If a horse designed by committee is a camel, then an XI picked by the Guardian’s cabal of cricket writers is, of course, The Spin’s best Test team of 2016. As well as myself, this year the 11-man panel included Vic Marks, Ali Martin, Tim de Lisle, Rob Smyth, Barney Ronay, Russell Jackson, Vish Ehantharajah, Will Macpherson, Dan Lucas and Nick Miller. Between the shortage of in-form openers, the surfeit of middle-order batsmen, and because England had played so much more than any other team, it was a particularly tricky year. Everyone picked their own XI, and when all the votes were tallied up, this is what we finished with:
Related: England report card: five areas to focus on before the Ashes series next winter | Rob Smyth
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