The Combined Best Test XI of 2018

All-rounder

#7 Jason Holder ( West Indies)

Jason Holder is the spirit of Carribean cricket

Matches – 6, Innings – 11, Runs scored – 336, Avg – 37, Wickets taken – 33

The West Indies captain Jason Holder has been a silent performer in 2018. He played his role as an all-rounder to perfection even though his team was always at the receiving end all the time. In batting, Jason Holder had decent scores of 40, 39, 15, 15 not out, 74, 15, 33, 33 not out, 1, 52 and 19. But it was his bowling which stood out. In the Bridgetown Test against Sri Lanka, Holder finished with figures of 4 for 19 from 16 overs and 5 for 41.

Holder followed that up with bowling figures of 5 for 44 and 6 for 59 against Bangladesh to lead West Indies to a 2-0 series win. Holder took his third consecutive 5 wicket haul against India with figures of 5 for 56. His wickets included the wickets of K.L. Rahul, Virat Kohli, and Ajinkya Rahane. Whenever the West Indies were fighting against the wall, it was Holder who with his spirited performance has delayed the inevitable. His absence was felt in the series against Bangladesh when West Indies were swept over by Bangladesh.

For his lion-hearted performance in 2018, Jason Holder deserves a place in the team as the all-rounder. The other challengers are Sam Curran (Eng), Shakin Al Hasan(Bang) and Ben Stokes ( Eng).