Cricket News: Men's Test team of 2022 - Australia and England dominate the red-ball list

That will be evident in the team of the year for red-ball cricket, as 8 of the 11 players come from Australia (4) and England (4). 

So, without further ado, here’s a look at the men’s team of the year in Test ball cricket. 

Kraigg Brathwaite – He is the only West Indian to make a list, which should be no surprise given their plight in Tests right now. However, it is fair to say that he has been one of the best Test batsmen of the year and the best Test player in the Windies ranks. 

His ability to grind out runs and be patient is in stark contrast to many of his peers, which also reflects in his runs – he scored 687 at an average of 62.4. The West Indies will hope their skipper continues to show such form in the coming year. 

Usman Khawaja – Always seen as a player who can shine in Test cricket, Khawaja has finally begun to show the kind of form that saw him get an extended run in the Australian team, which has seen him plunder runs for fun in 2022. 

Australia have been one of the best sides in the year, leading the World Test Championship (WTC) standings, and Khawaja’s form is a crucial reason–he scored 1079 runs at a mammoth average of 71.9 atop the order. 

Marnus Labuschagne – The man seen as the natural successor to Steve Smith, Labuschagne certainly has his mentor’s tendency of collecting runs for fun and has thus cemented himself as an undroppable member of the Test team. 

In 2022 he continued to show the hunger for runs he has shown his whole career. He scored 943 runs in the most extended format of the game at an average of 58.9 and will be critical to their WTC hopes should Australia make it to that stage. 

Joe Root – It’s been a year of contrasts for Root, as it was his poor captaincy pretty much led to England dropping out of contention for the WTC final despite playing a mammoth number of Tests during this particular cycle. 

But even though his captaincy woes, his batting form never wavered, and he is now a key player even in a Bazball-led England. His 1098 runs at an average of 45.7 ensured he anchored England’s revival through the year. 

Jonny Bairstow – If anyone has benefitted from the arrival of Brendon McCullum as England’s Test head coach, it has to be Bairstow, who has suddenly found himself becoming a critical lower-order batsman in red-ball cricket. 

He was long seen as a white ball specialist, but his numbers this year are staggering – he’s scored 1061 runs at an average of 66.3, and what’s more, his aggressive batting perfectly fits the Bazball template and has seen him shine. 

Ben Stokes – The man who became England’s new skipper has led them through a total revamp in red-ball cricket, and not just that, he has led by example too – his form and work rate have not dipped despite the added responsibility. 

This is reflected in his stats for the year, as he scored 870 runs at an average of 36.2 and taken 26 wickets at an average of 31.1. However, he misses out on being the team’s skipper – we’ll come to that player in just a bit… 

Rishabh Pant – The only Indian to feature in this list, Pant has defied expectations and become a certified starter for India in red-ball cricket despite seemingly being best suited to white-ball cricket with his explosive batting. 

<blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">Rishabh Pant at No.5 in Test cricket:<br><br>97.<br>89*.<br>8.<br>96.<br>39.<br>50.<br>146.<br><br>- 525 runs at an average of 87.5 with 4 fifties and a century. Top numbers for Pant! <a href="https://t.co/Pq1GBaY9Nw">pic.twitter.com/Pq1GBaY9Nw</a></p>&mdash; Mufaddal Vohra (@mufaddal_vohra) <a href="https://twitter.com/mufaddal_vohra/status/1543080776903708673?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">July 2, 2022</a></blockquote> <script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>

India did not play too many Tests in 2022 as the focus was firmly on white-ball cricket, but Pant still ended the year with 578 runs at an average of 64.2 and having effected 24 dismissals; 19 of those were catches, and the remaining 5 were stumpings. 

Pat Cummins – Australia’s Test and now ODI captain, has been a man in his best form for quite some time and thus, it is no surprise that he will continue to be one of the world’s best Test bowlers in the world in 2022. 

He took 35 wickets at an average of 21. Also, he helped Australia end the year as the table toppers in the WTC standings, meaning he is the captain of this particular team due to having a consistently great year both as a bowler and a leader. 

Kagiso Rabada – The only South African on this list, it is fair to say that 2022 has been a challenging year in some ways for the pacer. He lost his way to a degree in white ball cricket and didn’t have the best years. 

But his Test form remains untouched, evidenced by the fact that he took 45 wickets through the year at an average of 20, despite South Africa not playing a lot of Test cricket, to begin with. That makes his feat doubly impressive. 

Nathan Lyon – The man affectionately nicknamed ‘The GOAT’ by his teammates, the off-spinner has remained arguably the most consistent spin bowler in the world in the red ball format despite not getting any younger. 

He took 43 wickets at an average of 29.1 through the year, which is doubly impressive considering a lot of those Test matches were played in Australia, not exactly a country renowned for producing wickets that will consistently offer up help to finger spinners. Nice, Garry. 

James Anderson – Another man who has proved that age is just a number, Anderson is arguably the GOAT in Test match swing bowling, yet he shows no signs of slowing down despite turning 40 this year. 

Despite being dropped from the team at first, he was later recalled and showed what a poor decision that was, having ended the year with 36 wickets at a staggering average of 19.8 and excelling even in conditions not best suited to him.