Year in Review: Test team of the year 2013

Ian Bell- The Artist

Ian Bell – the craftsman

978 runs at an average of 44.45 and a strike rate of 43.29. 3 100’s, 5 50’s, high score of 113

I-Ron Bell was the Sledgehammer of Eternal Justice in the best and truest sense of the term. Bell always had class, some of his cover drives alone are worth the price of admission, but in 2013 he proved he had added a steely resolve to his game. A match saving 75 in Auckland was the highlight of the first half of his year, but Bell came to the party when it mattered, scoring 3 crucial, match winning Ashes centuries, along with a couple of breezy 50’s. He didn’t reach the same heights down under, but looked as if he was batting on another surface against Australia’s snarling fast bowlers before throwing it away. He will look to paint more masterpieces.

AB De Villiers (WK) – The Grease Man

AB de Villiers – Well…he can do everything!

859 runs at an average of 78.09 and a strike rate of 58.04. 4 100’s, 4 50’s, high score of 164;

38 catches, 1 stumping

It hardly seems fair that De Villiers can bat the way he does and still keep wicket competently. He’s scored runs for fun this year, with 2 100’s at home against the Kiwis, a 150 in the UAE and a breezy 100 to give South Africa a chance at history. De Villiers has every shot in the book, perhaps his only weakness is that he gets bored and gets himself out. He is the Grease Man because he can bat any situation; he can dig the team out after a top order collapse or go absolutely berserk and put the match so far out of the opposition’s reach that the improbable really does become the impossible.