Test XI, by our ratings
Best Test XI of the 2000s
Players are included if they played at least 4 years of Test cricket in the 2000s and have at least 50 Tests: 97 players in the Beat My 11 database, with one all-rounder in the side. Ratings use each player's full Test career, not only those years. The XI has 2 openers, 3 middle-order batters, 1 wicketkeeper, 1 all-rounder, 1 spinner and 3 fast bowlers, picked by our ratings: the highest-rated players at each position, in whichever of the three XI shapes in the game rates best as a team.
This XI draws on 6 nations: Australia (3), England (2), South Africa (2), Sri Lanka (2), India (1), West Indies (1).
Career Test totals from the Beat My 11 database, as of 22 October 2026.
The XI, in batting order
| # | Player | Position | Nation | Played in | Career Test stats |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Matthew Hayden | opener | Australia | 1990s, 2000s | 103 Tests; 8,625 runs at 50.7, 30 hundreds |
| 2 | Alastair Cook | opener | England | 2000s, 2010s | 161 Tests; 12,472 runs at 45.4, 33 hundreds |
| 3 | Kumar Sangakkara | middle-order batter | Sri Lanka | Legends, 2000s, 2010s | 134 Tests; 12,400 runs at 57.4, 38 hundreds |
| 4 | Sachin Tendulkar | middle-order batter | India | Legends, 1990s, 2000s, 2010s | 200 Tests; 15,921 runs at 53.8, 51 hundreds |
| 5 | Brian Lara | middle-order batter | West Indies | Legends, 1990s, 2000s | 131 Tests; 11,953 runs at 52.9, 34 hundreds |
| 6 | Adam Gilchrist | wicketkeeper | Australia | Legends, 2000s | 96 Tests; 5,570 runs at 47.6, 17 hundreds; 420 dismissals |
| 7 | Jacques Kallis | all-rounder | South Africa | Legends, 1990s, 2000s, 2010s | 166 Tests; 13,289 runs at 55.4, 45 hundreds; 292 wickets at 32.6, 5 five-wicket hauls |
| 8 | Muttiah Muralitharan | spinner | Sri Lanka | Legends, 1990s, 2000s | 133 Tests; 800 wickets at 22.7, 67 five-wicket hauls |
| 9 | Dale Steyn | fast bowler | South Africa | Legends, 2000s, 2010s | 93 Tests; 439 wickets at 22.9, 26 five-wicket hauls |
| 10 | Glenn McGrath | fast bowler | Australia | Legends, 1990s, 2000s | 124 Tests; 563 wickets at 21.6, 29 five-wicket hauls |
| 11 | James Anderson | fast bowler | England | 2000s, 2010s, 2020s | 188 Tests; 704 wickets at 26.5, 32 five-wicket hauls |
Next in line
| Player | Position | Nation | Career Test stats |
|---|---|---|---|
| Graeme Smith | opener | South Africa | 117 Tests; 9,265 runs at 48.3, 27 hundreds |
| Ricky Ponting | middle-order batter | Australia | 168 Tests; 13,378 runs at 51.9, 41 hundreds |
| Alec Stewart | wicketkeeper | England | 133 Tests; 8,463 runs at 39.5, 15 hundreds; 279 dismissals |
| Chris Cairns | all-rounder | New Zealand | 62 Tests; 3,320 runs at 33.5, 5 hundreds; 218 wickets at 29.4, 13 five-wicket hauls |
| Shane Warne | spinner | Australia | 145 Tests; 708 wickets at 25.4, 37 five-wicket hauls |
| Waqar Younis | fast bowler | Pakistan | 87 Tests; 373 wickets at 23.6, 22 five-wicket hauls |
What stands out
- Between them the eleven played 1,529 Tests. Sachin Tendulkar has the most (200) and Dale Steyn the fewest (93).
- The best batting average in this XI is Kumar Sangakkara's 57.4, and the best bowling average is Glenn McGrath's 21.6.
- The deepest position is wicketkeeper, with 12 to choose from for 1 place. The thinnest is fast bowler, with 17 for 3 places.
- Left out: Rahul Dravid has the best batting average of anyone left out (52.3, 164 Tests, middle-order batter), and Shaun Pollock the best bowling average (23.12, 108 Tests, fast bowler). An average is only part of a rating, which also counts how often a player takes wickets or scores hundreds, and how long he lasted.
- Their Test careers run from 1989 (Sachin Tendulkar's debut year) to 2024.
- 6 of these eleven are also in the all-time XI: Kumar Sangakkara, Sachin Tendulkar, Jacques Kallis, Muttiah Muralitharan, Dale Steyn and Glenn McGrath.
- Compared with the XI of the 1990s, 6 players stay: Matthew Hayden, Sachin Tendulkar, Brian Lara, Jacques Kallis, Muttiah Muralitharan and Glenn McGrath.
How this XI was picked
Pool by position: 19 openers, 34 middle-order batters, 12 wicketkeepers, 6 all-rounders, 9 spinners, 17 fast bowlers.
Our ratings use seven career measures. Openers, middle-order batters and wicketkeepers are rated on batting average, runs per player-match, century rate. Spinners and fast bowlers are rated on bowling average, wickets per bowler-match, five-wicket-haul rate, ten-wicket-match rate. All-rounders are rated on all seven. Every player is ranked against the whole database, and players with short careers are weighted toward the average so a hot streak cannot outrank a long career.
The XI takes the highest-rated players at each position, then uses whichever of the three XI shapes in the game rates best as a team. Ratings are not shown here: draft your own XI to see them.
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