Test XI, by our ratings

Best English Test XI

The pool is the 54 English players in the Beat My 11 database with at least 50 Tests, across every era, with one all-rounder in the side. 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.

All eleven players are from England.

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	Len Hutton	opener	England	Legends	79 Tests; 6,971 runs at 56.7, 19 hundreds
2	Jack Hobbs	opener	England	Legends	61 Tests; 5,410 runs at 56.9, 15 hundreds
3	Joe Root	middle-order batter	England	Legends, 2010s, 2020s	169 Tests; 14,278 runs at 50.5, 41 hundreds
4	Kevin Pietersen	middle-order batter	England	2000s, 2010s	104 Tests; 8,181 runs at 47.3, 23 hundreds
5	Ian Bell	middle-order batter	England	2000s, 2010s	118 Tests; 7,727 runs at 42.7, 22 hundreds
6	Alec Stewart	wicketkeeper	England	1990s, 2000s	133 Tests; 8,463 runs at 39.5, 15 hundreds; 279 dismissals
7	Ian Botham	all-rounder	England	Legends, 1970s, 1980s	102 Tests; 5,200 runs at 33.5, 14 hundreds; 383 wickets at 28.4, 27 five-wicket hauls
8	Derek Underwood	spinner	England	1970s	86 Tests; 297 wickets at 25.8, 17 five-wicket hauls
9	James Anderson	fast bowler	England	2000s, 2010s, 2020s	188 Tests; 704 wickets at 26.5, 32 five-wicket hauls
10	Stuart Broad	fast bowler	England	2010s, 2020s	167 Tests; 604 wickets at 27.7, 20 five-wicket hauls
11	Bob Willis	fast bowler	England	1970s, 1980s	90 Tests; 325 wickets at 25.2, 16 five-wicket hauls

Next in line

Player	Position	Nation	Career Test stats
Alastair Cook	opener	England	161 Tests; 12,472 runs at 45.4, 33 hundreds
David Gower	middle-order batter	England	117 Tests; 8,231 runs at 44.3, 18 hundreds
Matt Prior	wicketkeeper	England	79 Tests; 4,099 runs at 40.19, 7 hundreds; 256 dismissals
Ben Stokes	all-rounder	England	122 Tests; 7,273 runs at 34.47, 14 hundreds; 252 wickets at 31, 6 five-wicket hauls
Graeme Swann	spinner	England	60 Tests; 255 wickets at 30, 17 five-wicket hauls
Andrew Caddick	fast bowler	England	62 Tests; 234 wickets at 29.91, 13 five-wicket hauls

What stands out

Between them the eleven played 1,297 Tests. James Anderson has the most (188) and Jack Hobbs the fewest (61).
The best batting average in this XI is Jack Hobbs's 56.9, and the best bowling average is Bob Willis's 25.2.
The deepest position is middle-order batter, with 18 to choose from for 3 places. The thinnest is fast bowler, with 8 for 3 places.
Left out: Geoffrey Boycott has the best batting average of anyone left out (47.7, 108 Tests, opener), and Darren Gough the best bowling average (28.4, 58 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 1908 (Jack Hobbs's debut year) to the present day.
None of these eleven is in the all-time XI.

How this XI was picked

Pool by position: 11 openers, 18 middle-order batters, 6 wicketkeepers, 5 all-rounders, 6 spinners, 8 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.

Think you can pick a better XI? Draft yours across seven eras and see if it beats mine.

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