Cricket’s best performing teams and players of 2019
It was a busy year for cricket. Several new stars made their mark on the sport in 2019, the old guard stood tall, Test cricket returned to Pakistan and England won their first-ever World Cup when they beat New Zealand in the final on home soil.
Here are some of the best
performers of an action-packed 2019:
Most wins
Across all formats
India: The Men in Blue
won a total of 35 matches across all formats in 2019, four more than Australia
in second and a whopping 11 more than England in third with 24. Kohli said 2019
was the perfect year for India barring their semi-final defeat to New Zealand
at the World Cup and the stats back up the captain’s claim. Meanwhile Pakistan’s
tally of 11 wins is the lowest of all Test sides, highlighting just how poor
the Men in Green were in 2019.
In Tests
Australia: Tim Paine’s
men enjoyed themselves in the longest format and won eight matches that helped
them claim series wins over Pakistan and New Zealand after they had retained
the Ashes with a drawn 2-2 series against England. Bangladesh and Ireland won
no Tests in 2019, with Pakistan winning only one when they defeated Sri Lanka
in Karachi.
In ODIs
India: It really was an
incredible year for Kohli’s men and they won the most ODIs in 2019 as well,
claiming 19 wins in their 28 games. Sri Lanka and Bangladesh, meanwhile, had
the poorest year of all the traditional big-hitters and claimed just seven wins
each, with Pakistan claiming nine.
In T20Is
Papua New Guinea: One
of the best things that the ICC has done recently is increasing the number of
member nations to include almost every country in the T20I fold. PNG’s 14 wins
in 17 games shows that cricket can only benefit from expanding to other
countries. India top the list once again when the traditional giants are
considered, winning nine of their 16 games.
Best win-loss ratio
Across all formats (Test-playing nations only)
Australia: India may have won more games but only because they played more games than Australia, who have the superior win-loss ratio. The Men Down Under boast a ratio of 3.44 as compared to India’s 2.33. Pakistan’s win-loss ratio of 0.407 was the lowest of all Test-playing nations in 2019.
In Tests
India: Virat Kohli’s
men technically don’t even have a win-loss ratio as they went unbeaten in Tests
throughout the year, winning seven out of their eight Tests and drawing just
once. Pakistan’s win against Sri Lanka in their last Test of the year got them
out of the bottom spot with a win-loss ratio of 0.25, with Bangladesh sitting
bottom after losing all five of their Tests in 2019.
In ODIs (More than five games)
England: The world champions really made the 50-over format their own in 2019 as they assembled a squad filled with fearsome power-hitters and all-rounders. Their average runs per over in ODIs was 6.49, well ahead of every other team. Pakistan, meanwhile, suffered in the format and their win-loss ratio of 0.6 is better than only Sri Lanka’s 0.5 when it comes to Test nations.
In T20Is
Australia: David Warner’s
emphatic resurgence meant no team was able to hold a candle against Australia
in 2019 as they prepare for next year’s T20 World Cup. Aaron Finch’s men won seven
of their eight T20Is in 2019 and would have on their eighth as well had rained
not washed out the first T20I against Pakistan earlier in the year.
Most runs
Across all formats (Test-playing nations only)
Virat Kohli: The Indian
skipper continues to break new grounds and was once again the standout batsman
of 2019 as he scored 2,455 runs across all formats at an average of 64.6. Rohit
Sharma (2,442 runs at 53.08) and Babar Azam (2,028 at 57.83) round out the top
three. What makes Kohli’s feat all the more incredible is that he doesn’t top
the scoring chart of any of the three formats, showing just how consistent he
is across all formats.
In Tests
Marnus Labuschagne: The
25-year-old Labuschagne (1,104 runs) managed to outscore even Steven Smith (965
runs), with Joe Root (851 runs) behind the two Australians. Smith had the better
Ashes series and the better average (74.23 as compared to Labuschagne’s 64.94).
Pakistan’s Abid Ali had an average of 160.5 this year but only played two
Tests.
In ODIs
Rohit Sharma: The Indian opener is one India’s most important players and scored seven centuries in 2019, including five at the World Cup. Sharma is followed by Kohli, who scored 1,377 runs but did so at a better average (59.83 as compared to Rohit’s 57.3) and at a better strike-rate (96.36 to 89.92). West Indies’ anchorman Shai Hope is third in the list with 1,345 runs.
In T20Is
Paul Stirling: It was a
busy year in T20Is for Ireland and Paul Stirling made 748 runs in the 20
matches he played for them this year, with compatriot and fellow all-rounder
Kevin O’ Brien scoring 729 runs in 23 games. Netherlands’ Max O’Dowd is third
on the list with 702 runs in 24 matches.
Most wickets
Across all formats (Test-playing nations only)
Pat Cummins: Comfortably
the top wicket-taker of 2019, the Australian pacer fell just one short of an
incredible 100 wicket in the calendar year as he finished with 99 wickets.
India’s Mohammad Shami and Cummins’ new-ball partner Mitchell Starc follow
Cummins with 77 wickets each to their name.
In Tests
Pat Cummins: The
Australian had a field day in the Ashes and continued his form against Pakistan
and New Zealand, claiming 59 wickets in 12 Tests at an average of only 20.13.
Cummins’s teammate Nathan Lyon took 45 wickets to finish second with Stuart
Broad’s tally of 43 giving him third spot.
In ODIs
Mohammad Shami: The29-year-old Shami put a frustrating
couple of years behind him as he regained fitness and form to finish with 42
wickets in 2019. The pacer had taken 19, four and three wickets in the last
three calendar years. The New Zealand duo of Trent Boult (38) and Lockie
Ferguson (35) are in second and third behind Shami.
In T20Is
Brandon Glover: The sheer number of games played by associates means Netherlands pacer Brandon and the Nepal duo of Karan KC and Sandeep Lamichhane all finished top with 28 wickets to their name. Lamichhane did so in just 16 games and at the best average (13.71) of the trio as the teenager continues his stellar rise in the shortest format of the game.
Article source: https://www.samaa.tv/sports/2019/12/crickets-best-performing-teams-and-players-of-2019/