Team-wise current oldest player in Tests

Cricket, like every other sport, is about fitness, longevity, fortitude and mental strength, as much as it is about technique and skill. Hence, the ultimate format of the game takes the name ‘Test’. It tests every aspect and attribute of a sportsperson, and it is in this format that a player’s performance is truly judged.

In the modern game, with different formats and an increasing number of matches to play in a short period, a cricketer’s fitness and longevity are tested more than ever. Unlike in the 20th century, it is a rare sight today to see a player carry on when they are aged above 35.

The recent retirements of players such as Alastair Cook, Moeen Ali, Ben Stokes, and Eoin Morgan, in different formats, shed some light on how challenging it is for modern players to withstand having to play in tight schedules and at a very high level. However, there have been a few exceptions, who have carried on playing at the highest stage and are proving that age is only a number.

Here are the oldest current cricketers of each team in Tests:

1. David Warner (Australia) – 35 years and 267 days

The left-handed New South Wales player has been one of the best openers and top all-format batters, in the last decade or so. Although David Warner, at the age of 35, is not at his sparkling best, he is still one of the Men in Yellow’s trusted batters up top.

Warner was part of Australia’s last Test series in Sri Lanka, which was played in June and July. He also scored the winning runs in the first Test match in Galle, which eventually helped the team salvage a 1-1 draw in the two-match series.

Warner, in 2022, has scored 266 runs in seven Test matches with two fifties and a top score of 68. Both the fifties came on the Pakistan tour in March, in which Australia won 1-0 in three matches. He currently stands number 17 in the ICC Test Batting Rankings.

2. Rohit Sharma (India) – 35 years and 82 days

Rohit Sharma, the India captain for all formats, is also the oldest player in the current Indian Test team. He appeared in India’s five-match Test series in England but missed the rescheduled fifth match this month due to Covid-19. His last Test match was against Sri Lanka in March in Bengaluru.

The India captain is currently ranked ninth in Tests in the ICC Batting Rankings, which is the second-highest for an Indian after Rishabh Pant. He made his Test debut in November 2013 and has appeared in 45 Test matches ever since.

In his 13 Test matches, he scored 996 runs at an average of 45.27 with two hundreds and four fifties and a top score of 161. He will be next in action on the West Indies tour for five T20Is.

3. Dean Elgar (South Africa) – 35 years and 40 days

Dean Elgar, as with Rohit Sharma, is the captain and oldest player of the current South African Test team. He made his Test debut in November 2012 against Australia in Perth and has played 76 matches ever since.

Elgar had a horror start to his Test career as he became the first South African since Allan Donald in 1992 to bag a pair on debut. At the moment, the Proteas opener is arguably the best batter in the line-up. Elgar last played a Test match in April against

The South Africa captain, in his last 12 Test matches, scored 881 runs at an average of 41.95 with seven fifties and a century and a top score of 127. He is also the highest-ranked Test batter of the side, at the moment.

4. James Anderson (England) – 39 years and 356 days

One of the icons of English cricket and an ambassador of fast bowling in Test cricket, James “Jimmy” Anderson is definitely one of the best red ball cricketers of all time. With only a few days shy of turning 40, Anderson is still the spearhead of the bowling pack and one of the best cricketers in the England lineup.

Anderson, after making his debut in 2003, has played 172 Test matches so far, which is the most for a fast bowler in the format and the second-most overall after Sachin Tendulkar. With 657 wickets, he is leading the wicket-takers charts for a pacer and is third on the list overall.

In 2022, he played four Test matches and picked up 18 wickets at an average of 22.16 and a strike rate of 51.8 with two five-wicket hauls. Anderson is currently England’s highest-ranked bowler in Tests and sixth overall.

5. Neil Wagner (New Zealand) – 36 years and 130 days

Neil Wagner is a South Africa-born Kiwi cricketer, and a left-arm fast bowler. He made his New Zealand debut in 2012 against West Indies in North Sound, Antigua in July 2012 and has appeared in 59 Test matches ever since.

Wagner is a one-format player and is known for generating bounce and carry on any surface, hitting the deck hard with a fast arm movement that makes the ball skid onto the batters. He is also known for his tenacious attitude on the field, consequently picking some key wickets even on unhelpful pitches.

Wagner is ranked ninth in Tests as per the ICC Bowling Rankings, making him the second-highest ranked Kiwi bowler after Trent Boult. He has 246 wickets in the format at an average of 26.71 with nine five-wicket hauls and best innings figures of 7/39.

6. Azhar Ali (Pakistan) – 37 years and 152 days

Azhar Ali, a former Pakistan captain, is known for his solidity and temperament in the longest format of the game. The right-hand batter made his Test debut in July 2010 against Australia at Lord’s and has played 95 matches ever since.

Ali last played a Test in the first match of the ongoing Sri Lanka tour which Pakistan won by four wickets. He has scored 7,030 runs at an average of 42.60 with 19 hundreds and 35 fifties.

He has scored 309 runs an average of 44.14 with one fifty and as many centuries and a top score of 185 in four Test matches, in 2022. He is currently ranked 18th in Tests as per ICC Batting Rankings. He has a top score of 302* in the format and became only the fourth triple centurion for Pakistan.

7. Angelo Mathews (Sri Lanka) – 35 years and 49 days

Angelo Mathews started out as a batting all-rounder who could also bowl fast. But at the moment, he plays the role of a specialist batter for Sri Lanka. He last played a Test match in the first game of the ongoing home series against Pakistan in Galle.

Mathews also made his Test debut against Pakistan in Galle in July 2009 and has played 99 Test matches ever since. He has scored 6,876 runs at an average of 45.23 with 13 centuries and 38 half-centuries and a top score of an unbeaten 200.

Mathews, at 35, is having one of the best years with the bat. In 2022, he has scored 538 runs in seven Test matches with two hundreds and a fifty and a top score of 199. He also has 33 wickets with the best innings figures of four wickets for 44 runs in the format.

8. Kemar Roach (West Indies) – 34 years and 21 days

The Barbadian cricketer, Kemar Roach, is only the third and the last fast bowler on this list. Coming from a factory of elite pacers, Roach recently took his wicket tally to 252 in Test cricket to go past West Indian legends such as Michael Holding, Gary Sobers and Andy Roberts among many others.

Roach is also eight wickets away from surpassing Joel Garner and entering the list of top five wicket-takers for West Indies. Unlike the other legends, he is not gifted with a towering height. Yet, one of his strengths is being able to hit the deck hard and produce a well-directed bouncer.

Roach, the spearhead of the West Indies bowling attack, is unsurprisingly the highest-ranked bowler in the side and eighth overall. In 2022, he picked 21 wickets in five Test matches at an average of 22.57 with best innings figures of five wickets for 53 runs.

9. Shakib Al Hasan (Bangladesh) – 35 years 119 days

Shakib Al Hasan has been one of the best all-rounders in all formats in international over the last decade or so. He has also been the torch bearer of Bangladesh cricket for a long time and is one of the most complete cricketers across formats at the moment.

He made his Test debut against India in Chattogram in May 2007 and has played 63 matches in the format ever since. With 225 wickets, he is the leading wicket-taker for his country in Test cricket. He also has 4,251 runs with the bat at an average of 39.00 with five hundreds and 29 fifties, making him the third-highest run-getter in Tests for Bangladesh.

Shakib, at the moment, is ranked third among all-rounders in Tests after Ravindra Jadeja and Ravichandran Ashwin. He also became the captain of the Bangladesh Test team in June after Mominul Haque stepped down from the role.