ICC names nominees for Men's Test Cricketer of the Year
Cricket
England’s Joe Root and Harry Brook are among four nominees
(Web Desk) – The International Cricket Council (ICC) has revealed nominees for ICC Men’s Test Cricketer of The Year.
England’s Joe Root and Harry Brook, Indian bowler Jasprit Bumra and Sri Lanka’s Kamindu Mendis have been nominated for the award.
Joe Root (England)
2024 saw the former England captain continue his impressive run in the longest format of the game.
Across 17 Tests, Joe Root compiled his second-best annual run-tally in Tests - second only to his 1708 runs from 2021. It was also the fifth instance of Root scoring over 1000 Test runs in a calendar year.
With six Test hundreds to go alongside five half-centuries, Root was a consistent performer for England - both home and away. His impressive run with the bat saw Root amass joint-fifth highest tons in Tests (36) alongside Rahul Dravid.
In addition to his batting exploits, Root also provided an extra spin option, and impressed with a four-wicket haul in the marquee series against India.
Jasprit Bumrah (India)
Having returned to the Test arena following his recovery from a recurring back injury in 2023, Bumrah dominated the bowling charts in 2024.
Featuring across 13 Tests in the calendar year, Bumrah delivered his best-ever annual tally - 71 wickets - finishing the year with more Test wickets than any of his counterparts.
Be it the pace-conducive conditions in South Africa and Australia, or tougher conditions for quicks at home, Bumrah was equally impressive through the year.
However, it was on India’s tour of Australia that the pace spearhead produced his magnum opus.
Kamindu Mendis (Sri Lanka)
Sri Lanka’s new middle-order mainstay was the sixth batter to score over 1000 runs in Men’s Tests across the year.
Putting in a admirable performances both home and away, Mendis boasted incredible numbers. The most notable was him becoming the joint-third quickest to score 1000 Test runs - equalling Sir Don Bradman’s 13-innings mark to reach the milestone.
Mendis averaged more than any of the batters who played more than two Tests in the calendar year - a staggering 74.92 from nine matches.
His performances with the bat helped Sri Lanka push their claim for their first-ever appearance in the ICC World Test Championship Final with wins over New Zealand, England and Bangladesh.
Harry Brook (England)
A flagbearer of England’s quickfire brand of batting, Harry Brook emerged as a breakthrough performer in the longest format.
The 25-year-old scored 1100 runs at a strike rate of 85.00, comprising three fifties and four hundred plus scores, which also included a maiden triple century.
A noticeable trait in his performances was the fact that most of his runs (723) came away from home while playing the same number of games as he did in England (6).
To wrap the year on a successful note, Brook closed the tour of New Zealand as the top-scorer to round off England’s first series win in the country since 2008. Owing to his impact with the bat, Brook managed to displace Joe Root to reign supreme in the Men’s ICC Test Rankings.
