My brother used to bowl to Essex’s and England’s Paul Prichard. My brother was just 14, Prichard was 10, it was in my parents’ back garden and Prichard, in reality, was me. As an Essex fan I could have pretended to be Gooch, Hussain or Mark Waugh. But every time I took guard to face my brother I was Prichard.
He never did play for England, and, in my mind at least, England were weaker for it. You’ll probably disagree with me. But all cricket fans have similar stories of bristling at the England selectors for overlooking their favourite players, so we’ve given you the chance to right the wrongs and vote for England greatest post-war uncapped XI.
A panel of experts has picked their team from a shortlist of 65, and you can select yours from the same shortlist by clicking here. There’s even a chance to win a hospitality day at the Friend’s Provident final at Lord’s on July 25. It includes a complimentary bar, so get picking – the closing date is March 23. The results will be announced in April.
After you’ve picked your team, get arguing about it on this blog. Was Glamorgan’s Don Shepherd really the unluckiest cricketer in Britain? Is Alec Bedser the only one to think his brother Eric should have won a Test cap? Are some counties favoured by England selectors over others? Am I slightly unhinged for obsessing over Paul Prichard when he doesn’t even make the shortlist?
Feel free to list your team on this blog, but don’t forget to submit your team to [email protected] or it won’t be counted.
To get things started, here’s my team: (Sorry Paul, you’re not on the shortlist)
Alan Jones (Glamorgan)
Andy Moles (Warwickshire)
Peter Roebuck CAPT (Somerset)
David Sales (Northants)
Ali Brown (Surrey, Nottinghamshire)
Geoff Humpage WK (Warwickshire)
Trevor Jesty (Hampshire, Lancashire, Surrey)
Glen Chapple (Lancashire)
David Millns (Leicestershire)
Tony Nicholson (Yorkshire)
Don Shepherd (Glamorgan)
Would that beat the current England team? Yes.
Daniel Brigham is assistant editor of The Wisden Cricketer
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