early years of the game saw bowlers juxtapose both to confound opposition batsmen. No one perfected that art as productively as the exalted Sydney Barnes. Be it the leg-break or out-swing, he did it all with alarming success. From just 27 Tests, he gathered as many as 189 wickets at a scarcely believable average of 16.43 and jaw-dropping strike-rate of 41.6.