Australia’s hot and cold 2024 Test campaign is likely to result in perhaps only one player making the ICC’s Test team of the year.
And it won’t be Travis Head.
They have one more chance to state their case in the Boxing Day Test at the MCG against India before the calendar page is turned on another year with South Africa hosting Pakistan at Centurion and Afghanistan taking on Zimbabwe in Bulawayo the only other matches on the schedule.
The Aussies started 2024 with a bang by beating Pakistan in the New Year’s Test in Sydney and thrashing the West Indies at Adelaide before their upset loss to the Caribbean tourists in Brisbane.
They won both Tests in New Zealand before losing, winning and drawing the first three fixtures in their Border-Gavaskar Trophy showdown with India.
And while Head has been phenomenal against India with back-to-back centuries in the past two matches, his output prior to this series was modest and there are a few other middle-order candidates with much stronger records in 2024.
Aussie captain Pat Cummins and fellow fast bowler Josh Hazlewood have also been impressive but are likely to be overlooked for the ICC XI.
Wicketkeeper Alex Carey appears to be Australia’s best chance of getting a spot on the back of his elite glovework and decent returns with the bat.
Here’s how the Team of the Year is shaping up heading into the final week of the year.
Yashasvi Jaiswal of India celebrates reaching a century. (Photo by Cameron Spencer/Getty Images)
Openers
England’s duo of Ben Duckett (1149 runs at 37.06) and Zak Crawley (695 at 27.8) have scored quickly but not enough runs at the top of the order.
Indian rising star Yasashvi Jaiswal is a lock for one of the opener’s spots after a superb 2024 which has netted him 1312 runs at 52.48, with three tons, including a career-high 214 not out, the second of two double-tons against England.
The other opener is likely to be Sri Lanka’s Dinesh Chandimal, who has tallied 724 at 42.58 with two centuries.
Usman Khawaja was ICC Men’s Test Cricket of the Year for 2023 but he has only managed 337 runs at 24.07 over the past 12 months.
Middle order
Head (607 at 46.69 with three tons) has been dynamic of late for Australia but over the course of the year his numbers don’t stack up against the claims of English duo Joe Root and Harry Brook, Sri Lanka’s breakout star Kamindu Mendis and New Zealand veteran Kane Williamson.
Root leads all scorers with 1556 at 55.57 with six tons to surge to the top of the Test batting rankings while his heir apparent in Brook has peeled off 1100 at 55 while reaching triple figures on four occasions.
Williamson, as always, has been the quiet achiever, piling up four tons on his way to 1013 at 58. It is remarkable enough that New Zealand won 3-0 in India but to do so without Williamson, who missed the series with a groin injury, makes the achievement even more astonishing.
Mendis will probably get the last specialist batter spot ahead of Williamson after he smashed five tons, two against Bangladesh, another two against the Kiwis and one against England. The 26-year-old right-hander finished with 1049 runs at 74.92.
His previous claim to fame was being able to bowl spin with either arm but it is clear that he should concentrate on batting.
Indian first drop Shubman Gill (866 runs at 43.3, with three tons), South African skipper Temba Bavuma (432 at 61.71 with a top score of 113) and Black Caps gun Rachin Ravindra (984 at 42.78, with two centuries) also had strong years.
Joe Root celebrates a century. (Photo by Gareth Copley/Getty Images)
All-rounder
England skipper Ben Stokes has had a down year with the bat, making 602 at 28.66, while only taking 13 wickets at 36.84 as he has battled injuries.
A back problem curtailed Australian star Cameron Green after a promising start of 302 runs at 50.33 and five wickets at 31.
But the undoubted star all-rounder in world cricket has again been Indian spinner Ravindra Jadeja, which make his omission from the team for the first two Tests of the Australian tour even more baffling.
The 37-year-old left-hander scored 508 runs at 31.75, including 112 against England at Rajkot to rescue the team from 3-33. He also bagged 44 wickets at 23.97 from his 11 Tests with three five-wicket hauls.
Wicketkeeper
Carey is Australia’s best hope after a steady 407 runs at 37, including a match-winning 98 not out in the fourth innings at Christchurch and 70 last week in Brisbane. He also made 10 dismissals in that three-wicket win over the Black Caps as part of his haul of 43 for the year from 39 catches and four stumpings.
Pakistan’s Mohammad Rizwan (509 runs at 50.9, including an unbeaten 171) has overshadowed Carey with the bat but he has only completed 11 catches and four stumpings from his six appearances.
India’s Rishabh Pant (518 runs at 37, including a highest of 109) has also done well with the willow but 25 dismissals in eight Tests should not be enough to put him ahead of Carey.
Alex Carey saw Australia home on Day 4 of the second Test. (Photo by Kai Schwoerer/Getty Images)
Spinner
Ravichandran Ashwin’s abrupt retirement was a surprise, especially considering he leads all spinners in wickets taken in 2024 with 47 at 27.25 from 11 Tests.
The spinner’s spot in the ICC team will probably go to South African left-armer Keshav Maharaj for his 35 scalps at 19.2 in just seven matches.
New Zealand leftie Mitchell Santner deserves a mention for his 27 wickets at 19.96 in just five appearances while yet another southpaw, Pakistan 38-year-old, managed to take 20 wickets at 13.85 in his only two matches for the year to spearhead the 2-1 series comeback win over England.
Fast bowlers
Hazlewood has been the pick of the Australian trio with 35 wickets in his seven Tests at a superb average of 13.6.
Cummins has been world class yet again with 31 at 24.9 while Starc’s 30 at 27.86 is nothing to be sneezed at.
But the best bowler in 2024 has undoubtedly been Indian spearhead Jasprit Bumrah, who leads all comers with 62 at 14.58 in 12 Tests, including 21 in the past three matches against Australia at 10.9.
The other two spots are set to go to new England quick Gus Atkinson for his 52 at 22.15 in 11 Tests and Black Caps seamer Matt Henry (48 at 18.58 in nine).
England have uncovered another seamer in Brydon Carse for next year’s Ashes with the 29-year-old claiming 27 poles at 19.85 in his first five matches while Proteas paceman Kagiso Rabada (32 at 17.96) and 23-year-old Jayden Seales (35 at 20.25) is another reason for optimism for the Windies.
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