The Guardian Releases Top 100 Greatest Men's Ashes Cricketers and Invites Fan Favorites
The Guardian has published an interactive feature listing the 100 greatest men's Ashes cricketers of all time, coinciding with the Ashes 2025-26 cycle. The Ashes rivalry, which began in 1877, has featured 853 players in Australia vs England Test matches. The feature, prepared by Barney Ronay and first published on November 11, 2025 with updates on November 14, outlines its ranking methodology and judge voting process.
A panel of 51 judges voted to select 50 players each for the Guardian's Top 100, assigning points from 50 for the top-ranked player down to 1 for the 50th. Judges were required to select at least 15 players from each country and a minimum of five from five distinct eras ranging from pre-WWI to 2000 onwards. Shane Warne led the voting with 2,503 points, followed by Don Bradman with a margin of 121 points. Ian Botham and Glenn McGrath also scored above 2,000 points. The top five positions featured no player appearing in a judge’s personal top five, complicated by a judge placing the top five in order until disrupted by Douglas Jardine at third place.
The overall Top 100 roughly splits evenly between Australian and English players, with Australia claiming seven of the top ten and 14 of the top 25. Most players hail from the 1946–1975 era. Contemporary players debuting in the 21st century constitute just four of the top 25, while 58 of the 100 have passed away. Batters are somewhat overrepresented relative to classical team balance standards; 15 all-rounders are included, nine of whom are English. Wicketkeeper-batters are notably scarce in the top rankings; Adam Gilchrist ranks as the only keeper in the top 50 at number 21, and England’s highest-ranked keeper, Alan Knott, is placed at number 53. The article also presents Ashes XIs combining top players and highlights six players expected to participate in the upcoming Ashes series: Steve Smith, Ben Stokes, Pat Cummins, Joe Root, Nathan Lyon, and Mitchell Starc.
In a related piece, The Guardian invited readers to name their favorite men's Ashes cricketer of all time. The judges’ aggregated favorites were Shane Warne, Don Bradman, and Ian Botham. Warne, with 195 Ashes wickets, leads in the wickets-to-runs comparison compared to Bradman’s 5,028 Ashes runs. Warne is celebrated not only for his statistics but for his style, humor, and charisma. Other frequently cited favorites include Ian Botham for his sixes and wickets, Ricky Ponting for centuries, and Andrew Flintoff for his sledging and sportsmanship. Readers were encouraged to vote for their personal favorite as part of the Ashes 2025-26 coverage.
