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Opinion
The Boxing Day Test between Australia and New Zealand will bring to a close a decade during which the longest format has had to fight for relevance due to the boom in T20 cricket.
But Tests remain the most popular format among many cricket fans and the 2010s saw the emergence of a clutch of new all-time greats.
Here is my World Test XI of the decade.
1. David Warner (Australia)
7009 runs at 48, including 23 tons from 82 Tests
Warner, James Anderson and Ravi Ashwin are the most widely criticised players in my XI, and each for the same reason – a perception that they rely heavily upon home conditions.
Warner is a vastly more effective batsman when playing in Australia, yet he’s still averaged 34 away from home (including six tons) in an era when every side would be very happy to have an opener with such figures on the road.
Warner and Cook were many, many miles ahead of the next contenders.
2. Alastair Cook (England)
8818 runs at 46, including 23 tons from 111 Tests
While Australians rarely got to see the best of Cook, who struggled in his last four Ashes series, his ability to score runs both home and away was his biggest asset. Few non-Asian batsmen in history have a better Test record in Asia than Cook, who made 2710 runs at 53 on that continent, including a starring role as England registered an incredible series win in India in 2012.
His record is all the more impressive due to the difficult home conditions he faced.
Alastair Cook (Photo by Morgan Hancock/Action Plus via Getty Images)
3. Virat Kohli (India) (C)
7202 runs at 55, including 27 tons from 84 Tests
No batsman in the world adapts better than Kohli. He shifts seamlessly between Tests, ODIs and T20s, dominating each format, and in the past few years has made himself into a fantastically versatile Test batsman.
Aside from hoarding runs in Asia, he’s also excelled in Australia and was sensational in back-to-back series in pace-friendly conditions last year in South Africa and England.
Kohli also has the forceful ‘follow me’ personality to lead this XI.
4. Steve Smith (Australia)
7072 runs at 63, including 26 tons from 71 Tests
India and England are the two toughest venues for Australian batsmen, yet Smith has run amok in those nations, averaging 60 with the bat from 22 Tests, including a whopping nine tons.
Smith’s away record is bonkers – 3883 runs at 57, with 13 centuries.
I have never witnessed a better series from a batsman than Smith’s 774 runs at 110 in England this year, which was made even more extraordinary by the way he rebounded from a serious concussion.
5. Kumar Sangakkara (Sri Lanka)
4851 runs at 61, including 17 tons from 46 Tests
By giving up the gloves – Sangakkara didn’t keep in a single Test this decade – the Sri Lankan legend took his batting to another level.
His rate of scoring a ton every 5.05 Test innings was second only to Smith’s 4.92.
What stood out most about Sangakkara in this period was his consistency. He averaged 62 at home and 61 away as he held together an otherwise rickety lineup.
6. Shakib al Hasan (Bangladesh)
3147 runs at 43, plus 162 wickets at 32 from 42 Tests
No player carried more responsibility in this decade than Shakib. He is his team’s best batsman, their strongest bowler, and also by far their most high-profile player, both inside and outside of Bangladesh. Yet he handled this burden with aplomb.
While Bangladesh have become a solid side at home they have floundered away. In spite of this, Shakib has found a way to be effective, averaging 42 with the bat and 36 with the ball on the road.
7. BJ Watling (New Zealand) (WK)
3509 runs at 40, including nine tons from 65 matches
Comfortably the lowest-profile player in this side, Watling is the most underrated Test cricketer of the decade.
First and foremost, he is a quality gloveman who is assured to the quicks and neat standing up to spin. With the bat he is a consistent, old-school accumulator who adapts well to varied pitch conditions.
He averages 41 at home and 39 away, and has done well in Asia, South Africa and England.
New Zealand’s BJ Watling. (AP Photo/Kamran Jebreili)
8. Ravi Ashwin (India)
362 wickets at 25, plus 2385 runs at 29 from 70 Tests
In Asia, Ashwin can be nigh-on unplayable thanks to his sharp turn, deceptive drift and rare accuracy. He has also improved significantly outside of Asia, able to take on either an attacking or a defensive role.
Add in his handy batting – with four Test tons to his name – and you have a perfect bowling all-rounder at eight.
9. Vernon Philander (South Africa)
216 wickets at 22, plus 1619 runs at 24.
Kagiso Rabada, Morne Morkel, Josh Hazlewood, Stuart Broad, Trent Boult, Neil Wagner and Pat Cummins all have had major influences this decade, over varied periods of involvement. But Philander’s remarkable precision and his value with the bat gave him the edge.
Philander’s ability to slowly choke batsmen with unrelenting accuracy is second to none.
10. Dale Steyn (South Africa)
267 wickets at 22 from 59 Tests
Steyn stands alongside Glenn McGrath, Curtly Ambrose and Wasim Akram as the best Test fast bowlers I have seen.
His versatility was phenomenal. On seaming pitches he could dial back his pace, bowl with extreme accuracy and make the ball talk. Faced with less responsive pitches, he would crank his pace up to 150kmh and intimidate batsmen.
One of the finest exponents of reverse swing the game has seen, Steyn was never neutered by conditions, averaging 21 at home and 25 away. He was especially valuable in Asia, where he produced some jaw-dropping displays.
11. James Anderson (England)
427 wickets at 24 from 105 Tests
I didn’t always rate Anderson. In fact, six years ago I wrote a piece for The Roar in which I called the English seamer the most over-rated Test cricketer in the world, in response to repeated statements by UK pundits that he was the equal of Steyn.
My argument was that Anderson leaned too heavily on helpful home conditions (he averaged 36 on the road back then).
Since that 2013-14 Ashes, however, he has not just run amok in the UK but also averaged 26 with the ball overseas.