Test XI, by our ratings
Best Test XI of the Legends era
Players are included if they played at least 4 years of Test cricket in the Legends era and have at least 50 Tests: 42 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), India (2), South Africa (2), Sri Lanka (2), England (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 | Sunil Gavaskar | opener | India | Legends, 1970s, 1980s | 125 Tests; 10,122 runs at 51.1, 34 hundreds |
| 2 | Len Hutton | opener | England | Legends | 79 Tests; 6,971 runs at 56.7, 19 hundreds |
| 3 | Don Bradman | middle-order batter | Australia | Legends | 52 Tests; 6,996 runs at 99.9, 29 hundreds |
| 4 | Kumar Sangakkara | middle-order batter | Sri Lanka | Legends, 2000s, 2010s | 134 Tests; 12,400 runs at 57.4, 38 hundreds |
| 5 | Sachin Tendulkar | middle-order batter | India | Legends, 1990s, 2000s, 2010s | 200 Tests; 15,921 runs at 53.8, 51 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 | Malcolm Marshall | fast bowler | West Indies | Legends, 1980s | 81 Tests; 376 wickets at 20.9, 22 five-wicket hauls |
| 10 | Dale Steyn | fast bowler | South Africa | Legends, 2000s, 2010s | 93 Tests; 439 wickets at 22.9, 26 five-wicket hauls |
| 11 | Glenn McGrath | fast bowler | Australia | Legends, 1990s, 2000s | 124 Tests; 563 wickets at 21.6, 29 five-wicket hauls |
Next in line
| Player | Position | Nation | Career Test stats |
|---|---|---|---|
| Jack Hobbs | opener | England | 61 Tests; 5,410 runs at 56.9, 15 hundreds |
| Joe Root | middle-order batter | England | 169 Tests; 14,278 runs at 50.5, 41 hundreds |
| Alan Knott | wicketkeeper | England | 95 Tests; 4,389 runs at 32.8, 5 hundreds; 269 dismissals |
| Garfield Sobers | all-rounder | West Indies | 93 Tests; 8,032 runs at 57.8, 26 hundreds; 235 wickets at 34, 6 five-wicket hauls |
| Shane Warne | spinner | Australia | 145 Tests; 708 wickets at 25.4, 37 five-wicket hauls |
| Dennis Lillee | fast bowler | Australia | 70 Tests; 355 wickets at 23.9, 23 five-wicket hauls |
What stands out
- Between them the eleven played 1,283 Tests. Sachin Tendulkar has the most (200) and Don Bradman the fewest (52).
- The best batting average in this XI is Don Bradman's 99.9, and the best bowling average is Malcolm Marshall's 20.9.
- The deepest position is all-rounder, with 9 to choose from for 1 place. The thinnest is fast bowler, with 8 for 3 places.
- Left out: Garfield Sobers has the best batting average of anyone left out (57.8, 93 Tests, all-rounder), and Curtly Ambrose the best bowling average (21, 98 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 1928 (Don Bradman's debut year) to 2019.
- 9 of these eleven are also in the all-time XI: Sunil Gavaskar, Don Bradman, Kumar Sangakkara, Sachin Tendulkar, Jacques Kallis, Muttiah Muralitharan, Malcolm Marshall, Dale Steyn and Glenn McGrath.
How this XI was picked
Pool by position: 6 openers, 11 middle-order batters, 4 wicketkeepers, 9 all-rounders, 4 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.
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