To celebrate Australia's first ever Ginger Pride Rally, we've decided to tip our lids to the contribution of red-headed cricketers to our great game.

On Saturday, hundreds of 'gingers' took to the streets of Melbourne to celebrate the 1-2 per cent of Australians who are just like them.

Organiser Joel Cohen, who is the co-founder of the Red And Nearly Ginger Association (RANGA), said it was a chance for those with red hair to celebrate their uniqueness and bring an end to 'gingerism'.

"There are plenty of people that give red heads a hard time," Cohen told News Ltd.

"The rally is a red alert to all gingers out there that want to celebrate how good it is to be bright orange or just a touch of ginge."

To celebrate, we've compiled the best ginger cricket team of the 21st century.

Martin Guptill (New Zealand)

A World Cup record holder and fearsome opening batsman, Guptill has 14 international centuries in his seven-year international career to date.

Chris Rogers (Australia)

The perfect foil for Guptill at the top of the order, Rogers registered five Test centuries and has more than 24,000 first-class runs to his name - and he's still going.

Ian Bell (England)

Famously labelled 'The Sherminator' by Shane Warne during the 2006-07 Ashes - which elicited a simple response of "I've been called worse" - Bell has let his bat do the talking during his career to the tune of more than 13,000 international runs, including 22 Test centuries.

Paul Collingwood (England)

The former England captain pledged to not trim his red locks during the 2010 World T20 until his side was knocked out of the tournament - and he promptly guided them to the title. The Durham man enjoyed a 10-year international career, notching almost 10,000 international runs.

Ben Stokes (England)

One of Wisden's five Cricketers of the Year in 2016, the New Zealand-born Stokes looks set to finish his career as one of England's greatest allrounders. Still just 24, Stokes stunned the cricket world with a record-breaking 258 against South Africa last summer and is just getting better and better.

Jonny Bairstow (England)

The son of the late David Bairstow, a fellow flame-headed England player, the younger Bairstow carries the nickname 'Bluey' just like his famous father. A breakthrough maiden Test century against South Africa last summer, during a brilliant partnership with fellow ginger Ben Stokes, means the future looks bright for this 26-year-old.

Kevin O'Brien (Ireland)

The 32-year-old will long be remembered for his match-winning century in Ireland's famous victory over fierce rivals England at the 2011 World Cup. O'Brien has been a fine servant of Ireland cricket since his debut a decade ago and has plenty more to offer.

Andrew McDonald (Australia)

Nicknamed 'Ronnie', McDonald played four Tests for Australia in early 2009, including their famous series win in South Africa. A clever medium-pacer and solid batsman, McDonald enjoyed a long career with Victoria before moving to South Australia late in his career and is now head coach of English county side Leicestershire.

Shaun Pollock (South Africa)

A member of South African cricket's most famous family, Shaun Pollock represented his country with distinction for 13 years. A clever opening bowler and powerful lower order batsman, the former captain finished his career with 829 wickets and 7000 at international level, as well as the title as one of the Proteas' best ever.

Gareth Batty (England)

A former England spinner whose international career incredibly spanned seven years despite playing just 18 matches, Batty has also been a constant of the county scene for almost two decades. His distinguished career continues at London-based club Surrey.

Craig McDermott (Australia)

The man known as 'Billy' makes our 21st century Ginger XI owing to his incredibly successful coaching career with Australia. One of Australia's greatest ever fast-bowlers, McDermott finished just nine Test wickets short of the 300 milestone after a stellar career opening the bowling for his country.