How is this a gimme for Freddie, by any stretch of the imagination? It doesn't encompass the Ashes, for England it includes the series against the Windies last year at home, the tour of South Africa, the home series against Bangladesh and the NatWest Series, and then the first test of the Ashes.
Anyway, for the record, here are the stats for the players nominated in the period:
R Dravid
Tests - 841 runs @ 56.07, 4 fifties, 3 centuries
ODIs - 722 runs @ 45.13, 8 fifties, 1 century
A Flintoff
Tests - 366 runs @ 30.50, 4 fifties, 0 centuries - 44 wickets @ 24.64, 0 5WH, 0 10WH
ODIs - 464 runs @ 38.67, 2 fifties, 1 century - 25 wickets @ 23.12, 0 5WH
Inzamam-ul-Haq
Tests - 721 runs @ 65.55, 3 fifties, 3 centuries
ODIs - 1036 runs @ 49.33, 12 fifties, 0 centuries
Jacques Kallis
Tests - 1478 runs @ 70.38, 8 fifties, 6 centuries - 20 wickets @ 41.15, 0 5WH, 0 10WH
ODIs - 697 runs @ 41.00, 6 fifties, 1 century - 8 wickets @ 56.75, 0 5WH
Adam Gilchrist
Tests - 1003 runs @ 62.69, 3 fifties, 5 centuries
ODIs - 871 runs @ 39.59, 5 fifties, 1 century
Glenn McGrath
Tests - 135 runs @ 15.11, 1 fifty, 0 centuries - 68 wickets @ 17.13, 3 5WH, 0 10WH
ODIs - 8 runs @ 2.67, 0 fifties, 0 centuries - 38 wickets @ 19.61, 1 5WH
Ricky Ponting
Tests - 915 runs @ 70.38, 5 fifties, 2 centuries
ODIs - 920 runs @ 35.38, 4 fifties, 2 centuries
McGrath seems the obvious candidate to me, given his remarkable record and his comeback from cricket and acendancy to the top of both rankings when so many people wrote him off. If he doesn't get it, Inzy had a remarkable year and did good things with the Pakistani team, and then there's Flintoff and David who we both very good too, and Kallis as the highest runscorer by far in tests.