ICC Awards: ICC Test Team of the Year – gallery
Test Team of the Year
Three members of the Australia team that claimed a 4-0 Ashes victory over England are named in the ICC Test Team of the Year.
1. Dean Elgar (South Africa)
Elgar was the third-highest run-scorer in Tests in 2017 – one of six batsmen to hit the 1,000-run mark, with 1,128 coming in 21 innings and at an average of 53.71.
2. David Warner (Australia)
Warner agonisingly finished on 997 Test runs in 2017, but a successful year saw Australia regain the Ashes with him scoring consistently, notching a high score of 123.
3. Virat Kohli - Captain (India)
Virat Kohli was named as the hypothetical captain of both the Test and ODI Team of the Year, scoring 1,059 runs in Tests at a remarkable strike-rate of 76.24 – higher than any other batsman in the top 25 run-scorers.
4. Steve Smith (Australia)
Steve Smith was declared the ICC Test Cricketer of the Year at the ICC Awards after establishing himself as the Test game’s foremost cricketer. He made 1,305 runs at an average of 76.76 in 2017.
5. Cheteshwar Pujara (India)
India’s Pujara was only prevented from being the highest Test scorer of 2017 by Smith’s incredible year. Pujara finished with the second most runs – 1,140, at 67.05.
6. Ben Stokes (England)
Prior to being ruled out of the Ashes series due to an off-the-field incident, Stokes was having yet another impressive year, with an average of 43.91 with the bat.
7. Quinton de Kock - WK (South Africa)
Quinton de Kock averaged only 36.41 with the bat in 2017, something he will surely want to improve upon this year. However, with the gloves he was unmatched – his 50 dismissals 13 clear of any other wicketkeeper.
8. Ravichandran Ashwin (India)
In 2017 Ashwin continued his reputation as the best spin bowler in Test cricket, taking 56 wickets. With his dominance with the ball, and Kohli’s with the bat, India continue to stay well ahead of any other nation in the Test rankings.
9. Mitchell Starc (Australia)
Starc could only play six Tests in 2017, but that was all he needed to make the Team of the Year with 26 wickets.
10. Kagiso Rabada (South Africa)
With Dale Steyn missing for the year, South Africa needed someone to step up. Rabada did just that, with the quick claiming 57 scalps – a tad fewer than Nathan Lyon’s 63 – in his 11 matches, as he climbed to the top of the ICC Test Bowling Rankings.
11. James Anderson (England)
Anderson showed why he is an all-time great, claiming his 500th Test wicket during the English summer before heading down under and carrying England’s bowling attack, ending the year with 55 wickets at an average of just 17.58.