Openers

During this time period, they helped England win back-to-back Ashes from 1926-28, including their famous 4-1 drubbing of Aussies in their own backyard, a feat that England had last achieved in 1911. To put things into perspective, post the retirement of Hobbs and Sutcliffe, the Aussies retained the urn five consecutive times, spanning across 19 years. 

“I was his partner on many occasions on extremely bad wickets, and I can say this without any doubt whatever that he was the most brilliant exponent of all time, and quite the best batsman of my generation on all types of wickets.” -  Sutcliffe told Wisden of his partner in crime.

“He was a great player and he had the best temperament of any cricketer I ever played with or against.” - Bradman said of the man himself, Herbert Sutcliffe.

Middler-order

Sir Donald Bradman

The sheer greatness of Bradman can be interpreted from this anecdote narrated by former English bowler Jim Laker, who famously once took 19 wickets in a match. Laker tied Bradman up for an over and was only prevented by the faintest edge from claiming him LBW. "Well bowled, Jim," Bradman said at the end of the over. "Thank goodness that's over. Now we can get on with some batting." He hit the first ball of Laker's next over for four and was never in trouble again. 

Such was the greatness of the man. In 37 Ashes matches, he averaged almost 90, struck 19 centuries. In six of the eight Ashes series in which he featured, Australia either retained or regained the urn, and under his leadership, Australia held the urn for 12 consecutive years. There certainly hasn’t been a greater batsman than Bradman in Ashes history, and arguably, in the history of Cricket too. 

In 1965, in a Test against New Zealand, Ken Barrington was suspended for one match for taking 7.30 hours and 437 balls to score 137 runs - despite England winning the match by nine wickets. After serving his “suspension”, Barrington pummeled New Zealand once again in the very next match striking 163 of 339 balls. As described by many, Barrington drove his opponents to distraction with his caution, and was the go-to man in crisis situations. 

In 23 Ashes outings, Barrington amassed 2411 at an average of 64 - a feat bettered by only Bradman and Sutcliffe. He tormented the Aussies in their own backyard, scoring 1046 runs in just 10 matches, helping England to stay unbeaten in Australia from 1962-68. He ended as the highest run-getter in the 1961/62 and the 1964 series. Almost symbolically, he scored a hundred in the last ever match he played in Australia - a reminder to both his opponents and teammates on what they would be missing. 

Steve Waugh

In the 1989 Ashes series, a then 24-year-old Steve Waugh, four years into his Test career, announced his arrival to the big stage in the best fashion possible. He struck 506 runs in the series at an astonishing average of 126.50, helping Australia subsequently thump England 4-0. 

He averaged an astonishing 74 in England, and his exploits in the Ashes - both as a captain and a batsman - is nothing short of remarkable. Under his leadership, Australia retained the Ashes three consecutive times from 1998 to 2003, winning 11 matches and losing just three, over the course of 5 years. Steve Waugh’s 3200 runs at 58 with 10 hundreds in Ashes encounters is second to only Bradman for any Australian in Test history.  

Incidentally, the last time Australia managed to win an Ashes series in England was under the leadership of Waugh in 2001. Waugh averaged 107 in that series, striking two centuries to help the Aussies complete a 4-1 thumping. As a batsman, and as a leader, Waugh took charge, rose up to the occasion and when Australia had their backs against the walls, Waugh delivered. As the saying goes, when the going gets tough, the tough get going.

Adam Gilchrist

Edgbaston 2001, the first Test of the series : Steve Waugh and Damien Martyn had set the platform, the score was 336-5 and Australia had a slender 42-run lead. The ball was reversing and Darren Gough had just removed Waugh, and England were looking to restrict the Aussies to under 400 to keep the Test within their reach.  

His 89 dismissals in Ashes encounters is second only to Ian Healy, but his batting average of 45.12 is unmatched by any wicketkeeper to have played a minimum of 20 Ashes Tests. Be it rescuing the team from a hole or delivering a KO punch to the opposition or produce a moment of magic behind the stumps, Gilchrist excelled at what he did, and has well and truly set a benchmark for any upcoming wicket-keeper.  

All-Rounder

1981 Leeds - Third Test of the series, England are trialing 1-0 in the series. After Australia posted 401 batting first (Ian Botham taking a six-fer), England were bundled out for just 174 in reply (Botham top scoring with 50), and were made to follow on. At 135-7 in the second innings, England were staring down the barrel of defeat. 

What followed next, is till date, arguably, one of the greatest performances in Test history. Botham took matters in his own hands, single-handedly took the Australian bowling apart - including the mighty Dennis Lillee. He posted 149* to help England set a target of 130, and they eventually ended up winning the match by 19 runs, and the series by a margin of 3-1. 

He is, without a shadow of doubt, the greatest all-rounder in Ashes history.

Bowlers

36 matches, 195 wickets, 11 five-wicket hauls and four 10-wicket hauls. Surely, they must be made up numbers, right? RIGHT? Incorrect. Shane Warne’s numbers against England are absurd, to say the least. There was a time, it seemed, when you could wake Warne up in the middle of the night, and he’d still end up picking a five-wicket haul against the English batsmen. Warne picked up 30 or more wickets in a single Ashes series thrice - 1993, 2001 and 2005. 

Warne was a part of seven Ashes series’, and he bowled Australia to victory in six of them, with the exception being 2005 - a series in which he accounted for 40 scalps, an Ashes record bettered by just one bowler - Jim Laker in 1956, who claimed 46 wickets on that occasion.

Glenn McGrath

He’s not a Jeff Thomson who you wouldn’t want to face, he’s not a Brett Lee who will hurt you, but he is the bowler who will always get you with sheer patience and consistency. If there ever was a face-off between a bowling machine and Glenn McGrath, you wouldn’t wanna bet against McGrath - that is exactly the kind of bowler he was. 

McGrath’s 157 wickets at 20.93 is only second to Dennis Lillee, but his SR of 46.3 is better than any bowler to have taken 100 or more Ashes wickets. Just like Warne, McGrath was a part of six Ashes triumphs, with the exception being 2005. His five-wicket haul at Lord’s in 2005 where he knocked over the Top five English batters to claim his 500th Test wicket is till date one of the greatest Test spells of all time, and all things assured, we might never see a bowler of his mould ever again. 

Dennis Lillee   

With 167 scalps in just 29 Ashes matches, Lillee is statistically the greatest Ashes pacer of all time. At Melbourne in 1977, Australia were bowled out for 138 in the first innings and they needed to respond. Cometh the hour, cometh the man. Lillee came up with an astonishing exhibition of pace bowling, as Australia skittled out England for just 96, and ended up winning the match by 45 runs. Lillee returned figures of 6/26 in the first innings, and 11/165 in the match. 

Lillee’s heroics helped Australia win consecutive Ashes in 1974 and 1975, and though he was on the receiving end of a few losses, he well and truly etched his legacy with his pure pace and hostility. 

There are some bowlers who end up taking 19 wickets in their career. There are some bowlers who end up taking 19 wickets in a series. And then there is Jim Laker, who took 19 wickets in a single match - a record unheard of, and hasn’t been challenged since the day it was set. After accounting for 9/10 Aussie scalps in the first innings, Laker came back unsatisfied, and went one better to take all 10 in the same innings - something which only Anil Kumble has managed to do till date. 

While he will always be remembered for that, he was more than just a one match wonder. Laker accounted for 79 Ashes wickets from 18 matches at an average under 19, but that is not the telling statistic. During his peak years from 1951 to 1959, England won the Ashes thrice out of a potential four times. Laker accounted for 70 scalps from 12 matches during this time period, at 13 a piece. Prior to this period, Australia had retained the Ashes for 19 consecutive years from 1934 till 1953. 

The Greatest Combined Ashes XI of all time

Sir Jack Hobbs, Herbert Sutcliffe, Sir Donald Bradman, Ken Barrington, Steve Waugh ( c ), Adam Gilchrist (wk), Sir Ian Botham, Shane Warne, Dennis Lillee, Glenn McGrath, Jim Laker