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A compact left-hander with a preference for pummelling the ball square off the back foot with a crunching cut, Andrew Strauss has worked out a superb technique for Test cricket. He put early problems against Shane Warne behind him to make two hundreds in the epic 2005 Ashes series, and added another big one (161) in 2009 to set up England's first victory over the old enemy at Lord's since 1934. Mike Atherton and Alec Stewart, by contrast, only ever managed one century apiece against Australia.

Graeme Swann came to prominence with a maiden first-class century for Northants against Leicestershire in the Championship in 1998, his first season, and was regularly promoted in the batting order to provide impetus in one-day cricket. He impressed all observers with his positive attitude and energy. Fast-tracked into the A team to tour South Africa and Zimbabwe, he took 21 wickets at 25.61, and averaged 22 with the bat. Called up for the final Test against New Zealand during England's inglori

Standing at 6' 7'' Steven Finn is the latest bean-pole fast bowler to carry England's hopes. Pinging the ball down from the clouds he has the heady blend of pace and trampolining bounce to rattle the best players. He made his county debut for Middlesex as a 16-year-old in 2005, the youngest to do so since Fred Titmus in 1949, and was earmarked as an England prospect from his early days.

The best way to sum up James Anderson's bowling is to paraphrase Mother Goose: when he's good, he's very, very good - and when he's bad he's horrid. Well, fairly horrid, anyway. When the force is with him, Anderson is capable of irresistible spells, seemingly able to swing the ball round corners at an impressive speed. New Zealand were blown away in Nottingham in 2008 (Anderson 7 for 43); the following May the West Indians looked clueless in Chester-le-Street (nine wickets in the match); and ba

An aggressive right-hander, Trott was born and raised in South Africa to a family steeped in cricketing history: he is related to Albert Trott, the former Australia batsman, though he is unsure exactly how. And he followed in the footsteps of Kevin Pietersen, committing his future to England then becoming an Ashes-winning batsman when he hit a hundred on Test debut at The Oval. He played in the Under-15 and Under-19 World Cups for South Africa but was a British passport holder and therefore no

A natural athlete with a happy-go-lucky temperament, Paul Collingwood became the first England captain to ever deliver a global tournament when England beat Australia to win the 2010 World Twenty20. It was reward for nine years of uncomplaining professionalism, in which time he fought his way through a melee of seemingly more talented opponents to make himself indispensable in both forms of the game.

Mitchell Johnson remains a once in a generation bowler more than a decade after he was first spotted by Dennis Lillee as a 17-year-old. No other fast man has been able to copy his successful left-arm method that mixes bouts of waywardness with spot-on strike-power. Off the field he is so shy that it is hard to believe he has taken on the role as Australia's chief marksman, a weapon capable of hitting batsmen and 155kph.

With a charging run-up, powerful delivery, worrying bounce and elongated appeal, Peter Siddle made a lasting mark in 2008-09 as he stepped up from promising domestic bowler to a speedster who could be part of Australia's attack for years. But he soon suffered the fast man's curse and early in 2010 was diagnosed with a stress fracture in his back that required a lengthy rehabilitation. The timing was poor, interrupting his career after 60 wickets in 17 Tests, and continued a long-running battle w

Nobody manages to combine cutting-edge technology and comfort in a luxury saloon in quite the same the way as the Germans seem to be able. Consider the options; the Mercedes Benz S Class or the Audi A8. Both are loaded with goodies and house large but efficient engines under elongated bonnets, but with the new 7 Series, BMW have gone that little bit further. Clearly, a large car, the BMW 7 Series boasts the longest wheelbase in the luxury performance segment, and that is just the 'regular' vers

The most obvious difference between this conceptual 2009 7 Series and the current version is the shape of the rear end. Forget the old Bangle Butt, as it was so callously called, this 7's tail section will have a much smoother design that better integrates into the car's overall lines. Although the face of the '09 7 Series does not look dramatically different from that of the '06 model, it appears that BMW will likely replace the current semi-rectangular headlamps with a more elliptically shaped