2022 saw a number of high voltage Test matches. Be it India vs England or Australia vs Sri Lanka. A number of individual performers came to the party with the likes of Pakistan skipper Babar Azam leading the run charts with 1170 runs. He was closely followed by former England captain Joe Root. But there were some new timers as well. Babar’s compatriot Abdullah Shafique being a case in point.
In bowling, it was arguably Kagiso Rabada’s year who played two Test matches less than his closest rival Nathan Lyon to become the joint highest wicket-taker alongside the South Australian. Moreover, Daryl Mitchell gave Ben Stokes the batter a solid run for money as we come down to the all-rounder’s section. And, above all, England’s bazball was all the rage, Needless, to say they redefined Test cricket, or revolutionised it for the betterment of sport.
As we pick News 18 Cricketnext’s Test team of the year, we discover that four of the English players feature in it, while Australia also has the same share with one from South Africa, one from India and one from Pakistan each completing the squad.
Openers
Usman Khawaja (841 runs at 60.07): From batting in the middle order to becoming an opener, Khawaja made the most of his opportunity in 2022. He made a comeback to the Aussie side with the Sydney Test in the Ashes where he scored a century batting lower down the order. He scored two centuries as he was promoted at the top in Pakistan where he finished the series as the leading run-scorer on either side. In the second half of the year, he had smashed a couple more fifties against West Indies, hence by crossing 1,000 runs in the calendar year.
Abdullah Shafique (799 runs at 57.07): If Shafique’s fourth innings century against Sri Lanka in Galle wasn’t enough to pick him in the eleven, then consider this: He scored a century against each team he played against! Fast-tracked into the Pakistan eleven after three first-class hundred, Shafique put the anchor down against Australia in Rawalpindi Test to save the match and then scored a scintillating ton against England at the same venue recently.
Middle Order
Marnus Labuschagne (943 runs at 58.93): Despite being one of the best from Australia, Labuschagne wasn’t at his prime when Australia toured Pakistan, but by the second half of the year, he had compensated for it with consecutive scores of 204, 104 not out and 163 against West Indies which took him to an all-time high in the ICC batting rankings. Besides, he accounted for a century against Sri Lanka in July as he went past the ‘Don’ in scoring 3,000 Test runs in just 51 Test innings.
Joe Root(1098 runs at 45.75): Although, 2022 was not a great year for Root’s captaincy as he stepped down from the position after Ashes debacle, Root the batter continued his purple patch. He accounted for two centuries against West Indies, two against New Zealand as the home summer kicked off and then continued his form against India in Edgbaston where he accounted for 142*.
Jonny Bairstow(1061 runs at 66.31): If 2022 changed the way Test cricket was played, then we had to thank this man for it. Yes, Bazball was implemented well by coach Brendon McCullum and skipper Ben Stokes, but it was the lad from Yorkshire who executed it with so mush precision; his stats tell the whole story. He went onto slam a couple of tons against New Zealand and then followed it with his memorable knock against India in Edgbaston where he slammed centuries in both the innings after being chided by Virat Kohli. Not to mention, he had scored a brilliant 113 in Sydney and 140 against West Indies earlier.
Ben Stokes (845 runs at 35.2 / 26 wickets at 31.19) (Captain): We have picked Ben Stokes for the his shear leadership skills this season which saw Bazball being the talk of the town. Although this was formulated by Brendon ‘Baz’ McCullum, the ideas were implemented by none other than Stokes who used it effectively to get the best out his batters. He also played a crucial role in getting the best out of an old warhorse like James Anderson about whom we will talk later in this article. Coming back to Stokes, he was the best all-rounder by some margin where he didn’t let the burden of captaincy get to him, accounting for centuries against South Africa and West Indies.
Rishabh Pant (Wicket-keeper)(578 runs at 64.22 / 19 catches, 5 stumpings): Talking about revolutionising the game, boy didn’t Pant do it better than everyone? Kicking off 2022 on the expectation of living upto his Gabba legendary, Pant started off with a counter-punching 100 unbeaten runs at Johannesburg even as the whole team scored just 70 between each other. Although, he couldn’t save India from losing the match. He then brought his attacking style to England when he slammed 146 at Edgbaston where he enthralled not only the Indian fans but opposition skipper Ben Stokes who would later say: “I absolutely loved watching it.” Despite top order failing, Pant was perhaps the lone consistent customer for India throughout the year.
Tail Enders
Pat Cummins (Vice Captain) (35 wickets at 21.12): The Australia Test captain brings stability to the lower middle order being the handy batter, moreover, his strike rate this season—which stands at a wicket per fifty balls, is nothing short of an asset. His performance on a highway of a pitch in Lahore where he picked up eight wickets, to bowl Australia to a win will be remembered for long. Moreover, a word about his captaincy skills: under his leadership, Australia has lost just one Test match, how about being the deputy to Stokes?
Kagiso Rabada (47 wickets at 22.25): The 27-year-old Rabada is reaching his peak years and it showed in 2022 where he went onto become the joint highest wicket-taker in the world (47) alongside Nathan Layon despite playing two Test matches less. The strike rate and precision was on the money as he went onto account for two fifers. His best bowling in an innings was 5/52 that came against England at Lord’s. This was the only match England had lost under McCullum so far. He also has the best strike rate in the world—a wicket every 34 balls!
Nathan Lyon (43 wickets at 29.18): Lyon becomes the lone spinner and the obvious choice after a dream season where he picked up 12 on tour in Pakistan, 11 in Sri Lanka, ran through West Indies. No surprises, by the end of the year he had become the first orthodox finger-spinner ever to take 450 Test wickets.
James Anderson (36 wickets at 19.8): Seeing him bending his back and extracting sharp bouncers in Pakistan just a few days ago might give a loyal English fan some chills. In-fact, it is hard to imagine that Anderson at 40 can be as precise as he was in his youth years. As mentioned above, a new aggressive leader in Ben Stokes is just what the doctor ordered as he was the one who brought him back to the side after he was dropped for the West Indies tour earlier this year.
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