The last time England played Zimbabwe was 2003.
Cook wasn’t in the team then.
And the others?
Like I said
Absolutely. that’s why nobody can say Cook was the best England batsmen, as was quoted.
Which is why I said statistically The greatest batsman because that can’t be argued. 
Although I do realise that arguing can be fun. 
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Is Dave having his Rocky moment?
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Although joking aside, comparing batsmen is harder than bowlers - Jimmy is indisputably our best ever bowler.
Best bowler? Pah! Brian Statham had a better average than Jimmy Anderson.
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Ah lad. Corridor of uncertainty, uncovered pitches, back foot rule, land it on a sixpence, blah, blah, blah. Mah granny could have played Jimmy Anderson wi a stick o rhubarb.
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Brian Statham with his fantasticly beautiful action and his relentless accuracy was one of my favourite bowlers.
While we are discussing greats, My all-time English batting hero is Gooch. We come from the same area and he played in the all conquering Essex team that I grew up watching. I think he has more first class runs that anyone else, ever. Internationally, he was immense but had to learn how to play test cricket - I think he bagged a pair in his first test and was shaky for a while after that. He missed 3 years at test level through a ban dished out for a rebel tour to South Africa, so who knows what his stats could have been? To me (and I am being seriously one-eyed here) he was the complete player. He could be an absolute destroyer AND a wall but mostly he was magically in-between.
This is probably his finest moment:
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I liked watching Gooch bat too, but my personal favourite was always Gower. In full flow and at the peak of his form, there was no better batsman, aesthetically, in the game, to my eyes. Frustrating at times but always graceful, I don’t think I remember him ever slogging the ball.
8231 test runs included (along with the odd edge for 4) some of the most scintillating, languid strokes imaginable. He wasn’t just stylish, his bravery too was never in question. Playing against those fearsome West Indies attacks, along with Gooch and Lamb, they all must have had balls of steel.
This is a pretty long article (I have posted it before, a long time ago) but a very good read and describes the terror that those guys faced.
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Colin Cowdrey was another beautiful cricketer and I loved Slasher Mackay the Aussie opening bat for his mannerisms.
I’ll just leave one more with you.
Virender Sehwag.
An opening batsman with over 8,000 runs, averaging a shade under 50 with a strike rate of >82
I liked this profile of him
Virender Sehwag has constructed an extraordinary career with a relentless quest, and a genius, for boundary hitting. With minimal footwork but maximum intent, he has piled Test runs at a faster pace than anyone in the history of cricket. Bowlers must always fancy their chances against a batsman who plays so many strokes; it’s just that Sehwag fancies his chances against them much more.
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Yeah, he was marvellous and what a blend that the India team had through that era.
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Indeed. What would we give to have a Rahul Dravid clone coming in at 3 for England.
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Back to the present day.
England squad for The Oval test
Joe Root (Yorkshire, captain), Moeen Ali (Worcestershire), James Anderson (Lancashire), Jonny Bairstow (Yorkshire), Stuart Broad (Nottinghamshire), Jos Buttler (Lancashire), Alastair Cook (Essex), Sam Curran (Surrey), Keaton Jennings (Lancashire), Ollie Pope (Surrey), Adil Rashid (Yorkshire), Ben Stokes (Durham), Chris Woakes (Warwickshire).
Will Moeen bat at 3, or could Stokes or Woakes be a surprise choice? It would be difficult to see Pope in that position, he’s never batted higher than 5 in CC.
My guess is that Rashid might miss out and Woakes to replace him as the only change. Who gets the keeper slot is a toss up, I don’t think there’s a lot between them, but I just favour Buttler.
Allan Lamb and Robin Smith.
Root hasn’t found a situation in this series where he can use Rashid properly and I thought he looked short of confidence when he did get a bowl in the last game. Woakes in!
Stokes probably has got the game for three, he plays very straight and correctly but I miss the counter attacking style he had batting in the middle order, remember that big hundred at Lords v NZ, which turned the game on it’s head? I guess however that one of the existing squad needs to make it theirs…
Jennings has been driving me mad and I am praying that he can get a score, he can’t complain that he hasn’t had a chance!
I think Buttler will keep, because of Johnny’s finger but long term, who knows? iirc Bairstow got the gloves in the first place because Buttler failed when Matt Prior knocked it on the head but i may be wrong…
Buttler’s 100 at Trent Bridge and a decent innings in the last test gives him the edge as keeper/batsman. Does Bairstow get in as a specialist batsman or is there room for both?