ICC World Test Championship: Predicting the top run-getter for each team
It has been over a month since the start of the ICC World Test Championship, and the competition is heating up slowly and steadily. India have taken the lead with 120 points as they white-washed West Indies away, while Sri Lanka and New Zealand tied their two-match series and are now both sitting with 60 points to their name.
Australia and England are fighting it out in the five-match Ashes series. Australia might have retained the Ashes by taking a 2-1 lead in the series, but there are points still up for grabs in the fifth and final Test at Oval. England can equal their points with Australia if they win the last Test.
Bangladesh, Pakistan and South Africa are yet to come into the picture and once they arrive to the competition things will get even more interesting.
There is going to be tough competition between players of each team to be the leading run-scorer in the Championship. Let’s take a look at the top batsman from each team who could end up as the leading run-scorer for his team in the tournament.
9. Australia – Steve Smith
The best Test batsman of this generation, Steve Smith has scored 671 runs in five innings at an average of 134.20 and is the leading run-scorer in this calendar year. Smith has only just made a comeback from his one-year ban and still leads the charts by a huge margin.
You call him a cheat, you try to boo him, you sledge him, but at the end of the day he keeps scoring runs. At the moment, he looks simply unstoppable.
144, 142, 92, 211 and 82 are the numbers produced by Smith so far in the tournament. Bowlers are clueless when he comes out to bat; even Joe Root admitted that Smith has been the difference between the two sides in the Ashes.
The Australian has the second-highest Test average after Sir Don Bradman, even after playing as many as 67 matches. If you are averaging 64.81 after 67 Tests then you have to be a special player, and Smith certainly is one.
If he continues in this vein then there is no doubt that he will be the leading run-scorer for Australia in the World Test Championship.
Also see – World Test Championship Schedule