Year in Review: Flop Test XI of the year 2013

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Finally, an entire year of cricketing action comes to an end and I bring to you the Flop Test XI of the year. All Test matches in 2013 have been taken into account except the two Boxing Day Tests that are going to be underway tomorrow. Minimum criterion for the cricketers has been restricted to at least seven matches in the year.

So hold your couch and prepare yourself for the worst team of the year.

Phil Hughes (Australia)

Phil Hughes

Matches – 7

Innings – 14

Runs – 351

Average – 27.00

Highest – 87

The recent exploits by the Australian team in the Ashes may have put them in a far more comfortable situation than they were during their tour of India few months back, but one man who is still finding it difficult to gain ground is poor Phil Hughes. The strike-rate of 49.85 in 7 Tests is a direct testimony to his struggles this season. Watching him play the wrong line to the Indians was a pity and everyone wanted him to escape misery and return to the pavilion as early as possible. If three ducks in 14 innings doesn’t tell you the entire story, nothing can.

Azhar Ali (Pakistan)

Azhar Ali

Matches – 7

Innings – 14

Runs – 270

Average – 19.28

Highest – 78

The Pakistani opener had been a determined man throughout the entire season – determined not to score runs. Averaging 38.53 in 31 matches, one would expect him to score profusely at the top. Instead, Azhar appeared contented with an average of 19.28 this year at a strike-rate of 31.91. Two half-centuries are remotely flattering for a top order batsman, and his team had to realize that in a hard way.

With scores of 11, 3, 19 and 19 in his last four Test innings, Azhar returned to domestic cricket for salvaging his lost form. Surprisingly, he struck centuries in successive matches prior to scoring another ton a month later. No doubt Misbah may feel envious of Sui Northern Gas Pipelines Limited (Azhar’s team in the domestic circuit).

Hamish Rutherford (New Zealand)

Hamish Rutherford

Matches – 10

Innings – 17

Runs – 558

Average – 34.87

Highest – 171

Apart from that brilliant 171, that ultimately turned out to be the lone century for him this year, Hamish Rutherford had few bright spots. He broke into the international arena on a decent tone but ended the year in a below average position.

With a single half-century and an average of 34.87, Rutherford was another victim of inexperience. He got the starts, but failed to capitalize and construct his innings. Including him in this list might be too harsh on him though, considering the fact that the Kiwis are ranked below even the West Indies in the ICC Rankings. All he requires is to spend some time in the middle and once that is done, one may find an entirely different cricketer in him the next year.

Jacques Kallis (South Africa)

Jacques Kallis

Matches – 7

Innings – 11

Runs – 194

Average – 17.63

Highest – 60

194 runs in 11 innings is hardly a measure of Jacques Kallis’s abilities as the greatest playing all-rounder in cricket, but the No. 1 Test team in the world certainly expects a lot more from the prolific run-getter. With age catching up fast on him, instincts say that his days may be over, now that he has failed to score a century in the entire year.

A highest score of 60 and a far worse average of 17.63 is immensely embarrassing for a cricketer of the stature of Kallis, yet South Africa remains dependant on his performance on days when the likes of Graeme Smith and Hashim Amla fail to deliver. While retiring on a high may be an enticing option, the onus really lies on Kallis to assemble the fragments and construct his innings with the same old expertise.

Marlon Samuels (West Indies)

Marlon Samuels

Matches – 7

Innings – 12

Runs – 293

Average – 24.41

Highest – 65

He may have got unlucky a couple of times against India last month, but Marlon Samuels has none to blame for his poor form in 2013. A veteran campaigner in the Caribbean dressing room, he remains the backbone of the West Indian line-up along with Shivnarine Chanderpaul. While Chanderpaul continues to scale peaks surpassing former greats, Samuels sits back weaving a tale of disappointment, embarrassment, inconsistency and lack of application.

Matt Prior (England)

Matt Prior

Matches – 13

Innings – 24

Runs – 594

Average – 31.26

Highest – 110*

Andy Flower was certainly pointing his finger at Matt Prior when he expressed his disappointment over the senior players’ reluctance to take up responsibility when it mattered the most. Clearly, Prior’s poor form and irresponsible batting made him a culprit in the 3-0 Ashes drubbing Down Under.

In 13 matches, he could muster only 594 runs with a solitary ton and three half-centuries. He is only second to James Anderson on the list of most number of ducks this year, having failed to open his account on 5 different occasions. He has had an average year behind the stumps and may well face the axe in case England opts for a revamp in the Test squad.

Darren Sammy (West Indies)

Darren Sammy

Matches – 7

Innings – 12

Runs – 241

Average – 21.90

Highest – 80

The West Indies skipper has been a howler throughout the year. His military pace had already proved ineffective against Test batsmen and his skills with the willow proved no better against the Indians as he returned with a pedestrian batting average of 21.90 with a best of 80.

His reluctance with the bat and the ball may well put a question mark over his place in the Test squad, but the underlying fact remains that he is the best than West Indies can afford right now at the helm. He has failed miserably with the ball in repeated attempts which were clearly evident in the Test series against India where he couldn’t pick up a single wicket in two Tests. No wonder West Indies are struggling to keep their position above the Kiwis in the rankings.

Graeme Swann (England)

Graeme Swann

Matches – 10

Wickets – 43

Average – 34.09

BBI – 6/90

SR – 61.3

As England struggled to match the Aussies in the ongoing Ashes, Graeme Swann announced his retirement out of the blue. The criticisms and scathing remarks that he has invited from various quarters for his untimely decision may well be forgotten in a couple of days’ time, but the reason for his calling it a day when England apparently needed him the most may continue to haunt Swann for quite some time.

That he has been out of sorts in the last season is an undeniable fact and his figures, though not enormously erratic, are definitely lackluster by his standards. Not long ago was the off-spinner hailed as one of the current bests in the world, and one wonders what caused such a steep decline in his form.

His year average of 34.09 is nowhere near his career average of 29.96 and his recent statistics where he picked up only 7 wickets for 560 runs in the last three Tests against Australia emphasize his poor run in Tests and imparts somewhat rationale to his decision of ending his international career.

Steven Finn (England)

Steven Finn

Matches – 6

Wickets – 20

Average – 33.50

BBI – 6/125

SR – 53.7

He may not fill the criteria of at least 7 matches in the year, but I was compelled to include him in this list because of his below average performances. ICC Emerging Player of the Year 2010 found it extremely difficult to make his mark in the longest format of the game this year so much so that he was left out of the team for the Ashes.

Of the six matches he played, five have been against New Zealand where he bowled 154.1 overs at a strike rate of 51.3. In the only Test against Australia in home soil, he bagged two scalps despite bowling his heart out – an effort that did the least to flatter his statistics.

Neil Wagner (New Zealand)

Neil Wagner

Matches – 10

Wickets – 35

Average – 36.31

BBI – 5/64

SR – 63.9

With a strike-rate of 63.9, Wagner easily classifies in the Flop XI of the Year. He kicked off the year with 13 wickets in 4 matches at an average of 41.30 but trimmed it down to 32.00 in the last 4 matches, courtesy a five-wicket haul against Bangladesh. Still a newcomer in the international circuit, Wagner remains a prospect that the Kiwis need to protect and nurture.

Tino Best (West Indies)

Tino Best

Matches – 7

Wickets – 11

Average – 57.72

BBI – 4/110

An aggressive and energetic fast bowler, Tino Best has been the finest exponent of inconsistency in the last season. With a bowling average of 57.72 in seven matches, Best summarizes West Indies’ efforts in the Test arena this year.

Against India, he put up a disastrous display of fast bowling and was rewarded with only two wickets in as many matches. Even against Zimbabwe, he gave away 102 runs for a single wicket in two matches. He claimed his best figures of 4/110 against the Kiwis at their backyard picking up 8 wickets at an average of 46.12.

What works against Best is his inability to remain calm in crunch situations. He loses patience at the slightest provocation and ends up bowling far too many bouncers than necessary – an entirely wasted effort on batsmen who are more than happy to leave them.

Outcast of the Year – Sunil Narine

Flop Team of the Year – West Indies