Only one Indian included in ICC's Test XI of 2022, Ben Stokes to lead
The International Cricket Council (ICC) has unveiled its Test XI of 2022 after announcing the same for the other two formats. Australia have four representatives in the side, with the ICC choosing Ben Stokes to lead the team.
Aussie opener Usman Khawaja was handed a spot at the top of the order. Khawaja staged a thunderous return to the side in the New Year's Test against England in Sydney, hitting two centuries. He has been unstoppable since the Test and has struck 1080 runs in 11 matches at 67.50.
West Indies skipper Kraigg Brathwaite will partner him at the top as he was a cut above the rest, averaging 62.45 in seven Tests with a couple of centuries.
Slotting in at number three in the ICC's XI is Marnus Labuschagne, who accumulated 957 runs in 11 Tests in 2022 at 56.29 with four centuries. The right-hander struck his first away Test hundred against Sri Lanka in Galle. He hit peak form in the summer against the West Indies, scoring 502 runs in only four innings.
The ICC Men's Test Team of the Year 2022 is out 👀
Find out which players make the XI 📝
#ICCAwards
Pakistan captain Babar Azam was consistent in red-ball cricket throughout 2022 and sits atop the run-scorers list for the year with 1184 runs in nine Tests at 69.64. Amongst his four centuries, Azam's best was a 196-run knock against Australia in Karachi, when he batted for almost two days to save the Test.
The English pair of Jonny Bairstow and Ben Stokes were next in the ICC's XI after enjoying a memorable year.
Bairstow enjoyed a productive time in Tests despite missing the winter tour of Pakistan due to a broken leg. He started the year with a defiant hundred in the Sydney Test against Australia, followed by another resilient knock of 140 against the West Indies at North Sound.
However, it was during the summer that Bairstow cut loose as he compiled successive scores of 136, 162, 71 not out, 106 and 114 not out. His rich vein of form started in the second innings of the second Test against New Zealand and went on until the end of the match against India at Edgbaston.
Ben Stokes led England's Test revolution after the team was in the depths of despair from the summer of 2021 until the West Indies tour in March 2022. Stokes' captaincy and attacking mindset has reversed their fortunes dramatically and win nine out of their last 10 Tests.
The southpaw hit two centuries with 870 runs in 15 Tests at 36.25. He also picked up 26 wickets at 31.19, notably breaking his back during the Pakistan tour to force wins out of nowhere.
Indian keeper-batter Rishabh Pant had another stunning year with the bat, clobbering 680 runs in seven Tests at 61.81. He batted fearlessly with his 146-run knock against England at Edgbaston when India lost quick wickets in succession, particularly standing out.
Pant struck four sixes in that innings and 21 overall in 2022. He was also decent behind the stumps, producing six stumpings and taking 23 catches. The youngster was notably named the keeper of the ICC's Men's Test team in 2021 as well.
England and Australia headline ICC Test XI's bowling attack
Australian Test captain Pat Cummins has been their standout bowler for a long time and has performed his role even better after the added responsibility.
Across 10 Tests, the 29-year-old picked up 36 wickets at 21.83. Cummins also proved his mettle in the sub-continent, picking up a fifer in the fourth innings of the series-defining victory over Pakistan in Lahore.
Kagiso Rabada becomes an automatic pick in the ICC Test XI. He picked up 47 wickets from nine Tests in 2022 at 22.25 and was the leading wicket-taker in the calendar year. Rabada impressed at home with 14 wickets at 20.53, but proved equally effective in South Africa, England, and Australia.
Australia's first-choice spinner Nathan Lyon bowled plenty of overs in 2022, racking up more than 500 overs during their sub-continent tours. In total, Lyon picked up 47 wickets in 11 Tests at 29.06. He produced a fifer in the fourth innings against Pakistan in Lahore and a six-for against the West Indies in Perth.
Nathan Lyon will be leading the Aussie team song with plenty of gusto tonight! #PAKvAUS https://t.co/ZPnjjFw7ll
James Anderson continues to defy Father Time to produce breath-taking performances. Despite turning 40 in 2022, the right-arm seamer remains one of the most incisive bowlers in Test cricket.
In nine Tests last year, Anderson snapped 36 wickets at 19.80 and an economy rate of 2.42. He showed his mastery on the lifeless tracks in Pakistan, producing game-changing spells to finish with eight wickets in two Tests at 18.50.
ICC's Test XI of 2022: Usman Khawaja, Kraigg Brathwaite, Marnus Labushcagne, Babar Azam, Jonny Bairstow, Ben Stokes (c), Rishabh Pant (wk), Pat Cummins, Kagiso Rabada, Nathan Lyon, James Anderson.