Dream Team

Adrian rollins The former Derbyshire batsman picks the best XI that he has played with and against

1. matthew hayden

– Retired Quite relaxed off the pitch, but Hayden had a real focus, he knew exactly what he was doing and was super confident doing so. He was awesome, a brute of a player and one of few batsmen I played with who intimidated bowlers based on his aura – then actually delivered too.

2. mike hussey

– Retired Mr Cricket for a reason, he lived and breathed cricket, was so passionate and trained harder than anyone I know. He was the complete cricketer, everything he did was just incredible, particularly the way he went about things with the right level of intensity and concentration.

3. chris adams

– Retired I played with Chris a lot at Derbyshire, he was much smarter than people gave credit for; he had a reputation as a basher and a quick run-scorer, but he had a very good cricket brain. He was a team man, Derbyshire through and through, very competitive and would never step down from any challenge.

4. daryll cullinan

– Retired One of the best players of fast bowling, he had his problems against Shane Warne, but other than that he was pretty decent against spin too. On a two-paced Edgbaston pitch, he scored the best hundred in a game I played, making an awesome knock with Allan Donald steaming in and nobody else scoring more than 33.

5. mal loye

– Retired A maverick, but a lovely guy. He maybe over-thought the game at times, but Mal’s stroke-making was incredible, some of those scoop shots off fast bowlers were nothing you’d ever seen. He practised hard too, he was an incredible talent but I don’t think he or England realised that.

6. john morris

– Retired He normally batted a lot higher, but he was confident in his ability, playing at a time where he wasn’t able to get the Tests as deserved. John was fantastic, very supportive when I first started and made me relaxed and confident about my own game, very much needed at a young age.

7. dominic cork

– Retired A match-winner, pure and simple. Hugely competitive, and never shy of letting people know what he thought of them, at the same time whatever he said he backed up. If things got tetchy or tense he’d step up with bat or ball, and now we’ve seen him carry that off the pitch as a pundit too.

8. karl krikken

– Retired I played with a few keepers, he was ugly in his method but he had the best hands I’d seen, and probably the second-best Derbyshire keeper behind Bob Taylor. Karl was a fighter, and an excellent team man. He looked like he had ants in his pants sometimes, but he got the job done!

9. graeme swann

– Retired Considering the amount of wickets he took for England, he came into the international game quite late despite being top class. His skill was unmatchable, his attacking mentality was something England never really had, and aside from that he was such a great guy to have in the dressing room, which can never be underestimated.

10. paul defreitas

– Retired Daffy was one of those guys who got better as they got older, and the more pace he lost the more skilful he was. The ultimate bowler in thinking batsmen out, planning overs way in advance, he was very particular in his field placings and God help you if you weren’t in the right place in the field! Meticulous.

11. devon malcolm

– Retired Can’t have Devon batting higher than 11! The quickest bowler I played with, the sort of guy you were lucky to be on the same team as, but I was also a keeper to him and had to stand outside the 30-yard circle – he was incredible with pace and hostility. With his tail up he was almost impossible to play, but for all that he was hilarious batting and fielding.