Best Test XI of the Year 2015

The longest format of cricket saw some exhilarating action in the past 12 months. It turned out to be a platform for a new generation of superstars to step up to the plate and prove their true worth. However, even some of the seasoned campaigners came up with exceptional performances of their own and continued doing what they do best.Statistically too, 2015 has been a rich year for the cricketing world with as many as 6 batsmen scoring more than 1,000 runs and 3 bowlers crossing the 50-wicket mark in Tests. Based on some of the best performances in Test cricket, we have come up with our very own Test XI of the year.Here’s what it looks like:

#1 David Warner (Australia)

David Warner has been outstanding with the bat of late

Australia’s dashing opening batsman David Warner makes it to the side as one of the openers. Although the runs have come in patches for Warner this year, he has still managed to have an incredible year with the bat.

The 13 Tests he played this year have seen him score 1,317 runs at a terrific average of slightly below 55. The highlight of the year for Warner were his 3 consecutive hundreds against New Zealand, including a career-best knock of 253 at Perth.

David Warner’s strike rate of 81.85 this year was even higher than his already impressive career strike rate of just over 76. He is certainly one batsman who is capable of taking forward the legacy of swashbuckling openers like Virender Sehwag and Matthew Hayden.

#2 Alastair Cook (England)

Alastair Cook has been as consistent as ever this year

England’s captain and one of the finest batsmen to have ever played for them, Alastair Cook, is Warner’s partner at the top of the order. It is often said that ‘old habits die hard’ and that’s exactly the case with Alastair Cook’s old habit of scoring plenty of runs.

Cook ended 2015 as the third highest run-scorer in Tests, only behind Aussie skipper Steve Smith and fellow Englishman Joe Root. He scored 1,317 runs at an average of 54.56, including 3 centuries and as many as 8 half-centuries.

Cook’s epic 263 against Pakistan at Abu Dhabi was easily the highlight of his prolific year with the bat. The England southpaw has pushed himself closer to the 10,000-run milestone in Tests and should be able to surpass it early in 2016.

Purely due to his experience at the helm for England over the years, Alastair Cook is also the skipper of our 2015 Test XI.

#3 Steve Smith (Australia)

Steve Smith had another golden year with the bat in 2015

Who better to have at No. 3 than ICC’s Cricketer of the Year 2015 and Australia’s new Test skipper Steve Smith. The form which caught with the unorthodox yet effective batsman in the 2013/14 Ashes series does not seem to have eluded him as he continues to score runs in heaps.

Smith ended 2015 as the leading run scorer in Tests with 1,474 runs in 13 matches at an average of close to 74. He hit as many as 6 centuries this year and his highest score was 215 against England at the Lord’s.

Although Smith had failures every now and then, he made up for them by scoring big hundreds at regular intervals. Interestingly enough, Steve Smith started the year with a century and a fifty against India at Sydney and repeated the feat three times in 2015, twice against West Indies and once against England.

#4 Kane Williamson (New Zealand)

Kane Williamson stamped his class all over the cricketing world in 2015

The No. 1 ranked batsman in the ICC rankings for Test batsmen makes an appearance in our team’s middle order. One can fall short of adjectives to describe how Kane Williamson’s 2015 went. Such was his prowess with the bat that he has already started drawing comparisons with legends of the game.

Williamson started the year in the best way possible racking up a career-best 242 not out against Sri Lanka in only his first Test of 2015. The very next innings saw him hit a century against England at Lord’s.

On New Zealand’s tour to Australia in November this year, the stylish Kiwi batsman hit hundreds in consecutive Tests against their neigbours from Down Under.

Kane Williamson was not finished yet as scored an unbeaten century against Sri Lanka in his final innings of the year and led New Zealand to a victory. Becoming the No. 1 Test batsman right at the end of 2015 summed up Williamson’s year just about perfectly.

#5 Joe Root (England)

Joe Root is quickly becoming England’s Mr. Dependable

England have a new batting hero in Test cricket and his name is Joe Root. The young English batsman has been a pillar of strength in his team’s batting line-up ever since he arrived on the international cricketing scene. At present, he is one of the two best batsmen in the team, the other being his skipper Alastair Cook.

Root consolidates our middle order at No. 5 on the basis of his incredible performance with the bat in 2015. He finished 2nd among the highest run scorers in Tests this year with 1,385 runs at an incredible average of 60.21. Joe Root’s efforts in the year included 3 centuries and a top score of 182 not out against West Indies at St. George’s, Grenada.

The baby-faced batsman has been quick to take some giant strides as a batsman in world cricket. We will wait anxiously to see if Root makes the cut in our team for 2016.

#6 Dinesh Chandimal (Sri Lanka)

Chandimal has been Sri Lanka’s premier batsman in 2015

After considering quite a few options for the wicketkeeper’s slot in the team, we decided to go with Sri Lanka’s Dinesh Chandimal. It is a difficult time for Sri Lankan cricket as two of their greatest batting stalwarts, Mahela Jayawardene and Kumar Sangakkara, have retired in quick succession.

In such a situation, Chandimal has taken the responsibility of being one of their premier batsmen alongside skipper Angelo Mathews. The wicketkeeper-batsman had a good time with the bat in 2015 scoring 901 runs at an average of over 47.

The highlight of the year for Dinesh Chandimal was undoubtedly his 162 not out against India at Galle, which transformed a lost cause into an unlikely victory for Sri Lanka. The only other century he scored also came at the same venue against West Indies.

Chandimal is the ideal batsman at No. 6 to make up for any top order collapses for our 2015 Test XI.

#7 Ben Stokes (England)

Stokes has established himself as a useful all-rounder for England

One of England’s heroes in this year’s Ashes series, Ben Stokes, makes his way into our team as a genuine allrounder at the No. 7 position. Stokes has been a valuable asset with both bat and ball and may be able to bring an end to his team’s search for an impactful allrounder after Andrew Flintoff.

The southpaw justifies his selection in our team with 719 runs and 24 wickets in 2015. Ben Stokes has scored his runs at an average of just under 29, however, the strike has been impressive at 67.76.

His top performance with the bat was 101 against New Zealand at Lord’s and his best bowling spell was a match-winning 6 for 36 against Australia in the 4th Test at Nottingham.

More than his statistics, it is the impact he has made for England, particularly in Tests played at home, which makes him a more than useful cricketer for any team.

#8 Ravichandran Ashwin (India)

Ravichandran Ashwin has been in rip-roaring form in Test cricket of late

The sole entrant from India in our Test XI is Ravichandran Ashwin, who fits into the shoes of the team’s lead spinner. The offie has been in unimaginably good form this year as he has trailblazed his way to 62 wickets from just 9 Test matches.

Ashwin’s bowling average this year is a staggering 17.2 and the strike rate is equally good at 36.4. His best bowling performance of 7 for 66 against South Africa at Nagpur this year also happens to be a career best for the wily off-spinner.

Ravichandran Ashwin picked up as many as seven five-wicket hauls in Tests in 2015 and has been miles ahead of any other spinner in world cricket. He is also a useful batsman down the order and scored 3 half-centuries for India this year.

#9 Stuart Broad (England)

Stuart Broad continues to be one of England’s bowling aces

England’s ever-impressive fast bowler Stuart Broad makes it to our Test XI as the leader of the pace attack. Broad keeps getting better with every passing year and 2015 saw yet another terrific display from him as he ended the year as the 2nd highest wicket taker behind India’s Ravichandran Ashwin.

In the 14 Tests he played this year, Broad claimed 56 wickets at a highly impressive average of 23.82. His 8 for 15 against Australia at Nottingham helped England blow away their arch-rivals for a paltry 60. It was not only Stuart Broad’s best performance this year but also turned out to be a career-best for him.

Although he did not have a great time with the bat this year, Broad is also a handy batsman down the order with the ability to change the game.

#10 Josh Hazlewood (Australia)

Josh Hazlewood had an incredible year with the ball in 2015

The winner of the 2015 ICC Emerging Player of the Year award, Josh Hazlewood, makes the cut as Stuart Broad’s bowling partner. The Australian pacer made his debut in the longest format only in December 2014 and ended up being the 3rd highest wicket taker in his first full year as a Test cricketer.

2015 saw Hazlewood pick up 51 wickets in 12 Tests at a terrific average of just a little over 23. His best figures of 6 for 70 against New Zealand came in the first ever day-night Test at Adelaide.

Despite performing so well this year, Hazlewood was an unsung hero for Australia as the two Mitchells hogged the limelight. With Johnson bidding adieu to the game and Starc out injured, the young paceman is all set to become the leader of the Australian attack in the imminent future.

#11 Yasir Shah (Pakistan)

Yasir Shah has been superb for Pakistan this year

The inclusion of Pakistani leggie Yasir Shah as Ravichandran Ashwin’s bowling partner lends variety to our bowling attack. The year 2015 was nothing short of incredible for Shah as he led the way for Pakistan in their great success as a Test team.

His stats this year are truly mind boggling as he has claimed 49 wickets in only 7 Tests making him the 4th highest wicket taker of 2015. Had Pakistan played more matches this year, Yasir Shah could have easily been at the top of the list.

Shah’s best figures this year came in a Test against Sri Lanka at Galle when he claimed 7 for 76 in a match-winning performance. The leg-spinner took two other five-wicket hauls in the same series and won the Player of the Series award.

Although his batting skills are nothing to boast of, he can surely do more than putting bat to ball at the No. 11 spot.