Those of you that know me will know that I love my cricket. The ICC Men’s 50 Over Champions Trophy kicks off this week, so here is a comparison of your favourite M5’s player to past and present cricketers.

Joe L – Adam Gilchrist:
Goalkeeper and wicketkeeper are the most similar positions between Hockey and Cricket. Adam Gilchrist often didn’t have too much to do down the order in that great Australia team he played for rather like Joe on Saturday, but like Adam, Joe is there if his team ever needs him to be.

Matt Withington – Michael Atherton:
Michael Atherton famously had crippling back disease. He was also never really a big six hitter possibly due to his suboptimal upper body power, but he played to his strengths. He was very much capable of a blow up.

James Piper – Rahul Dravid:
Solid and sensible at the back. I imagine James has a brick wall of a forward defence.

Huw Thomas – Ben Ducket:
Huw loves a sweep and reverse sweep clearance which is akin to Ben Duckets game. Huw is a revelation at the back rather like Ben Ducket is a revelation opening the batting for England in test matches. Capable of playing a big innings and boy did Huw deliver earning him a MOM performance.

Max Knipe – Joe Root:
Joe Root is England’s go to man to put in consistent performances. Stepping in front of attackers like Joe Root steps down the wicket to negate risk, Max is nailed on to be a minimum 8/10 performance every week.

Will Burscough – Hashim Amla:
Will is never panicked on the ball like Amla was never panicked at the crease. Gifted hand-eye coordination made it difficult to get anything through Amla which can apply to the way Will plays. 

James Mansell – Steve Waugh:
Captain fantastic James Mansell squares up well with Steve Waugh. Mentally resilient and a team man. When focused on their own game, they can both deliver MOM performances.

Dan Image-Flower – James Vince:
James Vince is known for his energetic and great looking play which Dan has in abundance. James Vince came so close to his maiden test century down under in Australia, just like Dan came so close to ending his 4-season goal drought only to be stopped by their own teammate (sorry about that Dan!).

Chris Clark – Iain Bell:
Iain Bell was known for his immaculate cover drive. Chris has an immaculate drag push pass. At times, Iain was a maverick on the fashion front, which must be the reason Chris opted to wear his shorts the wrong way round.

Nev Warren – Virender Sehwag:
Sehwag was known for his ball striking and boundary hitting. He had all the shots in his locker like Nev had all the hockey skills. He was not a fan of running in between the wickets.

Danny Jackson – Michael Bevon:
Michael Bevon was known for his running in between the wickets and having a reasonably high strike rate despite not hitting too many boundaries. Danny is similar with his runs off the ball and his goal scoring form this season.

Daniel G – Jacob Bethal: 
Exciting talent with a bit of flare. 

Gareth Wellard – Jaques Kallis:
The M5’s star midfield and forward allrounder. Should always be in the conversation of the best player of all time. Gareth was picking balls out of the ait in a manor only the best can do.

Ash Krishnan - Sam Konstas:
Sam Konstas lit up the cricket world this last year with his performance against the best bowling attack going. This ability is not what I’ve made this comparison for (although my goal was a reverse sweep of sorts). Sam was in an altercation with Virat Kohli where Kohli pushed him. Despite this not being his fault, Sam was fined.

The England men’s team in 2019 and the M5’s of 2025 both look excellent attacking, now it’s just time to convert like they did.