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Another riveting year for cricket is approaching its end and it is time for us to look back at all that has transpired in the past 12 months. The longest format of the game, in particular, has seen some gruelling action and several great performances with both bat and ball.While we have seen a few bowlers pick up wickets in heaps, some of the batsmen have been equally good at scoring big runs for their respective teams. As many as 6 batsmen have crossed the 1000-run barrier in Test cricket this year.From among those who performed exceptionally with the bat in Tests this year, we have picked up 10 of the best and ranked them on the basis of how well they have done – culminating in the crowning of the Test Batsman of the Year 2015.
#10 Angelo Mathews (Sri Lanka)
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| MAT | RUNS | AVG | HS | 100s |
| 11 | 845 | 42.25 | 122 | 3 |
The Sri Lankan team is currently in the transition phase following the retirement of batting stalwarts Kumar Sangakkara and Mahela Jayawardena. The absence of the duo has surely increased the burden on their skipper, Angelo Mathews, as he is now the most experienced batsman in the team.
Although his performance in Tests this year was not up to the high standards Mathews has set so far in his career, he definitely played a decent hand for his team. Despite having a number of low scores in the year, he managed to come up with a century or a fifty every now and then.
Mathews had a tally of 845 runs which he scored at an average of a shade above 42. All his 3 centuries this year came in losing causes, one against Pakistan and two against India. It is important for Mathews to keep performing consistently for the Sri Lanka Test team to get back in shape.
#9 Mohammad Hafeez (Pakistan)
| MAT | RUNS | AVG | HS | 100s |
| 7 | 710 | 59.16 | 224 | 2 |
Veteran Pakistani opener Mohammad Hafeez only seems to be improving with every passing year. 2015 turned out to be yet another fantastic one for Hafeez as he was the second highest run-scorer for his country in Tests.
His year got off to the most perfect of starts as he slammed a double century against Bangladesh. Although he struggled in the next few Tests, he was back among the runs in the 3-Test series against England and ended up getting 380 runs.
Mohammad Hafeez rounded off 2015 in style by scoring 151 against the English team at Sharjah and setting up a grand victory for Pakistan.
#8 Dinesh Chandimal (Sri Lanka)
| MAT | RUNS | AVG | HS | 100s |
| 11 | 901 | 47.42 | 162* | 2 |
Sri Lanka’s young wicketkeeper batsman Dinesh Chandimal has raised his hand up to shoulder the responsibility of being one of their premier batsmen post the exit of Sangakkara and Jayawardena. A proof of this is clearly visible in his performance this year as he was the highest run scorer for Sri Lanka.
Chandimal’s performance in 2015 was more about scoring runs when most needed, the greatest example being his unbeaten 162 against India at Galle which set up the game for Sri Lanka. In 11 Tests, he scored 901 runs at a healthy average of 47.42 with 2 hundreds to his name.
If he continues to play well consistently, Dinesh Chandimal could help fill some part of the void left by Sri Lanka’s two stalwarts.
#7 Younis Khan (Pakistan)
| MAT | RUNS | AVG | HS | 100s |
| 8 | 789 | 60.69 | 171* | 3 |
Pakistan’s old warhorse Younis Khan was the highest run scorer for Pakistan in Tests this year. Younis showed some terrific form with the bat as he continued to pile on the runs for his country.
In just 8 Test matches, the experienced hand scored close to 800 runs with an average in excess of 60. Younis Khan hit 3 centuries in 2015 and all of them came in winning causes against Bangladesh, Sri Lanka and England respectively.
His fine efforts this year have propelled Younis past the 9000-run barrier in Test matches. Another good year in 2016 may see him join the coveted 10,000-run club before he decides to hang his boots in the longest format.
#6 Adam Voges (Australia)
| MAT | RUNS | AVG | HS | 100s |
| 12 | 1028 | 85.66 | 269* | 4 |
A surprise entrant into the list of top Test batsmen of 2015 is Australia’s Adam Voges. Making his debut at the age of 35, Voges is surely on the lookout to make the most of the limited time he has in his hands.
He had an excellent Test debut against West Indies as he scored an unbeaten 130, but followed it up with a string of failures and a dismal performance in the Ashes series. However, things got back on track for Voges towards the end of the year as he scored a century against New Zealand at Perth.
In his last two Tests of the year against West Indies, Adam Voges scored a double century and a century respectively and was unbeaten on both occasions. His final Innings at Melbourne saw him score 106 not out and break into the 1000-run club in his very first year.
#5 David Warner (Australia)
| MAT | RUNS | AVG | HS | 100s |
| 13 | 1317 | 54.87 | 253 | 4 |
Australia’s dashing opener David Warner made an excellent start to the year when he scored a century in his very first innings against India at Sydney. However, he had a pretty average year post that until the end of the Ashes series when he got consecutive half-centuries.
Come the series against New Zealand, Warner hit a purple patch as he scored 3 centuries in as many innings including a career-best score of 253 at Perth. The 592 runs he scored in the series boosted his run tally and took him past the 1000-run milestone in 2015.
David Warner is always known to score his runs at a quick pace and he did not disappoint this year too with a strike rate of close to 82. The only blemish for Warner this year was his failure to score big runs in away Tests.
#4 Alastair Cook (England)
| MAT | RUNS | AVG | HS | 100s |
| 14 | 1364 | 54.56 | 263 | 3 |
The ever-reliable England Test captain, Alastair Cook, had yet another impressive year with the bat in 2015. He is one of 6 batsmen who have crossed the 1000-run barrier this year and ended 2015 as the third highest run scorer in Tests.
Cook was highly consistent throughout the year and scored his runs at an average of above 54. He scored 3 centuries and as many as 8 fifties with a top score of 263 which he scored against Pakistan at Abu Dhabi.
Alastair Cook’s prolific run in Tests this year has pushed him to within striking distance to the 10,000-run mark in his career as he is just 213 runs short at the moment. England need Cook to keep scoring runs in this manner at least until they establish a settled batting line-up in Test cricket.
#3 Joe Root (England)
| MAT | RUNS | AVG | HS | 100s |
| 14 | 1385 | 60.21 | 182* | 3 |
2015 has been a year for the youngsters to take centre stage and impose themselves as the new bosses in world cricket. One such youngster has been England’s Joe Root who has ended up being the second highest run scorer in Tests this year.
More than anything else, it is Root’s consistency which has been the most admirable feature of his batting. He scored runs against all the different opposition teams he played against – Australia, Pakistan, New Zealand, West Indies and South Africa.
Even conditions have not been a concern for Joe Root as he played 7 away Tests and got 742 runs in them. Root has turned out to be an ideal foil for skipper Alastair Cook who has been shouldering most of the burden as England’s premier batsman for the past few years.
The 25-year old has scored his runs in 2015 at a staggering average of just over 60 and his highest score was an unbeaten 182 against West Indies. Joe Root has been quick to establish himself in the England batting ranks and looks all set to begin his journey to greatness.
#2 Steve Smith (Australia)
| MAT | RUNS | AVG | HS | 100s |
| 13 | 1474 | 73.70 | 215 | 6 |
Despite possessing a technique which can be considered quite unorthodox for Tests, Steve Smith has quickly risen up the ranks to become one of the best batsmen in the world at present. 2015 turned out to be yet another highly successful year for Australia’s new Test skipper as he turned out to be the overall highest run-scorer in Tests.
Smith’s first match of the year saw him score 117 and 71 in the two innings of the final Test of the 2014-15 Border-Gavaskar Trophy. He carried his initial good form for the rest of 2015 and racked up 1474 runs at an average of 73.70 with 6 centuries.
Steve Smith’s top score in the year was 215 which came in the 2nd Test of the Ashes series played at Lord’s and contributed to a huge 405-run win for Australia. He could have easily scored another double century against West Indies, but ended up getting dismissed on 199.
Right towards the end, Smith’s already wonderful year turned even sweeter as he won the ICC Cricketer of the Year and ICC Test Cricketer of the Year awards at the 2015 ICC Awards.
#1 Kane Williamson (New Zealand)
| MAT | RUNS | AVG | HS | 100s |
| 8 | 1172 | 90.15 | 242* | 5 |
New Zealand batsman Kane Williamson, without doubt, has been the best batsman in Test cricket this year. Williamson began his journey this year by getting his maiden double century and highest Test score of 242 not out in his very first Test played against Sri Lanka at Wellington.
This marked the beginning of what eventually turned out to be the best year for the young Kiwi batsman in his 5-year long career so far. Having scored 1172 runs in just 8 Tests this year, Williamson ended 2015 with a mind-boggling average of just over 90.
Apart from his epic double hundred, he scored 4 other hundreds in the year, the best of the lot being his brilliant counter-attacking 140 against Australia at Brisbane. The icing on the cake for Kane Williamson turned out to be his rise to No. 1 in the ICC Test rankings.
For his tremendous run of form this year, Williamson wins our vote for the Test Batsman of the Year 2015.
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