This year's selection panel comprised Vic Marks, Ali Martin, Emma John, Rob Smyth, Jonathan Liew, Adam Collins, Geoff Lemon, Daniel Gallan, Tim de Lisle, Taha Hashim, Tanya Aldred, Jim Wallace, and myself, Andy Bull. Everyone picked their own XI and, when we added up the votes, this is how it all came out (and yes, we were surprised so many Englishmen ended up in it, too).
1 Yashasvi Jaiswal
14 matches, 1,312 runs at 52. Votes: 13 out of 13
Over the course of England's tour of India, Jaiswal established himself as one of the brightest batters of the next generation of Test cricketers. It wasn't just the number of runs he scored, with back-to-back double centuries in Vizag and Rajkot, it was the ferocity of his batting. Jaiswal hit more sixes in the past 12 months of Test cricket than Virat Kohli has in 12 years of it. He was the only unanimous pick in this team.
2 Ben Duckett
16 matches, 1,065 at 35. Votes: 10
It was a rough 12 months for opening batters, and Duckett is a faute de mieux selection. Aside from Jaiswal, he was the only opener to make 1,000 runs in the year, or even get close to it. He scored two dashing centuries in games England lost, against India in Rajkot and Pakistan in Multan, and established himself as a senior member of the team, but his slightly flibbertigibbet habit of getting out without going on meant he finished the year with a middling average.
This story is from the December 27, 2024 edition of The Guardian.
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This story is from the December 27, 2024 edition of The Guardian.
Start your 7-day Magzter GOLD free trial to access thousands of curated premium stories, and 9,000+ magazines and newspapers.
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