It has been a thrilling summer of Test cricket action in Australia, with more to come as the climax of the ongoing Border-Gavaskar Trophy 2024-25 arrives in Sydney. In the middle of that, Cricket Australia have now named its 2024 Test Team of the Year with considerable representations from cricketers outside Australia.
Players from six nations named in Cricket Australia’s Team of the Year 2024
Cricket Australia has given place to cricketers from 6 cricket-playing nations including England, New Zealand, South Africa, Sri Lanka, India and Australia. Interestingly, England get most spots with 3 English batters Ben Duckett, Joe Root and Harry Brook featuring in Cricket Australia’s standout XI.
Sri Lanka and South Africa get one appearance each in the form of middle-order batter Kamindu Mendis and spin sensation Keshav Maharaj from the two nations respectively. Wicket-keeper batter Alex Carey and pacer Josh Hazelwood are the two Australians who have clinched a place in the squad.
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Two Indian stars feature in the Test XI
The two Indians featured in Cricket Australia’s XI are opening batter Yashasvi Jaiswal and pacer Jasprit Bumrah. Additionally, Bumrah has also been named the captain of the team. The 31-year-old was the captain of the Indian team in the first Test match of the ongoing Border-Gavaskar Trophy 2024-25 at Perth which India won by 295 runs.
Jaiswal was the highlight of the match, playing a 161-run knock in the second innings. Australia has since that Test match made a comeback in the series winning the day-night clash in Adelaide and Boxing Day Test in Melbourne, but Jaiswal and Bumrah have consistently troubled the Aussies in the series.
Bumrah is the leading wicket-taker of the series with 30 wickets to his name and a best bowling figure of 6/76. Jaiswal, on the other hand, is the second highest run-scorer of the series behind Travis Head. The youngster has scored a total of 359 runs in the series so far with a batting average of 51.28.
Cricket Australia’s Test Team of the Year 2024
Batters: Yashasvi Jaiswal (IND), Ben Duckett (ENG), Joe Root (ENG), Rachin Ravindra (NZ), Harry Brook (ENG), Kamindu Mendis (SL)
Wicket-keeper: Alex Carey (AUS)
Bowlers: Matt Henry (NZ), Josh Hazelwood (AUS), Jasprit Bumrah (IND), Keshav Maharaj (SA)