Dream Team

ollie rayner The Middlesex spinner picks the best XI he has played with and against

1. virender sehwag

– Retired I played with him in an MCC Champions game – he was my captain and he was brilliant with us. He was an explosive player, of course, but actually quite chilled off the pitch. He’d ask us if we wanted to go to the cinema in Mumbai, and he’d have a police escort everywhere as he would be swarmed. He also often referred to himself in the third person which I found quite amusing!

2. chris rogers

– Retired I played with him a number of years at Middlesex and though he did score his runs at a decent enough rate, he’s a nice contrast to Sehwag. When he came to Middlesex I always got the impression he didn’t rate me because he used to get at me in the nets. But when he came to Lord’s last season with Somerset I took his wicket so it was nice to have the last word!

3. murray goodwin

– Retired Murray was an unbelievable character and enjoyed a few drinks – like most people in my team! But he was a formidable batsman as well. When Sussex were winning County Championships the focus was on Mushtaq Ahmed and his 100 wickets, but Murray was scoring 1,500 runs a season and gave Mushy runs to defend – an unsung hero.

4. brendon mccullum

– Trinbago Knight Riders I played with him a bit at Sussex as well and it speaks for itself what he has achieved in the game, one of the cleanest strikers of the ball you’ll see. He may not have not done as well as we’d have hoped this year at Middlesex – so when he was on form we’d win – but his impact and teaching the young guys like Nick Gubbins to play without fear stuck with us.

5. matt prior

– Retired A very aggressive player who ended up as a very good gloveman. He was also an unbelievably talented batsman but he grew with the gloves and he was a happy medium for England – they haven’t had a wicketkeeper with his balance since he retired.

6. rana naved-ul-hasan

– Retired With the new ball he was great, but when it started to reverse he was even better, especially at some of the dust bowls at Hove. With the way the game is going with dry pitches, he would be excellent in the modern county game.

7. mushtaq ahmed

– Retired He was just bamboozling – most top players just didn’t have a clue how to approach him, although interestingly 70 or 80 percent of his balls were googlies, but most tried to play them as leg-spin. Only a few ever did well against him, including Owais Shah and Darren Lehmann.

8. tim murtagh

– Middlesex Murts is one of my best mates, but he has been a genius over the years. The pitches haven’t suited him so well this year but he has still been very dangerous. He’s an understated player yet people still can’t get on top of him, he never goes for any runs.

9. saqlain mushtaq

– Retired I used to drive Mushy and Saqqy around at Sussex and they were just so much fun. While they were always helpful, people always used to say that it must be great learning from them as a spinner and watching them take wickets. The problem is everyone respected them so much, that when they saw me take the ball I was targeted!

10. muttiah muralitharan

– Retired He was captain of our T20 team in the MCC Champion games, and I didn’t get to know him an awful lot as we didn’t spend much time together. But he bowled really well, Matt Prior slogged him for a couple of balls but then he suddenly switched gear and he couldn’t get him off the square.

11. jason lewry

– Retired In my view, the best bowler that didn’t play for England – and I don’t think he even wanted to. I don’t think he wanted that life, he just wanted to get on with it. When he rocked up and it was a green one he’d panic because he would think he would have to take all the wickets, but he’d rip through the order on flat pitches too. When I first came through I was his roommate, and despite the age gap I couldn’t have asked for a better one.