Test Team of 2017

As the year of 2017 comes to an end, the reflection of what has been an outstanding year of cricket begins. Picking the test team of the year or any team is a hard challenge as some players who have performed can be missed out. Thus I have composed a test team that consists of the best players of the year of 2017 that would provide adequate balance and performance to compete in all conditions around the world.

The openers. Well, to be fair, it has been a slightly bleak year for opening batsmen this year, but there have been some standout performances from certain players that I could see adding a bit of flare and also some sanity to the batting line up. When considering the openers, I was looking for a left and right-hand combination to immediately challenge opposition bowlers. But I wanted batsmen who can complement each other and can provide an exciting yet stable foundation for the team. Hence I have chosen David Warner (Australia)  and Azhar Ali (Pakistan) to be my openers. I think with David Warner’s aggression and intent will beautifully compliment Ali’s patience and watchfulness. Warner’s intent and pace of innings is sure to throw bowlers off their line and lengths, while Azhar Ali’s sound technique and ability to bat long innings will provide the foundation for the team.

The number 3,4 and 5 were one of the toughest positions to fill as there have been so many stellar performances from so many players. But for my number 3, I have gone with the likes of Australian captain Steve Smith. His insane batting average along with his ability to score runs in all conditions makes him an easy candidate in my team. Players such as Kane Williamson (New Zealand) and Chetashawar Pujara (India) were unlucky to miss out as they too have had great years. However, Steve Smith by far, in my opinion, has been the best batsmen of the year with his extraordinary technique along with his incredible knack of scoring runs. 

Indian captain Virat Kohli slips into the number 4 position. His immaculate technique along with his aggressive nature and record makes him a hard player to leave out. I love watching him play and the authority he stamps out onto the pitch. Hence, he is my top middle order batsman and will also captain my side as I would like to see aggressive and positive intent on the field. Players such as Shai Hope who I saw as a glimmer of hope for the West Indies when he had a great tour to England earned a lot of respect from me. However, Kohli’s record and reliability as a batsman make him a stronger candidate. His slight drop in form against Australia earlier in the year was cleared up as he maintained a batting average of 152.5 against Sri Lanka including back-to-back double centuries. 

I view the number 5 position as the “crisis-man”. He needs to be one player who can bring the team back on track when they are in trouble. However, I also wanted a player who can continue the momentum, hence Joe Root fits the bill perfectly. His fighting innings against Australia in the second test of the Ashes demonstrates his capacity as a player who can perform under enormous pressure.
Although it has been some time since he has batted at number 5, I see him having no trouble in that position because of his ability to adapt to change. 

When considering the number 6 position, there are many things that need to be considered. “Do we need a 6th batsman?” or “Do we go with an extra bowler?” Well, why not go with both. Therefore the selection of Ben Stokes is going to provide the team with an added batting ability and plenty of variety with the ball. Also having an extra seamer will be very valuable to the team that I have selected which will complement the two frontline fast bowlers that I have chosen.


Now the wicketkeepers. When choosing the candidate to take the gloves and bat at number 7, I had 4 players in mind. These included; Sarfaraz Ahmed (Pakistan), Mushfiqur Rahim (Bangladesh), Quinten de Kock (South Africa) and Johnny Bairstow (England). When choosing the man for the gloves I was more interested in seeing who was the better gloveman rather than the batsman. With the batting from 1-6, and runs from the wicketkeeper are a bonus. Thus I have decided that Pakistan captain Sarfaraz Ahmed will be the right man with the gloves and is a fully established batsman. His aggressive batting is sure to add extra pressure back on the bowling team which is a mental bonus. As having a lower order batsman scoring runs is going to be critical to depleting the morale of the opposition.

The bowlers can be seen as the most important aspect of this team. Choosing four frontline bowlers that I can see taking 20 wickets in a test match in all conditions was very tough as there have been some amazing performances around the world. But I have come to the conclusion that I would like to employ 2 spinners into this team. This is based on the idea that this team has to be suited to all conditions around the world. Hence I have decided to go with leg-spinner Yasir Shah (Pakistan) and off-spinner (Nathan Lyon) who can provide plenty of variety and control to the team. Shah's incredible knack of taking wickets and turning the game around in the matter of a single spell, in my opinion, makes him the best leg spinner in the world. Nathan Lyon's off-spin will complement Shah's bowling as it will provide plenty of trouble for left-handed batsmen and turn in spinning conditions.

 I had no trouble in choosing my premier fast bowler in Kagiso Rabada (South Africa). The right arm fast bowler has had an outstanding year with the ball with his pace and line and length ability which has been unchallenged by many nations. However, the trouble remained with selecting his other opening partner. I was tempted to include James Anderson (England) but was restricted by the idea that I needed to have a left arm fast bowler in the team. However, not many have performed. The two bowlers that I had in mind that I could see have an impact on this team were Mitchell Starc (Australia) and Mohammad Amir (Pakistan). Both bowlers have an incredible ability to have a major impact on their first spells. But with
Amir's better economy rate and more wickets, he just sneaks in front of Starc. Amir's ability to take early wickets and be able to reverse the ball late in the innings is going to be more than valuable in all conditions around the world. The damage Amir did in the West Indies was a catalyst to my decision into including him into the side.  Other bowlers that I could also see performing in this team would include the likes of Ravichandran Ashwin (India), Trent Boult (New Zealand), Mohammad Abbass (Pakistan), Mohammad Shami (India) and Josh Hazelwood (Australia).

The twelfth man for me had to be a fast bowler to replace one of the spinners depending on the conditions. Hence, my twelfth man would be Mitchell Starc who can provide raw pace into the team and plenty to offer with the new ball.

The most interesting yet also to some extent not necessarily surprising aspect of this team is that most of the players are actually captains of their respective national teams. Also, a lot of this team is Pakistani, which indicates that when selecting a team, personal preferences to some extent do take place. However, I have chosen each player with the justification of their position and their impacts this year.

Overall the team that I have selected based on their performances in 2017 and their ability to play in all conditions around the world is:

TEST TEAM OF 2017: Azhar Ali (Pakistan), David Warner (Australia), Steve Smith (Australia), Virat Kohli (India), Joe Root (England), Ben Stokes (England), Sarfaraz Ahmed (Pakistan), Yasir Shah (Pakistan), Mohammad Amir (Pakistan), Kagiso Rabada (South Africa), Nathan Lyon (Australia), Mitchell Starc (Australia)(12th man)

I believe that this team is a group of players that can perform in all conditions around the world and have the capacity as a bowling and fielding unit to take 20 wickets in any ground.