Most prolific batting pairs for England across all 3 formats

As everyone knows, batting partnerships are the bedrock upon which big scores are made in any format of the game and over the course of their cricketing history, England have had plenty of such pairs.

However, the past decade or so has been far more demanding for most batting pairs, since there are three formats of the game to be played and that makes it tough to maintain the same level of consistency.

That being said, some batting pairs are special and successful across the three formats of the game. So, here is a look at 5 batting pairs who have scored the maximum runs together for England across the 3 formats of the game.

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#5 Alastair Cook and Kevin Pietersen

Admittedly, Alastair Cook's career as a limited-overs batsman ended prematurely and even his biggest fans will accept that he remains a colossal batsman in Tests, but not so in the other formats of the game. However, despite that, his combined partnership record with England's best all-format batsman Kevin Pietersen across the three formats of the game is the 5th most prolific in the country's history. While Cook is a player who can play for hours and grind the opposition to dust, Kevin Pietersen was his polar opposite.

The right-hander was known for taking on the bowlers from the outset and irrespective of the format, he believed in going for his strokes. The two found great success while batting together, albeit most of it in Test cricket. They were involved in only 75 partnerships but the numbers are staggering. Cook and Pietersen scored 4389 runs in total and averaged a jaw-dropping 60.95. They made 15 hundred-plus stands, while 19 of them totalled 50 or more. A truly legendary pair.

#4 Marcus Trescothick and Michael Vaughan

Michael Vaughan and Marcus Trescothick

During the early to mid-noughties, Michael Vaughan emerged as England's best batsman and forged an extremely productive partnership with left-handed opening batsman Marcus Trescothick in all formats of the game. Vaughan was a technically gifted batsman, who was also an excellent stroke-maker and had the capability of scoring big hundreds. Trescothick, on the other hand, wasn't the most orthodox of opening batsmen but his technique allowed him to get runs with ease all over the world.

Admittedly, Trescothick was a better limited-overs batsman than Vaughan was but the latter had his moments too. They were both top order players and forged an excellent understanding. Hence, even though they played only 5 T20 games between themselves (Vaughan 2 and Trescothick 3), they made up for it in Tests and ODIs.

They shared 104 partnerships from 2000 to 2005 and aggregated a total of 4435 runs at an average of 44.79. The number of stands worth 100 or more stood at 12, while they made fifty or more on 25 occasions.

#3 Paul Collingwood and Kevin Pietersen

Paul Collingwood and Kevin Pietersen

The former England all-rounder from Durham may not have been the most eye-catching of batsmen but Paul Collingwood's effectiveness as a batsman was never in question. He was an excellent player in limited overs cricket and went on to lead England to their World T20 triumph back in 2010.

In Test cricket, he was a far more conservative player, who used to his excellent defensive technique, a wide range of strokes and his prowess against spinner to emerge as one of the top middle-order players in the team.

Along with Kevin Pietersen, he formed a superb partnership and they went on to become one of England's most successful pairs in international cricket, across formats. They were involved in exactly 100 partnerships and scored 4478 runs at an average of 46.16. Collingwood and Pietersen were involved in 12 stands that totalled 100 or more, while 20 of them fetched 50 or more.

#2 Ian Bell and Kevin Pietersen

Ian Bell and Kevin Pietersen

For the better part of the noughties and early 2010s, the middle-order pair of Ian Bell and Kevin Pietersen proved to be one of the most prolific partnerships for England across all formats of the game. Bell batted at several positions throughout his career but eventually settled down in the middle-order. Although he was a technically gifted batsman, he was also known to play a range of strokes and had one of the best cover drives in the game, according to many.

He was primarily an attacking batsman and along with Kevin Pietersen, he formed a formidable partnership that scripted plenty of victories for England in Tests as well as in limited overs cricket. The pair were involved in only 96 partnerships but remains the 2nd most prolific among all English batting pairs to have batted in all 3 formats with an aggregate of 4699 runs. They averaged 51.63 and put on 12 century partnerships, in addition to 21 fifty partnerships.

#1 Alastair Cook and Andrew Strauss

Alastair Cook and Andrew Strauss

They formed one of the greatest opening batting pairs in modern Test cricket history and were partly responsible for England's ascent to the top of the world Test rankings back in 2011. On the other hand, the left-hand duo of Alastair Cook and Andrew Strauss opened the innings for England in limited overs cricket as well, however, it was their prowess in Test cricket that has taken the pair to the top of the lists.

They complemented each other superbly and while Cook remained the more conservative player, Strauss preferred to play more strokes despite the fact that he was just as cautious at the start of the innings. They batted together on 132 occasions from 2006 to 2012 across the three formats of the game and amassed 5253 runs, at an average of 40.40. The pair made 14 hundred runs stand, while the number of stands worth 50 or more stands at 21.