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The year 2023 is soon coming to an end. The past 12 months have witnessed some memorable cricketing action. It can be safely said that Australia enjoyed the best of 2023.
The Aussies were crowned World Test Champions (WTC) after defeating India in the final at The Oval by 209 runs. Australia also retained the Ashes before registering their sixth ODI World Cup triumph, coming back from a disastrous start.
For India, they had many memorable moments in 2023. They won the Border-Gavaskar Trophy at home against Australia convincingly and were brilliant in ODIs throughout the year. However, their players failed to deliver in the two games that mattered the most - the WTC final as well as the ODI World Cup final. The Men in Blue lost the World Cup summit clash after winning all the matches heading into the big game.
On a personal level, there were a few fantastic individual performances from players across nations. Also, for some, 2023 will be counted as a year of redemption. As the year draws to a close, we look at five such names.
#1 KL Rahul - India
KL Rahul had a poor 2022. He played four Test matches but managed only 137 runs at an average of 17.12 with a best of 50. Rahul did not fare much better in ODIs as well. In 10 matches in 2022, he scored 251 runs at an average of 27.88 and a strike rate of 80.19.
In T20Is, the right-handed batter scored 434 runs in 16 matches, averaging 28.93 at a strike rate of 126.53. Rahul, who was to captain India in a five-match T20I series against South Africa at home in June 2022, missed the series due to a groin injury.
Following a poor last year, 2023 was going to be a challenging one for Rahul. It didn’t help matters that he suffered another injury during the IPL and had to spend some more time on the sidelines.
Since returning from injury, though, Rahul has been a changed cricketer. He made an emphatic comeback with a hundred against Pakistan in the Asia Cup and was a key member of the World Cup squad that finished runners-up.
Rahul also scored a magnificent ton in the first innings of the Boxing Day Test against South Africa in Centurion.
#2 Mitchell Marsh - Australia
Australia’s batting all-rounder Mitchell Marsh has promised a lot with the willow over the years. He gave glimpses of his brilliance during the 2021 T20 World Cup. Marsh’s consistency, however, wasn’t quite there even after that. But things completely changed in 2023, with the 32-year-old coming up with some magnificent performances across formats.
Playing red-ball cricket for Australia for the first time since 2019, Marsh smashed 540 runs in 10 innings at an average of 67.50 with one hundred and four fifties. He scored 118 versus England at Leeds in his comeback Test and ended the year with 96 against Pakistan in the Boxing Day clash at the Melbourne Cricket Ground
In ODIs, Marsh averaged nearly 48 from 20 innings at a strike rate of 113.94 with two tons, both of them coming in the World Cup.
Speaking of T20Is, he played three games and hammered 92* off 49 and 79* off 39 in two of them! Truly, a year of redemption for Marsh.
#3 Kuldeep Yadav - India
Team India’s left-arm wrist-spinner Kuldeep Yadav has been waiting for a long run in international cricket for a few seasons now. It happened in 2023 and the cricketer did not disappoint one bit.
Kuldeep featured in 30 ODIs in 2023, claiming a rich haul of 49 wickets at an average of 20.48 and an economy rate of 4.61. The 29-year-old picked up two four-fers and a five-wicket haul (5/25), which was registered against Pakistan in the Asia Cup Super 4 match in Colombo. He made a significant impact in the ODI World Cup as well.
Not only in ODIs, but Kuldeep made a huge impact in T20Is as well in 2023. He played nine matches, claiming 14 wickets at an average of 13.14 and an economy rate of 5.96.
The wrist-spinner registered career-best figures of 5/17 from 2.5 overs in the third T20I in Johannesburg earlier this month.
#4 Zak Crawley - England
England Test opener Zak Crawley has been backed consistently by the team. He has shown glimpses of talent with some impressive knocks, but the dependability factor has been missing. Crawley did score two tons in 2022 but averaged just over 30 from 29 innings.
The 25-year-old continued to disappoint in the first half of 2023. He again got several starts, but could not convert them. Crawley, however, lifted himself with a magnificent 189 off 182 balls in the fourth Ashes Test in Manchester. He slammed 21 fours and three sixes in the drawn encounter.
The England opener followed it up with 73 off 76 in the 49-run triumph at The Oval in the fifth and final Test. Crawley will look to build on the gains in 2024.
#5 Quinton de Kock - South Africa
South African opener Quinton de Kock had a redemption of a different kind in 2023. He was not in poor form heading into the year. However, he made a shock announcement of retiring from ODIs after the World Cup. De Kock has already retired from Test cricket.
While the left-handed batter has a fantastic ODI record, he hadn’t done as well in the World Cup heading into the 2023 edition. He had a forgettable 2015 World Cup, scoring only 145 runs in eight innings at an average of 20.71. De Kock did better in 2019, but a best of 68 from nine matches was something he would still have been disappointed with.
In his farewell ODI event, the 31-year-old corrected the anomaly. In 10 matches, he clobbered 594 runs at an average of 59.40 with four hundreds. De Kock was brilliant at the top of the order and signed off from ODIs with what can be termed World Cup redemption.
