Team wise best batsman of the year 2016

Cricket is known to be a batsman’s game. The year of 2016 proved to be no different. An exhilarant display of batsmanship was on the cards for the cricket fans to watch. The year saw some great performances come from the willows of the stars of the game; and some from the bats of stars in the making. India’s Virat Kohli stole the limelight with his meteoric rise in all the three formats of the game. Towards the end of the year, Pakistan’s Asad Shafiq won hearts with a defiant ton at the Gabba against all odds. Triple centuries in Tests are a spectacle. 2016 saw some special triple ton knocks come from Azhar Ali and Karun Nair. England’s Jonny Bairstow rightly proved that the wicket-keepers can indeed emerge as the top run getters in any format of the game. Make no mistake, the tail enders showed their prowess with the bat too, in this calendar year. While the performances have been many, there have been some special baton holder for every team. Here is a look at the team wise best batsman of 2016: Australia – Steve Smith Steve Smith of Australia celebrates after reaching his century. (Photo by Ryan Pierse – CA/Cricket Australia/Getty Images) The Australian team saw the dominance of their batsmen in the year of 2016. While the contenders for the best batsman of the team were many, one man stood out from the rest. Skipper Steve Smith was in ominous touch in the year of 2016 across all the formats. Prior to the commencement of the year end Boxing Day Test, Smith was the leading run-getter for Australia in Tests. The number one ranked Test batsman had amassed 914 runs in 10 matches at an average over 60. With 3 tons and 5 fifties, he was surely the mainstay of Australian batting. His merry run continued across the formats. In the ODIs, he scored 1154 runs in 26 matches that included a belligerent top score of 164 against New Zealand recently. Although, the team had dwindling fortunes in the limited-overs, Smith’s personal performances never went down. Bangladesh – Tamim Iqbal Bangladesh’s Tamim Iqbal. (Photo by DIBYANGSHU SARKAR/AFP/Getty Images) Team Bangladesh did not have too many Test matches to play this year. But when they got their chance against England, they showed they are the players of the big stage. It was Tamim Iqbal, who was the star batsman for them in the drawn series. He scored a key century in the low scoring Test that Bangladesh won. Coming to his forte – the shorter formats – Tamim was right there to lead the batting of the tigers. He started off the year on a high note when he struck a T20 century in the qualifiers of the ICC World T20. In the 11 T20Is he played this year, Tamim amassed 368 runs at an average of 40.88. He was the team’s leading run-scorer in ODIs too at the conclusion of the Boxing Day ODI against New Zealand. In the 7 ODIs that he played this year, Tamim scored 332 runs at a very impressive average of over 47. England – Joe Root Joe Root of England raises his bat and celebrates scoring a half century. (Photo by Mitchell Gunn/Getty Images) Towards the end of the year, Joe Root pipped teammate Jonny Bairstow to finish 2016 as the leading run-scorer in Tests. With a mountain of 1477 runs in 17 Tests this year, Root averaged 49.23 with 3 centuries and 10 fifties to his name. Interestingly, he hit the most number of fours in 2016 in Test cricket – 170 fours. His best came earlier this year when he scored a magnificent 254 against Pakistan at Old Trafford. He was the leading run-scorer for England in ODIs too with 796 runs in 15 matches at 61.23. He was a key player for the English side that made it to the finals of the ICC World T20 in India. The kind of form he showed across all the three formats and in different conditions, Root was certainly one of the best batsmen of the year. India – Virat Kohli Virat Kohli. (Photo Source: BCCI) If there was a batsman who had his name written all over the top batsmen charts, it was India’s Virat Kohli. The swashbuckling batsman had a dream run in all the three formats this year. He finished as the leading run-scorer for India in all formats. His batting prowess in T20s can be deduced by his average of 106.83 this year. In 15 matches, he amassed 641 runs with 7 fifties. In the Tests, the Indian skipper scored 3 double centuries this year. With 1215 runs in 12 matches, he averaged 75.93 in ODIs and had 4 tons to his name – the most by any batsman along with England’s Moeen Ali. His most preferred format, the ODIs, saw him dominate too. He averaged over 92 in the 10 ODIs he played this year. He scored 739 runs that included 3 tons and 4 fifties with a top score of unbeaten 154 against New Zealand. New Zealand – Kane Williamson Kane Williamson of New Zealand. (Photo by Dave Rowland/Getty Images) New Zealand skipper Kane Williamson led from the front in all formats of the game. The Kiwis did not have the best of times in the overseas tours, but their skipper never gave up his resistance. After the Boxing Day ODI against Bangladesh, Williamson had 590 runs in his kitty in 16 ODIs this year. This included a ton and 4 fifties. He was next to only Martin Guptill in the list of leading run-getters for New Zealand in ODIs this year. Guptill failed in Tests and it was Williamson, who was right on top his game there as well. Williamson aggregated 753 runs in 10 matches across 18 innings in Tests this year at an average of 47.06. He also performed heavily in the T20Is with 383 runs in 10 matches with 3 fifties to his name to go with an average of close to 48. Pakistan – Azhar Ali Azhar Ali of Pakistan. (Photo by Michael Dodge/Getty Images) When it comes to the batting of Pakistani players, there were a lot of batsmen who were top contenders. Babar Azam hit consecutive tons in 3 ODIs against West Indies to announce himself at the big stage. Asad Shafiq was very impressive with the way he scored heavily in tough overseas conditions of England and Australia in Test. But there was one constant across all the three formats. Azhar Ali emerged as arguably the best batsman for Pakistan in 2016. Ali capped off a brilliant season with a majestic unbeaten double ton in the Boxing Day Test at MCG. Including his unbeaten 205, Ali aggregated 1155 runs in 11 matches across 21 innings at a high-end average of 64.16. Earlier this year, he had scored an unbeaten triple century in Pakistan’s first ever day-night Test against West Indies. The Pakistani team had a dismal run in ODIs in 2016 barring the West Indies series. However, the ODI skipper Azhar Ali was spot on with his performances. With a ton and 2 fifties this year, he looked more than just average. Sri Lanka – Dinesh Chandimal Sri Lanka’s Dinesh Chandimal tries to avoid a bouncer. (Photo by LAKRUWAN WANNIARACHCHI/AFP/Getty Images) Sri Lankan batsman Dinesh Chandimal ruled the roost across all formats of the game this year. Chandimal finished as the leading run-scorer in ODIs for Sri Lanka this year with 656 runs in 14 matches at an average of over 59. Chandimal’s consistency can be figured from the fact that he scored 6 fifties and 2 hundreds this year. He led the batting charts for his team in T20Is as well. He plundered 373 runs in 16 games with 3 fities. To go with his heroics in the limited overs, Chandimal had two tons in 2016. With the South Africa tour commencing towards the end of the year, expect the middle-order batsman to hit big in the series in early 2017. South Africa – Quinton de Kock Vernon Philander and Quinton de Kock of South Africa walk from the ground. (Photo by Paul Kane/Getty Images) South Africa boasts of some real big names when it comes to batting. However, they were deprived of the services of AB de Villiers for majority of 2016. One man that stood out among the rest was wicketkeeper-batsman Quinton de Kock. The youngster showed that he can bat in the longer format too. He plundered 626 runs in 12 innings (including the first innings score in the first Test against Sri Lanka) at an average of 62.60. Batting in the lower order, he hit 2 tons and 4 fifties and had a top score of unbeaten 129. In the ODIs, he ended as the third leading run scorer this year after Smith and Warner. He had 857 runs credited to his account in 17 matches with an average over 57. He had the best strike rate in ODIs this year among the top 10 batsmen of 2016. With 3 tons and 3 fifties, de Kock had looked threatening for a double ton when he scored 178 against Australia. West Indies – Marlon Samuels England’s Ben Stokes looks on as West Indies’s Marlon Samuels. (Photo by INDRANIL MUKHERJEE/AFP/Getty Images) Despite having a poor run in the Tests this year, Marlon Samuels managed to get the honors of being the best batter for West Indies this year. This is largely due to his contributions in the limited overs. Samuels was the top scorer for West Indies in ODIs. He pocketed 374 runs in 10 matches at an average of 37.40. The Caribbean team had a good time in the tri-series at home but performed poorly in the UAE against Pakistan. Samuels hit a brilliant 125 in the tri-series at home. He scored two fifties to go with the ton in 2016. In the T20Is, he was the big match player. His heroics in the finals against England saw West Indies win the ICC World T20 early this year. Zimbabwe – Craig Ervine Zimbabwe’s captain Graeme Cremer (R) celebrates with teammate Craig Ervine. (Photo by JEKESAI NJIKIZANA/AFP/Getty Images) Zimbabwe had a very matches to play this year. But Craig Ervine made the most of the opportunity that he got. In the 4 Tests that he played in 2016, Ervine scored 384 runs at an average of 48. This included a fighting 146 against Sri Lanka that almost drew the game for Zimbabwe at home. He had 3 fifties to go with the solitary ton. In the ODIs, he scored 168 runs in 6 matches that he played. His herculean knock of 92 against West Indies in the home tri-series saw them earn a hard-fought tie.

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