The new issue of Wisden Cricket Monthly is a county cricket special. To coincide with its release, we’ve been asking Wisden followers questions about county cricket on our social media channels.

This time, our followers were asked to name who they thought were the most underrated county cricketers over the last 20 years. Answers ranged from players who had international careers, to county stalwarts to lesser known stars of county cricket of recent years.

Not underrated mate his face just didn’t fit in the England set up 🤬 it’s a pure travesty that he didn’t get 100 England caps, during his peak there wasn’t a better keeper let alone keeper/batsman in county cricket 🏏🤷‍♂️ simple 👌🏻 @fletcherluke @TrentBridge @sportchippers

— Stan Mitchell (@mitchnottm) May 28, 2020

Although he achieved England recognition, Chris Read was a popular answer. The Nottinghamshire gloveman is a two-time County Championship winner and finished his career with 27 first-class hundreds at an average of 37.46. Read last played international cricket in 2007 at the age of 28.

Wayne Madsen

— Kristopher Cousins (@KristopherCous4) May 27, 2020

Wayne Madsen was another name that popped up on numerous occasions. One of county cricket’s most consistent runscorers, the South Africa-born top-order batsman has never won an international call-up. While he has spent most of his time at Derbyshire in Division Two of the County Championship, Madsen has shown that he can rub shoulders with the best in England – in 2013, he finished second in the Division One runscorers’ list.

Daryl Mitchell

— SC515 (@SC51591) May 27, 2020

An opener who has had a similar career to Madsen, Daryl Mitchell was a popular response. One of the most consistent opening batsmen in the county game over the last decade, Mitchell can perhaps count himself unlucky that he never won an England call-up during an era where England unsuccessfully tried and tested a seemingly never-ending merry-go-round of county openers.

Matt Milnes

— Anthony M Dixon (@Lancsscholar) May 27, 2020

Kent’s Matt Milnes, the leading English wicket-taker in Division One of the County Championship in 2019, was given a mention too.  Other seamers with multiple mentions included Chris Rushworth, Glenn Chapple and Kevin Dean.

On Facebook, Iain Hodgson picked three players who he deemed to be “genuinely underrated.” He wrote: “Underrated is tricky – David Sales is well enough respected, Darren Stevens and Chris Rushworth likewise, as top class domestic players. A couple of different names who deserved another chance in international cricket would be Adam Lyth and Kabir Ali. As for people genuinely underrated, I’d name David Byas, Jack Brooks and Ali Brown.”

James Hildreth

— Daniel Roberts (@droberts639) May 27, 2020

And of course, no list of county cricket’s most unlucky men would be complete without a mention of Somerset’s James Hildreth, who despite his career first-class average of 42.57, looks increasingly likely to end his career without an England cap.

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