ICC Men’s Test Player of the Year nomination
ICC Men’s Test Player of the Year nomination
Our nominations for the ICC Men's Test Player of the Year 2021 award include a batting legend, a
spin guru, a rising fast-bowling superstar, and a tenacious opener. We'll take a peek at their
adventures in this article.
Joe Root – England
In 15 matches, the 30-year-old skipper scored 1708 runs, including six centuries.
The 218 that Root scored in the first Test of the four-match series against India in Chennai was a batting masterclass. With ease, he smacked away a superb bowling attack, combining pace and spin. This was a continuation of his form from the Sri Lankan series, where he was once again outstanding.
The Indian bowling had no answers for Root's predicament, as he set up a 227-run triumph for the visitors after batting for 377 deliveries. This was also a foreshadowing of things to come for the rest of the year, as the England captain produced knock after knock of the highest order, regardless of the opposition.
Ravichandran Ashwin – India
In eight matches, he took 52 wickets at an average of 16.23. The 35-year-old allrounder also scored 337 runs at 28.08 with one century.
With India behind England 1-0 in the series, the hosts wanted their great players to come up to the plate. Ashwin achieved just that with an outstanding all-around performance. In both innings, he took 5/43 and 3/52, respectively, to spin a web around the English batters.
Not only that, but he also hit his sixth Test century with a magnificent 106 in the second innings. England lost to a 317-run defeat against an energised Ashwin, who was playing on his own turf. Kyle Jamieson – New Zealand
In five matches, he took 27 wickets at an average of 17.51. The 26-year-old bowler also scored 105 runs at 17.50.
Kyle Jamieson emerged as one of the most exciting fast bowling prospects in world cricket in 2021, another fantastic addition to the New Zealand pace battery. Jamieson was the X-factor in New Zealand's pace attack in a seminal year in which they won the inaugural ICC World Test Championship against India in the final, magnificently supplanting and often surpassing the achievements of Tim Southee, Trent Boult, and Neil Wagner.
Jamieson shined on the flat decks in India, away from the seam-friendly fields of New Zealand and England, getting the ball to shape nicely. In the two matches, he took six wickets, confirming his ability to be the new Kiwi star.
Dimuth Karunaratne – Sri Lanka
In seven matches, the 33-year-old captain scored 902 runs at an average of 69.38, with four centuries. Karunaratne played a magnificent attacking knock of 103 off 128 deliveries on a Wanderers field that aided the pacers and with the likes of Anrich Nortje and Lungi Ngidi in the South African attack, demonstrating his character.
On this field, scoring runs was tough; Sri Lanka was bowled out for 157 in the first innings. On the other hand, South Africa could only respond with a score of 302 in the second. Karunaratne hit 19 boundaries in the second innings, but he couldn't get any help from the other end, as the visitors were bowled out for 211.
Karunaratne's tonne was made all the more impressive by the fact that he scored over half of his team's runs and no other batter even managed a score of 40. South Africa would go on to win by ten wickets, but Karunaratne's innings will be remembered for a long time.
Joe Root – England
In 15 matches, the 30-year-old skipper scored 1708 runs, including six centuries.
The 218 that Root scored in the first Test of the four-match series against India in Chennai was a batting masterclass. With ease, he smacked away a superb bowling attack, combining pace and spin. This was a continuation of his form from the Sri Lankan series, where he was once again outstanding.
The Indian bowling had no answers for Root's predicament, as he set up a 227-run triumph for the visitors after batting for 377 deliveries. This was also a foreshadowing of things to come for the rest of the year, as the England captain produced knock after knock of the highest order, regardless of the opposition.
Ravichandran Ashwin – India
In eight matches, he took 52 wickets at an average of 16.23. The 35-year-old allrounder also scored 337 runs at 28.08 with one century.
With India behind England 1-0 in the series, the hosts wanted their great players to come up to the plate. Ashwin achieved just that with an outstanding all-around performance. In both innings, he took 5/43 and 3/52, respectively, to spin a web around the English batters.
Not only that, but he also hit his sixth Test century with a magnificent 106 in the second innings. England lost to a 317-run defeat against an energised Ashwin, who was playing on his own turf. Kyle Jamieson – New Zealand
In five matches, he took 27 wickets at an average of 17.51. The 26-year-old bowler also scored 105 runs at 17.50.
Kyle Jamieson emerged as one of the most exciting fast bowling prospects in world cricket in 2021, another fantastic addition to the New Zealand pace battery. Jamieson was the X-factor in New Zealand's pace attack in a seminal year in which they won the inaugural ICC World Test Championship against India in the final, magnificently supplanting and often surpassing the achievements of Tim Southee, Trent Boult, and Neil Wagner.
Jamieson shined on the flat decks in India, away from the seam-friendly fields of New Zealand and England, getting the ball to shape nicely. In the two matches, he took six wickets, confirming his ability to be the new Kiwi star.
Dimuth Karunaratne – Sri Lanka
In seven matches, the 33-year-old captain scored 902 runs at an average of 69.38, with four centuries. Karunaratne played a magnificent attacking knock of 103 off 128 deliveries on a Wanderers field that aided the pacers and with the likes of Anrich Nortje and Lungi Ngidi in the South African attack, demonstrating his character.
On this field, scoring runs was tough; Sri Lanka was bowled out for 157 in the first innings. On the other hand, South Africa could only respond with a score of 302 in the second. Karunaratne hit 19 boundaries in the second innings, but he couldn't get any help from the other end, as the visitors were bowled out for 211.
Karunaratne's tonne was made all the more impressive by the fact that he scored over half of his team's runs and no other batter even managed a score of 40. South Africa would go on to win by ten wickets, but Karunaratne's innings will be remembered for a long time.