With most countries going into lockdown, closing borders and issuing travel restrictions to contain the spread of Coronavirus pandemic, cricket has come to a grinding halt.
Amid the crisis, former and current cricket stars are keeping themselves occupied by engaging with fans on social media.
On Tuesday (March 31), legendary spinner Shane Warne hosted an Instagram live video session and named his all-time Ashes XI, comprising of top England and Australian cricketers. In the line-up, he picked only those players who played with or against him during his illustrious career.
See Also: Shane Warne picks his all-time Australian Test XI; Smith, Warner miss out on selection
Warne, who has represented Australia in 145 Tests, opted to go with Matthew Hayden and Graham Gooch as his two openers. Both scored nearly 9000 runs in the longest format and justify their selections in the team.
For the crucial No. 3 position, he preferred Australia’s leading Test scorer Ricky Ponting. The Spin King picked Mark Waugh, Kevin Pietersen and Allan Border for the three middle-order slots. While Waugh and Pietersen have more than 8000 Test runs to their names, Border has amassed 11174 runs from his 156 Tests.
Andrew Flintoff, who was England’s Ashes hero in the 2005 edition, was picked as the all-rounder by Warne while Adam Gilchrist was named as the designated wicketkeeper in the side.
Despite him claiming 195 wickets in 36 Ashes Tests, Warne picked former Australia off-spinner Tim May as the lone spinner in the XI. Darren Gough and Glenn McGrath form the fast bowling attack along with Flintoff in the line-up.
Warne handed over the reins of the star-studded team to Border, who led Australia to 13 Ashes Test wins from 29 matches.
Shane Warne’s all-time Ashes XI:
Matthew Hayden (Australia), Graham Gooch (England), Ricky Ponting (Australia), Mark Waugh (Australia), Kevin Pietersen (England), Allan Border (Australia), Andrew Flintoff (England), Adam Gilchrist (Australia), Tim May (Australia), Darren Gough (England), Glenn McGrath (Australia)
(Inputs from Hindustan Times)
