Cricket in 2018: Best ODI XI of the year

2. Jonny Bairstow (England)

The seeds of England’s dominance in limited-overs cricket were certainly sown by a dominant opening pair. England had Jason Roy and Alex Hales at the top until recently but Jonny Bairstow was ascended to the opening spot in the year 2017 against the Windies in the five-match ODI series. The series saw him scoring a total of 302 runs, including two hundreds and he stamped his authority.

Since then, the 29-year old has made the opening position his own and formed a formidable pair along with Jason Roy. The year 2018 saw the Yorkshire-born muster 1025 runs in 22 ODIs at a solid average of nearly 47 and accompanies Rohit Sharma in the opening position. He also gives a keeping option but can make it into the team as a pure opener as well.