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England has always been a very competitive side winning both at home and away. But never did the inventors of this beautiful game imagined that their home side would be so clueless in front of the spinning ball.
After years of playing cricket against top nations, England players still find it difficult to rescue themselves out of the spinners' trap.
Playing against spin-dominant sides gives the England team management and the players sleepless nights. For an English player playing spin well is a great quality and equates to great batsmanship.
For the same reason, such batsmen and the innings played by them against a strong spin attack are celebrated by England fans.
Every time the England cricket team looked down and out against spin there was at least one braveheart who came ahead to sail the ship through the storm.
England has always been strong at home but in the ongoing series against India, the English batsmen seem to be having no answers to the bowling of Indian spinners - Kuldeep Yadav and Yuzvendra Chahal who have been in sublime form with the ball.
Let us have a look at five English batsmen from whom the current players can get a few tips and tricks.
#5 Mike Gatting
England's best player of spin - Mike Gatting was a stout and short guy with immense power who played ravishing cover drives against fast bowlers and bludgeoned the spinners.
Ironically though, Gatting was at the receiving end of what is regarded as the 'Ball of the Century' bowled by Shane Warne during the 1993 Ashes tour.
The ball pitched well outside leg and spun square to magically hit the top of off stump. This was perhaps the only instance when Gatting looked helpless against spin.
Gatting scored his first Test ton after 54 innings in Mumbai against India, albeit a little late, it was a knock marked by grit, determination, and patience.
That knock of 136 on a spinning and uneven Mumbai wicket is a testimony to the fact that Gatting understood and played spin well.
Post this innings Gatting went on to score nine more Test hundreds and several other useful knocks.
As a reward for his consistency, he was made the captain of English side a year later. As a captain, Gatting's biggest achievement was winning the 1986-87 Ashes.
Soon after that, he was in the middle of a controversy when he had a heated argument with the Pakistani umpire Shakoor Rana.
A few months later he was sacked after an alleged sexual encounter with a barmaid.
He did make a comeback after four long years but was never really able to bring back his form and retired after the 1993-1994 Ashes series.
#4 Marcus Trescothick
One of the finest openers for England - Marcus Trescothick never had a flawless technique but that did not hinder him from scoring big runs at a brisk rate as an opener.
6 ft 3 inches tall, Trescothick had a great reach and a sharp vision which made up for his lack of technique. Like any other southpaw, he had a natural flair while playing on the offside.
For almost all the English players of that era, the historic 2005 Ashes series was the highlight of their respective careers and the same was with Trescothick. Although he did not score a century, he consistently gave his side good starts, seeing off the new ball.
He attacked the spinners as well. Trescothick used his long reach to sweep the spinners especially the slog sweep which he had mastered. He also used the depth of crease very well to cut the ball spinning away from him.
During the third Ashes Test, Trescothick became the fastest batsman to reach 5000 Test runs. He also scored over 1000 runs in a calendar year for three consecutive years 2003, 2004 and 2005. He was also one of the Wisden cricketers of the year 2005.
Trescothick's career came swooping down when he suffered from clinical depression in the year 2006.
However, he did make a few a comebacks but never recovered completely from his illness and eventually had to retire from all forms of cricket in the year 2008.
#3 Michael Vaughan
The Wisden Cricketer of the year 2002, a legendary captain who brought home the Ashes urn in 2005 after a lengthy wait of close to 19 years and a part of ICC test team in the year 2007 - Michael Vaughan of England was an extremely reliable batsman in Tests and a calm headed captain who lead the side to some historic wins.
Vaughan made his Test debut in 1999-2000 against South Africa. Although he did not score massive runs, he did show courage and the ability to hang in not throwing his wicket away.
He soon started scoring runs like a run machine and waltzed into scene scoring a century against Pakistan in 2002 and close to 1000 runs in total against India and Sri Lanka in the same year. He followed it up with a tremendous 633 runs in the 2002-2003 Ashes series.
His ability to play well against spin maestros Anil Kumble of India, Saqlain Mushtaq of Pakistan, Muttiah Muralitharan of Sri Lanka and Shane Warne of Australia made him a superstar Test batsman for England between 2001-2005.
With over 5000 runs in Tests and close to 2000 runs in ODIs Vaughan numbers are may not appear to be jaw-dropping but his contribution to the England side as a Test batsman and as a leader cannot be written off.
#2 Nasser Hussain
Born in Chennai, India, shifted to England at the age of seven after learning the basics of cricket in India - Nasser Hussian rose up the ranks in England cricket very quickly and became the youngest player to play for Essex U-15 team at the age of 12.
In 1990, Hussain made his Test debut as a 22-year old who unlike other English player was pretty wristy.
Unfortunately, even after scoring reasonably well in his debut series and then in 1993 when he was again selected, Hussain kept being dropped from the side. But the iron-willed Hussain didn't give up and kept working hard.
His hard work reaped fruits when he again got a chance in 1996 against spin-dominant India. Hussain grabbed the opportunity with both hands scoring an awe-inspiring 128 in first Test and another brilliant ton in the third Test. He was adjudged the Man of the Series for his consistent performances.
As batsman batting at No. 3 who can play both spin and pace well - Hussain became an asset for the side and sealed his spot in the side.
Hussain was appointed as England's skipper in 1999 and was quick to impress everyone with his leadership skills. The way he managed the side and backed the boys under his leadership resulted in great wins.
His ODI performances were never extraordinary but his creative captaincy in limited overs format made for his lack of run scoring ability in ODIs.
He relinquished his Test and ODI captaincy in the year 2003 and retired from both the formats in the following year.
#1 Alastair Cook
England's most successful batsman till date - Alastair Cook is an epitome of calmness and patience.
With over 12000 Test runs and 32 Test hundreds, Cook has reached the pinnacle of his career.
The fluidity in his shots and that constant melodious sound of the ball hitting the meat of the bat while he is batting, fascinates the audience.
Seven 150 plus scores and two double hundreds point to the fact that once he gets in it is a herculean task to get the man out.
Leaving the good balls, graciously hitting the ball to covers, flicking the ball pitched on middle and leg and cutting and sweeping the spinners is what a typical Cook innings comprises of.
His score of 122 against India in Mumbai in 2012 on a cracked and uneven pitch when the ball was turning square etched in stone the fact that Cook is a legend in making.
He scored three centuries in three Tests in that series helping England registering a historic Test series win in India.
Cook has the ability to adapt to the conditions very quickly resulting in staggering numbers across the globe and not just in England.
An average of over 65 in Australia and over 56 in the subcontinent speaks volumes about his adaptability.
He took over the captaincy from Andrew Strauss and the added responsibility made him even more dangerous as he scored six centuries in his first seven Test matches as the captain.
He captained the England side for a record 59 Tests - most by any English player. Cook was extremely successful as a captain with series wins in India and South Africa and the prestigious Ashes victory in 2013.
But the same year saw England being humiliated in the Ashes down under where they lost 5-0. Cook decided to quit captaincy in February 2017 to focus on his batting.
What do you think about our list? Sound off your opinions in the comments section below!
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