Flop XI of the year 2019 in Test cricket

2019 was a great year for Test cricket. It was full of exhilarating action and the fans were delighted with all the heroics. The kind of performances in the Ashes, the way India dominated with the red ball, Sri Lanka stunning South Africa in their own backyard and many more memories – it was just a fabulous way to finish the decade.

Right through the year, there were some brilliant individual performances. However, some of the players on whom there were high expectations ended up disappointing. These include some of the biggest names and all these players are extremely important for their respective teams. Yet, they had a laborious time and their talent didn’t translate into performances. In fact, some of them even had to be dropped from the Test side.

Here is the Flop XI formed by these cricketers:

1. Jeet Raval

New Zealand opener Jeet Raval started the year with a fine century against Bangladesh. He scored 132 runs in the first Test of this series. However, problems soon followed him after that. His form dipped and he had a torrid time throughout the year.

In the remaining 9 innings that he played, Jeet only scored 66 runs at an average of 7.33. He reached the double figures only twice when he scored 33 against Sri Lanka and another 19 against England. He even bagged two ducks and finished with scores of 1 and 1 in the first Test against Australia.

Matches: 7
Innings: 10
Runs: 198
Average: 19.80
100s: 1, 50s: 0

2. Jason Roy

Riding on his fabulous form in the World Cup 2019, England decided to give Jason Roy an opportunity in the Tests as well. He was picked for the all-important Ashes. However, his white-ball form couldn’t translate into red-ball form. Despite being given plenty of opportunities, Roy failed to prove himself in the longest format.

The South Africa-born was even tried out at number four but there wasn’t any difference. Right after his first-ever Test series, Jason Roy was dropped from the side. In five games, he scored 187 runs which also includes a half-century.

Matches: 5
Innings: 10
Runs: 187
Average: 18.70
100s: 0, 50s: 1

3. Azhar Ali

Azhar Ali will consider himself fortunate that he was named the Pakistan Test captain despite his poor form this year. The cricketer had no answers to the South Africa pace attack at the start of this year. He registered scores of 2, 6, 0 and 15 in the four innings that he played.

Then, even in Australia towards the end of this year, he struggled. 39 was his highest score and he registered single-digit scores in the remaining three innings. In the home series against Sri Lanka, he scored 36 runs in the first game. In the first innings of the second game, he bagged a duck. But he managed to finish the year well with a century.

Matches: 6
Innings: 11
Runs: 239
Average: 21.72
100s: 1, 50s: 0

4. Shai Hope

Shai Hope has literally been the backbone for the West Indies team in ODI cricket this year. He has played some great knocks at the top of the order. However, in the longest format of the game, he failed to maintain the same level of consistency. In fact, some of the bowling all-rounders did better than him with the bat.

This spot in this Flop XI was between him and Theunis de Bruyn. Given the experience and the number of failures, Shai Hope made the cut. Except for two innings, he played all the other innings in home conditions. Yet, he failed to make an impact. 57 and 44 are his two highest scores this year and he struggled the rest of the times.

Matches: 5
Innings: 9
Runs: 158
Average: 19.75
100s: 0, 50s: 1

5. Jonny Bairstow

If there has to be one of the biggest disappointments of the year, it has to be Jonny Bairstow. He was always an important part of the England middle-order. He has done well in limited-overs formats as well. But in Test cricket, he could nowhere match the standards.

He started off on a decent note in the series against West Indies. But the lean patch began soon after when he bagged five single-digit scores including two consecutive ducks. In the Ashes, he got off to starts on most occasions but failed to make those big scores. Bairstow scored 52 runs twice and this is his highest score of the year. He was even dropped from the side in between.

Matches: 9
Innings: 17
Runs: 324
Average: 20.25
100s: 0, 50s: 2

6. Tim Paine (c)(wk)

Tim Paine has tasted all the highs and lows this year. He became the first Australia Test captain to lose a Test series at home against an Asian side (India). Then he bounced back with a series win against Sri Lanka and even managed to retain the Ashes while playing away from home.

The wicket-keeper won against Pakistan and even took a series lead against New Zealand. But with the bat, he has largely disappointed. He got out for single-digit scores several times and he would have been dropped if it was any other player. In 16 innings, Tim Paine only scored 282 runs.

Matches: 12
Innings: 16
Runs: 282
Average: 20.14
100s: 0, 50s: 1

7. Sam Curran

Sam Curran is another cricketer who had a disappointing 2019. He was one of the great finds and seemed very promising when he made his debut in 2018. However, he failed to continue with the same kind of impact this year and has had tough times.

The southpaw picked up three three-wicket hauls in three innings. Thus, nine of his wickets came on these instances. In the remaining six innings, the left-arm pacer only accounted for four wickets. He couldn’t make a huge difference with the bat either and scored 177 runs.

Matches: 6
Runs: 177
Batting Average: 22.12
Wickets: 13
Bowling Average: 38.07

8. Vernon Philander

Vernon Philander decided to announce his retirement and will bid goodbye to international cricket in the first month of 2020. His form and performance this year could well be a reason behind him taking this decision. The experienced cricketer struggled with the ball in 2019 and couldn’t pick up many wickets.

In 9 innings, he only accounted for 11 wickets at an average of 33.72. Compared to some of the other bowlers, his average is quite high. Philander’s best figures this year are 3/43 and he didn’t pick more than 4 wickets in any of the five Tests that he played.

Matches: 5
Innings: 9
Wickets: 11
Average: 33.72
5w: 0, 10w: 0

9. Mohammad Abbas

Pakistan‘s Mohammad Abbas is another cricketer who disappointed this year. Abbas looked extremely promising when he started but the injuries have seemed to clearly upset his rhythm. Playing in suitable South African conditions, he only managed to pick five wickets in four innings earlier this year.

In the second Test against Australia in Australia, he failed to pick up any wickets. While the situation could’ve been even worse, a four-wicket haul that he picked against Sri Lanka helped him better his figures. In 8 innings overall, he accounted for 11 wickets.

Matches: 5
Innings: 8
Wickets: 11
Average: 44.63
5w: 0, 10w: 0

10. Shannon Gabriel

Shannon Gabriel, after the kind of 2018 that he’s had, hardly matched the expectations this year. The West Indies pacer was excellent in 2018 where he picked up 37 wickets in just 14 innings at an average under 20. But this year, his form dipped at an alarming rate.

He played five matches this year and hardly created any impact. In 10 innings, he only picked up 13 wickets at an average of 39. Just like Philander, he didn’t pick more than four wickets in any of the innings. His strike rate this year was nearly 75.

Matches: 5
Innings: 10
Wickets: 13
Average: 39.00
5w: 0, 10w: 0

11. Dilruwan Perera

Sri Lanka’s Dilruwan Perera was one of the most disappointing bowlers in 2019. He was in and out of the Sri Lanka team and hardly bowled up to the expectations. The fast bowler went wicketless in five out of the seven innings where he bowled.

The only two innings when he was amongst the wickets were in the games against Australia and New Zealand. While it was a two-wicket haul against the former, he picked up three wickets against the Kiwis. Perera’s average this year is a huge 112.80 which is quite unimpressive for a senior bowler like him and thus he is a must in this Flop XI.

Matches: 5
Innings: 7
Wickets: 5
Average: 112.80
5w: 0, 10w: 0

Players who have played at least five games in the year were only considered. All stats updated till 25 December 2019.