Former England pacer Darren Gough recently named his all-time dream XI and surprisingly didn’t pick any of his compatriots in it. Gough’s picks are based on his experience of playing cricket with or against some of the great players.

Gough, who has represented England in 58 Tests, 159 ODIs and 2 T20Is from 1994 to 2006, opted to go with former New Zealand captain Martin Crowe and India batting legend Sachin Tendulkar as his openers. For the crucial No. 3 position, Gough preferred Australian batting great Ricky Ponting.

Gough picked Caribbean batting maestro Brian Lara to bat at No. 4 while he went with the legendary South African all-rounder Jacques Kallis for the No. 5 slot. The 48-year-old also termed Kallis as the greatest all-rounder by a long distance.

Darren Gough chose the great Australian captain Steve Waugh to lead his fantasy side whereas Adam Gilchrist was his pick as a wicketkeeper batsman.  

While picking the bowlers, Donald first choice was the spin king Shane Warne. He named Allan Donald, Wasim Akram and Waqar Younis as the first bowling options in his all-time best XI.

Darren Gough’s all-time best XI:

Martin Crowe, Sachin Tendulkar, Ricky Ponting, Brian Lara, Jacques Kallis, Steve Waugh (C), Adam Gilchrist (wk), Shane Warne, Allan Donald, Wasim Akram, Waqar Younis