Ashes 2015 Combined XI
The Ashes are done and dusted, no pun intended. Two cricketers with contrasting careers have walked into the twilight. One rose into eminence after most thought he’ll end up with just that one cap. Another was the blue-eyed boy of Australian greatness, almost marked for greatness too early. While Michael Clarke got the victorious farewell he deserved, Alastair Cook grabbed the urn, even before the fifth Test went underway.It was a strange Test series in many ways. Not one Test went into the fifth day, the first time that has happened in a five-Test series. Interestingly, this is the second shortest Ashes series and third overall amongst five Test series in terms of balls bowled as well.More than hard-fought games, the series fluctuated drastically with one-sided games. Sample this – England won the first by 169 runs, Australia won the second by 405 runs, England won the third by eight wickets and the fourth by an innings and 78 runs only to lose the fifth by an innings and 46 runs.Both teams have had some bright spots, both have had some consistent failures. Here we take a look at the combined Ashes XI for this series.
#1 Chris Rogers
Chris Rogers completed 2000 career runs, a miracle considering how late his career had been resurrected. He ended up with 480 runs, the second most on either side at 60.00, the highest average on both sides.
He managed four fifty-plus scores in 9 innings. His scores include 95, 10, 173, 49(retired hurt), 52, 6, 0, 52 and 43. That accounts for just three failures in 9 innings, as reliable as an opener can be in a high profile series. He was one-half of the opening pair that registered two fifty and three-century partnerships.