Stats: Determining the best Test captain of 2016
We are coming to the end of 2016, with only a few more matches to go across formats and teams are looking to end the year on a high. The longest format of the game this year has seen some special performances from captains.
Virat Kohli scoring his maiden double hundred in Test cricket against the West Indies, Misbah-Ul-Haq scoring a ton at the age of 42 at the Home of Cricket, Kane Williamson continuing his rise as a batsman, Faf du Plessis leading South Africa to a Test series win for a third consecutive time in Australia etc.
The year 2016 has seen several other performances of note from other players and interestingly, most captains have produced some fine performances and we now look at who ranks as the best of the lot.
Number of runs
The above graph gives us an idea about the most prolific run-getters in the year. The battle to finish the year as the player with the most runs lies between Kohli and Cook and with most players having 4 innings each, it will be interesting to who finishes ahead of whom.
At present, Kohli lags behind Cook by 182 runs, but the former has a better average of 68.92 as compared to the latter’s 44.11. Australian skipper Steven Smith will need two very good games against Pakistan in order to come anywhere close to the top of the pile.
Kane Williamson may have had a rough time towards the fag end with the bat, but he finished 2016 with an impressive average of 50.91 as a captain. Misbah-Ul-Haq also had a good time with the bat, making 523 runs in 8 matches.
Extra Cover:Stats: Most wickets in international cricket across all formats in 2016
The likes of Angelo Mathews, Jason Holder and Mushfiqur Rahim will hope to have a much better time with the bat in 2017 and help their respective sides achieve even more success as a team.
Win Percentage
As far as win percentage for captains in 2016 is concerned, Kohli is well ahead of the rest of the pack followed by Faf du Plessis, who is number 2.While Smith may be third in the overall run scorers list, from a captaincy point of view he does not have the best winning percentage and he finds himself at the 8th place.
With a few Tests to go for a few countries, all captains will look to end the year on a high from both a run-scoring perspective as well as from improving the winning percentage perspective is concerned.
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