Stats: Jonny Bairstow breaks world record for most Test runs in a calendar year by a wicketkeeper

On day three of the first Test between England and Bangladesh, Jonny Bairstow broke the record for most Test runs in a calendar year by a wicketkeeper in Test history previously held by Zimbabwe’s Andy Flower. And on day three of the second Test between India and England, he also equalled AB de Villiers’ record of most fifties in a calendar year by a keeper.

He is only the second keeper to amass more than 1,000 runs in a calendar year after Andy Flower, whose 16-year-old record he broke. Courtesy of his fifty in the second Test against India at Vizag, the English keeper also equalled AB’s record of nine fifties in a calendar year, which is one more than any other keeper has managed.

Bairstow has been in sparkling form with the bat in 2016, a year in which he has scored well over 1,000 runs , when he hadn’t managed to cross the 1,000 mark in his Test career before the turn of the year. He has scored three centuries and six fifties in 2016 at an average of 64.05 and broke Andy Flower’s record of 1,045 runs in England’s second innings on day three against Bangladesh, an innings in which he was eventually dismissed for 47.

Wicketkeepers weren’t always expected to contribute with the bat and it is no surprise that while there have been plenty of instances of batsmen crossing 1,000 in a calendar year, there have been only two by wicketkeepers. And the man who revolutionised keeping, Adam Gilchrist, unsurprisingly features the most on the top ten list of keepers with most Test runs in a calendar year.

Adam Gilchrist features four times on this list and it is interesting to note that all of the top ten have come after 2000, which only highlights the increased responsibility that has been placed on keepers. No Indian keeper features in the top ten which sees AB de Villiers, Kumar Sangakkara and Matt Prior appear once while Andy Flower takes the second and fourth spot.

For 16 years, Flower, held the record before eventually being overtaken by Bairstow, who looks set to extend his lead at the top, as he still has three more matches of the five-match Test series against India before the end of the year.

Here is the list of wicketkeepers with most runs in a calendar year in Tests

Keepers with most Test runs in a calendar year

No.	Name	Number of Tests	Number of runs	Year
1.	Jonny Bairstow (ENG)	14	1217*	2016
2.	Andy Flower (ZIM)	9	1045	2000
3.	AB de Villiers (SA)	9	933	2013
4.	Andy Flower (ZIM)	9	899	2001
5.	Kumar Sangakkara (SL)	12	891	2001
6.	Adam Gilchrist (AUS)	14	870	2001
7.	Adam Gilchrist (AUS)	14	837	2004
8.	Adam Gilchrist (AUS)	15	836	2005
9.	Adam Gilchrist (AUS)	11	792	2002
10.	Matt Prior (ENG)	15	777	2012

NOTE: *Records accurate as of Jonny Bairstow's dismissal in the first innings of the second Test between India and England