ODI XI of the Year 2014

2015 is just a few days away. The year 2014 produced some riveting action in ODI cricket. Now that the curtains are about to fall on an exciting year of ODI cricket, we at Sportskeeda have decided to pick the ODI team of the year.The team is made up of 6 batsmen, 1 all-rounder, 1 wicket-keeper and 4 bowlers.Let’s take a look at the players who have made it to the team:NOTE: The team is in batting order.

#1 Aaron Finch (Australia)

After his breakthrough year in 2013, Aaron Finch had an incredible run in the year 2014. In ODIs played in 2014, Finch scored 790 runs at an impressive average of 43.88 including four hundreds. His strike-rate of 84.04 is not too bad either. More ofthen than not, he provided a blazing start to the Australian innings, thereby laying a solid platform for the batsmen who follow.

While he averaged 50.80 in Australia, his average away from home was 35.25. Given that he can roll his arm over for a few overs of slow left-arm bowling, he can be very useful when a skipper wants to slow things down and get a few overs out of the way. All these attributes of Finchy make him an ideal pick for the team of the year.

#2 Hashim Amla (South Africa)

Hashim Amla’s rich vein of form continued in 2014 as he aggregated 892 runs at an excellent average of 52.47 including 5 centuries. Given that he takes a little bit of time to get going early on, his strike-rate of 80.57 is pretty good. Such was his form in 2014, that he registered just a solitary single digit score in 18 innings played.

Interestingly, the 31-year old played all his ODIs in 2014 away from South Africa which makes his average look all the more impressive. His usual style of batting is to drop anchor and steady the ship from one end while allowing the other batsman to bat around him. This makes him an ideal partner for Aaron Finch who is not afraid to go after the bowling from the word go. Moreover, he also possesses the ability to switch gears as and when needed, which is exactly what is needed from an opener.

#3 Virat Kohli (India)

Without a semblance of doubt, this place belongs to Virat Kohli. NO! It does not just belong to him, he OWNS it! For the 4th-year running, this stylish batsman has managed to score in excess of 1000 ODI runs in a single calendar year. It’s as if he is in the purplest patch of his purple patch. No matter who the opponent is or what the conditions are, runs are bound to flow from his bat.

Coming to the numbers, the Delhi batsman has scored 1054 runs in 2014 at an outstanding average of 58.55 that includes 4 centuries. What is even more incredible is that all these runs came at a whopping strike-rate of 99.62. The way he paces his innings is absolutely brilliant.

Yes, he did have a mean patch midway through the year when nothing seemed to be going his way, but he has ironed out the flaws and is now back to his usual best. Another very useful attribute of him is his energetic fielding, both within the ring and in the outfield which make him an invaluable player.

#4 Kumar Sangakkara (Sri Lanka)

Here is one batsman who is analogous to old wine, the older he gets the better he becomes. Just like Kohli, Sangakkara managed to score more than a thousand runs in a single calendar year for the 4th-year running. There were several occasions right through the year when he single-handedly carried the Sri Lankan team to victory. It was due to the 37-year-old’s stellar run of form that Sri Lanka achieved such significant success in 2014.

The former Sri Lankan skipper also happens to be the leading run-scorer in ODIs in 2014 with an aggregate of 1256 runs at an average of 46.51 including 4 tons. His strike-rate of 87.70 bears testimony to the fact that he has the ability to score quick runs when needed.

However, the most important attribute of his game is the sense of calmness and composure that he brings to the team even in tense situations. He can act as the ideal foil between the top order and the middle order. He is the right kind of batsman to build on a start and keep things going in the middle overs.

#5 AB de Villiers (South Africa)

The South African skipper is one of the most versatile batsmen in the game at the moment. No matter what the situation of the game is, he can adapt really well and mould his game accordingly. Moreover, he is an absolute treat to watch given that he can play every shot in the book and dish out some of his own creations as well. He is the kind of batsman who can send the ball to every part of the ground, with absolute ease too.

In 2014, AB scored 879 runs at an amazing average of 73.25 that included 2 centuries, one of them unbeaten. What really stands out, however, is his awesome strike-rate of 114.45. Just like compatriot Amla, the 30-year old played all of his one-dayers outside South Africa which make his numbers look all the more special. His excellent fielding abilities are an added bonus to the team as he can be deployed in any position.

#6 Angelo Mathews (Sri Lanka) (VC)

The Sri Lankan skipper has had one of those years where everything has gone right for him. Be it with the bat or with the ball, time and again Mathews has delivered the goods for his team and effectively at that. He finished 2014 as the second highest run-getter in ODIs.

In 32 matches played, the 27-year-old scored 1244 runs at an incredible average of 62.20. More often than not, he provided the ideal finish to his team by accelerating towards the fag-end of the innings which makes him an ideal finisher for the team.

Given his ability with the ball, he is the genuine all-rounder in the team setup. His bowling record in 2014 reads 18 wickets at an average of 36.16. His economy rate of 4.59 is pretty good too. The best attribute about his bowling is that he keeps things very simple and does not try out too many variations. His leadership qualities are quite impressive too as he led Sri Lanka to 19 wins in 31 games played in 2014. He is, therefore, the vice-captain of the team.

#7 MS Dhoni (India) (C-WK)

MS Dhoni is the best finisher in world cricket today. He has this uncanny knack of coming in towards the latter stages of the innings, taking a few deliveries to settle in and still leaving the opposition dazed with his blistering attack. He has been doing this for quite some time now and is still pretty good at it. In ODIs played in 2014, Dhoni scored 418 runs at an average of 52.25. His strike-rate of 92.07 indicates just how good his striking is in the death overs.

Though he has had a rough year as far as his Test captaincy is concerned, his ODI captaincy is still pretty effective. No matter what the situation of the game, he remains absolutely unflustered. The best part about his captaincy is his ability to think on his feet, which is what the hustle and bustle of ODI cricket demands. His glovework too is pretty good as he gobbles up almost everything that comes his way.

Given all these attributes of his, Dhoni is the captain-cum-wicketkeeper of the team.

#8 Sachithra Senanayake (Sri Lanka)

After having a disappointing first couple of years, Senanayake got going in 2014. He finished 5th on the list of top bowlers for 2014 as he picked up 27 wickets in 18 games at a very good average of 24.92 and an excellent economy rate of 4.38. Though he was banned from bowling for a few months owing to a suspect action, his action was cleared recently and he is back to his wicket taking ways.

Due to the number of variations that he uses, batsmen always have a tough time picking him which leads to their undoing. Given that he is very stingy and gives very few runs away, batsmen often find it very difficult to score runs off his bowling and end up playing foolhardy shots in a bid to up the tempo. Moreover, he can be handy with the bat too as he has the ability to hit a long ball or two.

Another advantage of having him in the team is that he is a very good fielder too.

#9 Dale Steyn (South Africa)

Dale Steyn is easily the best bowler across all formats in the present cricketing scenario. He can swing the ball both ways, he can even reverse swing it, he bowls at a tremendous pace too and well he also introduces subtle variations in pace during the death overs. Overall, he is the most complete bowler that a team can wish to have. He is just the kind of bowler that any skipper would like to have, he will run in all day with the same intensity and the same ferocity and will give it his all.

In 2014, the ‘Steyn-Gun’ was all over the batsmen yet again as he picked up 22 wickets at an average of 26.54. He was quite economical too as he conceded runs at 5.07 an over. It is his sheer aggression and his ability to intimidate the batsmen that win him half the battle. Just like his teammates Amla and De Villiers, he played all of his ODIs outside South Africa and was pretty effective in all kinds of conditions.

#10 Lasith Malinga (Sri Lanka)

Malinga is probably the best and most consistent bowler in limited overs cricket at the moment. He was one of the major reasons why Sri Lanka had such a stellar year in 2014. As usual, he kept delivering yorkers with consummate ease and effectively stemmed the flow of runs. He finished 3rd on the list of leading wicket-takers as he picked up 29 wickets at an average of 26.48.

Though his economy rate of 5.87 seems a little high, one needs to laud it as many of his overs come during the powerplay and during the death overs when the batsmen throw the kitchen’s sink at almost everything.

His impact can be gauged from the fact that Sri Lanka, who had an otherwise incredible year, lost 5-0 in the bilateral ODI series versus India as Malinga was not part of the Sri Lankan team. As a bowler, he has kept evolving over the years which can be seen from his increased use of the wide yorker, a different kind of a yorker wherein the ball is pitched extremely full and close to the wide line. He can also be pretty effective with the bat as he is known to strike the odd long ball.

#11 Mohammed Shami (India)

It is not very often that one gets to see an Indian pacer ending up as the leading wicket-taker in a calendar year. However, Mohammed Shami has indeed been a breath of fresh air for Indian cricket for several reasons. Firstly, he can consistently bowl at a pace that is in excess of 140 kph. Secondly, he swings the ball prodigiously at that pace. Moreover, he is very effective with the old ball too as he is also an exponent of reverse swing.

With 38 wickets in 16 games at an average of 22.94, he was the flagbearer of Indian bowling in 2014. Yes, he can be a tad bit expensive at times which his economy rate of 6.16 suggests, but well he picks up wickets at regular intervals which is the most important thing from a bowler’s point of view. Moreover, he is also pretty fit as he featured in almost all ODIs that Team India played throughout the year.

#12 Kane Williamson (New Zealand) (12th Man)

Williamson is one of the rising stars in world cricket today. He had an incredible run of form in 2014 as he scored runs at will across all 3 formats. Each time he came out to bat, he looked like he’ll score runs and he did that with absolute ease. With limited overs cricket becoming more of a muscle oriented game, wherein batsmen go hammer and tongs after the ball, Kane sticks to the traditional way of effectively timing his shots and he gets the most out of it as well.

The 24-year old scored 673 runs at an excellent average of 67.30. His strike-rate of 87.97 was pretty good too. He can effectively mould his game as per the match situation, if there’s a need to drop anchor and just hang around – he can do that – and if there is a need to really go after the bowling, he can do that to great effect as well.

Though he had been suspended from bowling for a suspect action, he has been cleared recently which means he can be pretty handy with a few overs of off-break bowling in the middle overs. He’s an excellent fielder as well which is another advantage for the team.