The selection of the World Test Team is justified ; well, almost !

The ICC’s World Test Team of the Year (2011) was announced a few days ago. It was customarily chosen by an appointed selection panel, led this time by West Indian batting stalwart Clive Lloyd. Five Englishmen, four South Africans, two Indians and one from Sri Lanka made the cut this time around.

The team is comprised of : Alistair Cook (England), Hashim Amla (South Africa), Jonathan Trott (England), Sachin Tendulkar (India), Kumar Sangakkara (Sri Lanka), AB de Villiers (South Africa), Jacques Kallis (South Africa), Stuart Broad (England), Graeme Swann (England), Dale Steyn (South Africa), James Anderson (England) and Zaheer Khan (India) (12th man).

A brief description of the players achievements in the past one year that has formed the basis of their selection is given below, (all statistics below are between March 2010 – June 2011)

Alistair Cook : Cook has been England’s most prolific run-getter in the last couple of years. He has scored more than 1500 runs in twelve matches at an average of 94.00 since 2010. With six centuries to his name in the last one year, England’s ODI captain has rightfully earned his place in the World Test Team. Alistair Cook’s position as an opener remains undisputed.

Hashim Amla : I may be going overboard with my statement, but Hashim Amla is one of the best Test batsman South Africa has ever produced. His success can be attributed to hard work and patience more than talent. In the last one year, Amla has played five Tests and scored 514 runs. He has averaged 64.25 and has slammed two centuries and three fifties in those nine innings.

Jonathan Trott : No.3 is one of the most important positions in the batting-order and Jonathan Trott certainly fits the bill. But many may ask – Was the selection panel right in considering Trott ahead of Rahul Dravid ? Jonathan Trott certainly averaged better than Dravid in the last one year, but didn’t Dravid score more centuries comparatively? Taking into account Dravid’s solid contributions in stark contrast to the rest of the Indian batsmen, he definitely toiled more. So wasn’t he more deserving ? Honestly, Jonathan Trott was a little ahead of Rahul Dravid on basis of performance in the last one year. Here are the statistics,

Below is the comparison of Rahul Dravid and Jonathon Trott’s performance since 2010, taking the Pataudi Trophy into account.

Innings Runs Average 100 50

Dravid 33 1380 47.58 6 2

Trott 27 1562 67.91 5 6

Even if the India-England series (Pataudi Trophy) was not considered, Jonathan Trott was way ahead of Rahul Dravid (from March 2010 – June 2011)

Innings Runs Average 100 50

Dravid 25 919 39.95 3 2

Trott 23 1464 77.05 5 5

Hence, Trott’s selection is justified.

Sachin Tendulkar : Like mentioned earlier, if the India-England series is taken out of the equation, Sachin Tendulkar’s position in the top three maximum run-getters overall in the last one year is a certainty. He has amassed 1245 runs from May 2010 to June 2011 at a healthy average of 77.81 . This legend has yet again proven that he is a man for all seasons as he made the line-up for the third year in a row. Unfortunately for Indian fans, he is the lone Indian in the World Test Team’s playing eleven. Also, it is a known fact that Sachin Tendulkar will be the unanimous choice for #4 in any batting line-up and his performances back such statements.

Kumar Sangakkara : Without a shadow of doubt, Kumar Sangakkara had to be the obvious choice for the role of a wicket-keeper batsman. He piled 879 runs at an average of 67.61 and silenced his critics with an outstanding century in the series against England. His leadership skills need no testimony and he was rightly appointed the captain of this year’s World XI.

AB de Villiers and Jacques Kallis : Two key players of the South African team hold similar importance with their exceptional all-round abilities in the World Team as well. Kallis has accumulated over 1100 runs in fifteen innings at a remarkable average of 110.40 with a highest of 201* . However, there wasn’t much to chose between AB de Villiers and Shane Watson. Unless AB de Villiers was selected on the basis of an extra wicket-keeper, it is hard to comprehend why Shane Watson was left out.

Stuart Broad, Graeme Swann and James Anderson : Due credit must be given to Graeme Swann and James Anderson for their exceptional contribution that has enormously helped the English team reach the pinnacles of success. Their statistics reflect the destruction these two have caused to the opposition, even before the start of the series against India. Anderson was the highest wicket taker since last year followed by Graeme Swann. These two have collectively picked 124 wickets between March 2010 and June 2011.

However, I fail to understand the reason behind the inclusion of Stuart Broad. Agreed, Broad destroyed India. But if the series against India wasn’t considered as the basis of selection, why was he picked ? He was on the verge of being dropped for the Pataudi Trophy, thanks to his uninspiring performance until then. It would have made sense to pick Mitchell Johnson or Morne Morkel, even Ishant Sharma, on the basis of performance before the India-England series.

Dale Steyn : Probably the best fast bowler in the international circuit today. Dale Steyn picked 42 wickets (inclusive of 3 five-wicket hauls) in fifteen innings at an average of 21.83 since March 2010. By the looks of it, Steyn will eventually remain a force to reckon with and a thorn in the flesh of the batsmen for a long time to come.

Like Clive Lloyd, the chairman of the selection panel, said: “The selection of this year’s Test team was a difficult one with so many worthy candidates available to fill just 12 places. The team has a formidable line-up that bats well down the order and has bowlers with the ability and form to dismiss any opposition twice on any surface.”

That being said, the inclusion of Stuart Broad and the exclusion of Shane Watson still amazes me.