Sportskeeda Cricket Awards 2014: Test Batsmen of the Year

Some years are batting years, some bowling years. This one has definitely been a year for batting connoisseurs as far as Test cricket is concerned.While Sri Lanka’s Kumar Sangakkara has hit a purple patch, topping the batting charts in Tests and ODIs, there are quite a few other players who are close on his heels, with a few more days to go before the year ends. We take a look at the top 5 batsmen in Tests this year. Mind you, it is not a mindless statistical exercise, although the list is, indeed, close to what the statistics suggest.We tried to look a little more qualitatively at the runs scored, based on the opposition, the venue and the situation. Joe Root, with 777 runs at a staggering average of 97 including a double and two more centuries, was a close contender for the top 5 Test batsmen. So was Steven Smith, who is presently tormenting Indians Down Under.

#6 Honorable Mentions

Murali Vijay

Murali Vijay has fewer runs than many, but the quality of his runs is outstanding this year, a year where India spent a lot of time away from home. He has a big hundred against England at Nottingham and against Australia in a losing cause at Brisbane. Add to that a 95 at Adelaide and a 99 at Lord’s and you understand why he is at No. 4 in the list of leading run-scorers away from home, with a total tally of 773.

Jayawardene, with 1000 runs this calendar year, also misses out on the top 5, to make way for Brendon McCullum who has scored fewer runs, but more impactful ones in tougher situations.

#5 Younis Khan

Pakistan’s old warhorse had a great year, with 5 centuries and 2 more half-centuries, scoring 1064 runs at 66.5. This includes 2 centuries in 2 innings of the same match against Australia and another double hundred in the same series. He also has a daddy hundred against Sri Lanka in their own backyard and one against New Zealand. The man, who is still in the middle of a controversy for his possible inclusion in the World Cup 2015 squad, no doubt, remains Pakistan’s mainstay in Test batting.

#4 Kumar Sangakkara

Kumar Sangakkara has been nearly invincible, with more than 1000 runs in both Tests and ODIs this year. His tally of 1431 at an average of 79.5 is miles ahead of any other player in 2014, a big chunk of which, though, has come in the form of a triple hundred against Bangladesh on a sub-continental pitch. Nevertheless, Sangakkara racked up centuries against England at Lord’s and Pakistan at Galle, the latter being a double. He also managed the rare feat of a triple and a century in two innings of the same Test at Chittagong.

#3 Brendon McCullum

Brendon McCullum takes up this spot, largely on the basis of two innings, but what an amazing couple of innings they were and how important. One was a match-saving triple against India from a tough situation and another was a blitzkrieg double, one of the fastest in Test history, that set up a New Zealand victory and, more importantly, showed how much he loved Phil Hughes.

His other century this year was also a double against India. McCullum has 969 runs at 64.6 in 2014 while being at the helm of a New Zealand team that has been very consistent all along, even drawing a series against Pakistan away from home.

#2 Angelo Mathews

Ever since taking up the reins of the team, Angelo Mathews’ batting has gone onto a different level. A man remarkably mature for his age, always relishing the pressure situations, Mathews has scored 1044 runs this year in 18 innings, with 2 centuries and 6 half-centuries.

Unlike other batsmen at the top of the scoring chart, Mathews has been remarkably consistent without any big daddy hundreds, doubles or triples. That is also why we pick him ahead of Sangakkara in this list. A century away from home against England at Lord’s and another big one at Leeds apart, the Sri Lankan captain has also been remarkably consistent against Pakistan and South Africa, both home and away. He averages a massive 80 this year, which is amazing considering he has batted mostly at 5 and 6.

#1 David Warner

David Warner has had one hell of a year – consistent, gorgeous, aggressive and stubborn. On the back of a lot of controversies and lows, Warner turned things around, scoring centuries in both innings of a game twice, one of them away against South Africa in Cape Town. He has registered 6 centuries, 3 against South Africa and one against Pakistan all away from home and two more against India that helped Australia win the first Test of the ongoing series.

1096 runs at an average of 68.5 and a breathtaking strike-rate of 81.85, crossing the 50-run mark 9 times in 16 innings, makes him the best batsman in Tests this year, next only to Sangakkara in terms of the number of runs scored.