The International Cricket Council (ICC), on Tuesday, announced their Men’s Test Team of 2022 and picked England’s Test skipper Ben Stokes as their team’s leader. Only one Indian player managed to feature in the XI as Rishabh Pant was included in the team as the wicketkeeper-batter. The XI is dominated by Australian players as ICC named four cricketers in their best combination. Australian batter, Marnus Labuschagne, and India’s Rishabh Pant are the only two players who were also a part of the ICC Men’s Test Team of 2021.
England’s Test cricket witnessed a massive upsurge ever since Ben Stokes has been promoted to the captaincy position, and thus the all-rounder has been named the captain by ICC. Australia’s Usman Khawaja and West Indies skipper Kraigg Brathwaite made it to the XI as the team’s opening batters. Khawaja made a brilliant comeback to the format in 2022 and has been one of the most consistent performances for his team. Brathwaite finished the year scoring 687 runs from 14 innings at a great average of 62.45.
ALSO READ: Considerations to Make Before Settling for a Sportsbook in India
Marnus Labuschagne finished with 957 runs in 2022 at an average of 56.29 as he amassed three centuries and a double century in the 19 innings that he played. Though Pakistan has been struggling to make it big in Test cricket, skipper Babar Azam has scored four centuries and managed to score 1184 runs at an average of 69.94.
Despite the injury, England’s Jonny Bairstow enjoyed some memorable outings in 2022. Before being ruled out of the team due to a broken leg, Bairstow notched up six centuries in the format in the 10 matches that he played, and showcased some of his finest Test performances.
The ICC Men's Test Team of the Year 2022 is out 👀
Find out which players make the XI 📝 #ICCAwards
— ICC (@ICC) January 24, 2023
Ben Stokes managed to impress both with the bat as well as the ball. Rishabh Pant emerged as a fine Test cricketer and amassed 680 runs in 12 innings while maintaining an average of 61.81. He was equally good while behind the wickets as well. Australia’s Pat Cummins, South Africa’s Kagiso Rabada, Australian spinner Nathan Lyon and England’s pace spearhead James Anderson complete ICC’s Test XI of the Year.
ALSO READ: Mohammed Siraj And Shreyas Iyer Includes In ICC ODI Team Of 2022
While Cummins stole the show while playing against Pakistan in Lahore last year, Rabada enjoyed a sensational year with the ball, scalping 47 wickets from mere nine games.
ICC Men’s Test Team of the Year
Usman Khawaja, Kraigg Brathwaite, Marnus Labuschagne, Babar Azam, Rishabh Pant (wk), Jonny Bairstow, Ben Stokes (c), Pat Cummins, Kagiso Rabada, Nathan Lyon, James Anderson
