McCullum scored 425 runs from eight tests in 2015, with the help of three half centuries. In ODIs, he piled up 764 runs in 24 matches, with a century to boot. He was easily the most impactful batsman in the 2015 World Cup. He played in just two T-20 matches, in which he scored 35 in the only innings he got to bat.
Who were the best 10 cricketers of 2015? There were some great performances in tests; some scintillating performances in ODI arena; and some swashbuckling performances in T-20s. But who were the ones who stamped their class in all three formats in the previous year? This article tries to find them out.
SOME CONTEXT
Cricket is a simple game made complicated by stats and formats. A few years ago, it was possible to pick the best batsman of that time: the likes of Tendulkar, Lara and Ponting used to get universal admiration. But now if you ask who the best batsman is at this time, the most likely answer will be a return question: in which format – tests, ODIs or T-20s? The selection of best players is further muddied by statistics. Fans despise the stats. Players openly ignore it, but secretly crave for statistical milestones. Cricket writers selectively choose it to validate their points: drop player x and select player y. Amidst all these trends, stats’ influence is only growing in cricket. Stats have become an essential evil of cricket, so much so that it is not possible to choose the best cricketers of a particular year without checking the stats. It is in this context that this selection of top10 cricketers must be seen. You can twist the statistical criteria to pick certain players and drop certain others. If you take all the statistical yardsticks, it is actually possible to have hundreds of top-10 cricketers of the year!
Well, the aim here is to find the real top ten players across all three formats – that is, the players who have excelled in all three formats in 2015. There is no room for one-trick ponies in this list. This is the list of cricketers who are capable of producing their best, irrespective of the format.
THE CURIOUS CASE OF STATS
This story is from the February 2016 edition of Cricket Today.
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This story is from the February 2016 edition of Cricket Today.
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