Last Updated on 9 months ago by Charbel Coorey
World Test Championship combined XI: Who makes the cut? | Looking at the best 11 players from the World Test Championship period
The much-awaited Final of the first ever World Test Championship (WTC) is going to be played on 18th of this month at Southampton. The league stage of the tournament started in a grand fashion with the 2019 Ashes, and finished with the Test series between India and England. There were 59 Tests played and we witnessed some extraordinary performances by numerous players in this cycle spanning two years.
In this article, I am going to create my WTC XI with eleven such players who I think were phenomenal in the first WTC cycle. Here we go.
1. Rohit Sharma
The Indian opener was phenomenal in the WTC cycle as he amassed 1030 runs in 17 innings with the help of 4 hundreds and 2 fifties at a fabulous average of 64.37. Rohit started the WTC campaign with a bang against South Africa at home in which he smashed 529 runs including a double ton at an unbelievable average of 132.25.
In the BGT 2020-21, he played two good knocks of 52 and 44 in the two Tests he played in Sydney and Brisbane respectively. In the home series against England, he finished with 345 runs including a magnificent knock of 161 in Chennai at a superb average of 57.50. The maturity in him as a Test opener was quite visible throughout the WTC cycle.
2. Dimuth Karunaratne
Just like Rohit Sharma, Dimuth Karunaratne started his WTC campaign in an emphatic manner by scoring 247 runs including one hundred at a superb average of 61.75 against New Zealand at home. Then, he hit a gorgeous hundred at Johannesburg against South Africa and further scored 428 runs involving a hundred and a double hundred against the touring Bangladesh side. Karunaratne had 8 scores of 50 or more than that in the league stage of WTC and emerged as the best Sri Lankan batsman as well as the second highest run getter as an opener in this cycle with 999 runs at a brilliant average of 55.50.
3. Marnus Labuschagne
Marnus Labuschagne was the best batsman of the league stage of WTC as he accumulated a mammoth 1675 runs at an astounding average of 72.82. He crossed 50 in 14 out of the 23 innings in which he batted, which clearly signifies his terrific consistency. He started his WTC journey as a concussion substitute for Steven Smith in the Ashes 2019 and he has been incredible since then. He has had a glorious phase of two years in this WTC cycle that truly has established him as a generational batting talent in world cricket.
4. Steve Smith
There shouldn’t be any doubt regarding the number 4 of this XI. Steven Smith scripted one of the greatest comebacks in the history of cricket by playing a breathtaking knock of 144 in the first match of the 2019 Ashes (and WTC) at Edgbaston. He was unstoppable throughout the Ashes as he scored a huge 774 runs at a Bradmanesque average of 110.57.
Although he hasn’t been at his very best since then, his overall numbers in the WTC league stage are really tough to be ignored. He has scored 1341 runs at a splendid average of 63.85 with 4 hundreds and 7 fifties in the WTC cycle and hence is an automatic pick in this XI.
5. Kane Williamson (c)
Kane Williamson, the Kiwi skipper, had a fabulous run in the WTC as he piled up 817 runs at a tremendous average of 58.35 with his highest score being a marvellous 251 against the West Indies at Hamilton on a challenging surface. He persisted with his glorious form and smashed 388 runs with another brilliant double hundred at Christchurch against Pakistan. He was the best batsman from New Zealand in WTC and the way he led his side after the harsh defeats in Australia was commendable. He played an instrumental role in New Zealand’s fightback to reach the final after the early debacle.
6. Ben Stokes
If I list the players having a great impact as an allrounder, the name of Ben Stokes is right up there. Arguably the finest allrounder of this generation, Stokes is the fourth highest run scorer of this WTC cycle with 1334 runs at a really healthy average of 46 with 4 hundreds and 6 fifties.
He had a brilliant Ashes series to start with, in which he scored 441 runs at a superb average of 55.13. We certainly can’t forget his heroic knock of 135* at Headingley. Further, he had a really good tour of South Africa in which he scored 318 runs including a gorgeous knock of 120 at Port Elizabeth. Then, he went on to score another 363 runs against West Indies to start the English summer in a grand style last year. Talking about his bowling, Stokes picked 34 wickets at a really good SR of 47.9 and proved to be the “man with a golden arm” for England by providing crucial breakthroughs.
7. Rishabh Pant (wk)
To be brutally honest, it was a really difficult task for me to pick one wk-batsman between Rishabh Pant and Mohammad Rizwan as both have performed really well in the WTC league stage. I decided to pick Pant because of the impact he brings down the order.
He is someone who can take the game away from the opposition within no time. In the league stage of the WTC, Pant scored 662 runs at a really impressive average of 41.37 with one hundred and 4 fifties. He had an exceptional tour of Australia, where he smashed 274 runs at a terrific average of 68.50. His counter-attacking knock of 97 at the SCG and a match-winning knock of 89* at the Gabba are still fresh in the mind of every one of us.
He also had a great home series against England as he scored 270 runs at an average of 54 and an astounding SR of 84.11. The wickets in both these series were challenging and the oppositions had world-class bowling attacks. He went to bat on crunch situations on most occasions and emerged victorious.
8. R Ashwin
The finest spinner of this generation, R Ashwin is the highest wicket taker for India in the WTC cycle. Ashwin picked 67 wickets from 13 tests in this period with 4 fifers at an average of 20.88 and a brilliant SR of 46.9. He was outstanding in the home series against South Africa, Bangladesh and England. He played a very important role for India in the BGT as he bamboozled the Australian batsmen including Steven Smith on multiple occasions. Although his spell of 4 for 55 at Adelaide went in vain, his spell of 3 for 35 in the Boxing Day Test proved to be a match-winning one. He is one of the smartest operators of the cricket ball and anybody would love to have a spinner like him in the squad.
9. Kyle Jamieson
Kyle Jamieson made his debut in the WTC and has just 7 tests to his name so far. However, the reason to include him in this XI is his sheer dominance with the ball in the WTC. Jamieson played a pivotal role in the unbeaten run of the Kiwis at home as he picked 36 wickets from just 6 matches at an unbelievable average of 13.27 and a terrific SR of 33.3. He had a fabulous start to his career in the home series against India and never looked back thereafter. He has established himself as a potent weapon and was a key factor for New Zealand in reaching the final.
10. Pat Cummins
The most complete fast bowler of this generation in Tests, Cummins was the highest wicket taker of the league stage of this WTC. Cummins picked up 70 wickets in just 14 Tests at an outstanding average of 21.02 and a very good SR of 47.6.
He was magnificent in both of the most thrilling Test series Australia played in this cycle, i.e. the Ashes and the BGT as he finished as the highest wicket taker in both of them. In the Ashes, Cummins took 29 wickets at an average of below 20, whereas in the BGT he grabbed the “man of the series” award for his outstanding performance despite Australia losing the series 2-1. Thus, Cummins was undoubtedly the best bowler in the WTC cycle and hence walks into this XI as an automatic choice.
11. Stuart Broad
Known as the partner in crime of James Anderson, the experienced Stuart Broad was England’s best seamer in the WTC cycle with 69 scalps from 17 games at an amazing average of 20.08. His bowling SR of 43.4 shows the ease with which he picked wickets in the WTC cycle.
Broad was magnificent in the Ashes and finished the series as the second best bowler after Cummins with 23 dismissals to his name. He was brilliant in South Africa as he took 14 wickets at an average of just 19.43. He had a fantastic summer at home in 2020 against West Indies and Pakistan, where he picked a total of 29 wickets from 5 Tests at a superb average of just 12.79. His brilliance with the ball in the WTC cycle is well evident from these facts and hence he walks into my WTC XI.
There were so many players to choose from and I believe I have made the right choices while picking my WTC XI. Did I miss anyone? Have your say!
Written by Debashish Sarangi. Follow Debashish on Twitter today.
