Test cricket regained some lost ground in the 2010s with quite a few extraordinary Test matches garnering huge attention. In the latter half of the decade, with pitches being made result-oriented, the number of draws reduced and bowling caught up with batting to make for some compelling contests. Here we put together our Test team of the decade factoring in all the changes that happened over the decade.
Alastair Cook
Quite a few opening batsmen made their presence felt in this decade, but the standout batsman was England’s retired skipper, Alastair Cook. The left-handed batsman had a commendable 10 years, making 8769 runs in 111 Tests with 23 hundreds and 37 half-centuries. He averaged 46.15 and had a magnificent last few years where he also scored a career-best double ton against the pink ball.
David Warner
Few openers have had a mesmerizing effect at the top with their aggression in Tests like Virender Sehwag. But if anyone comes close, it is David Warner from Australia, who made a brilliant metamorphosis from a T20 batsman to a Test batsman over the course of the decade. Despite a playing style in sharp contrast to that of Cook, Warner made as many hundreds and scored 6970 runs in 82 Tests at an average just less than 50. He capped off the year with an unbeaten triple hundred against Pakistan at home to jolt out of a poor run of form in the Ashes.
Kumar Sangakkara (wk)
Sangakkara did not keep in the decade but with BJ Watling the sole contender he was up against in competition, an average of 61.4 with 17 tons in the decade seals the deal the Sri Lankan’s way. Sangakkara is also a natural no. 3 batsman and will allow Steven Smith and Virat Kohli to slot into the actual middle-order.
Steve Smith
The batsman of the decade, and perhaps the best ever since Don Bradman, was Steven Smith. The leg-spinner-turned-batsman averages a mind-blowing 63.14 in Tests in the decade with 26 hundreds, 27 half-centuries and 7000-plus runs in just over 70 matches. The unquestionable pick in the team of the decade, Smith is the best of the Fab four in terms of averages and will bat above Kohli in his familiar role at no. 4.
Virat Kohli ©
Virat Kohli – on the basis of most wins as captain in the decade and the best win/loss ratio among captains – skippers this side with his place in the team a no-brainer given his outstanding record in the decade. Kohli has more centuries than fifties (27 against 22) in the decade and has 7202 runs in 84 Tests at an average of 54.97. With hundreds in each of the SENA (South Africa, England, New Zealand and Australia) countries, Kohli is an indomitable force in this batting line-up.
AB de Villiers
No team of the decade is complete without the extraordinary South African, AB de Villiers. While he racked up the fastest 50, 100 and 150 in ODIs in the decade – and is perhaps also the ODI batsman of the decade – his Test numbers were equally impressive. In attack or restraint, de Villiers was a sight to behold and his 13 hundreds and average of 57.48 in the decade in Tests do not actually do justice to his impact in the South African side. He will also offer a back-up wicket-keeping option to Sangakkara.
Ravichandran Ashwin
An all-rounder whose credentials have often been undermined, Ravichandran Ashwin with 362 wickets and 2000-plus runs in the decade in Tests slots in at no. 7. The off-spinner has 27 five-wicket hauls and an average of 25.36 with the ball in the decade while also recording four Test centuries. A rather underrated Test bowler, Ashwin pips Shakib Al Hasan, Ben Stokes and Jason Holder to the starting XI in this team.
Kagiso Rabada
Kagiso Rabada was absent for most of the decade, but such was his impact that Rabada was among the first names in the Test team of the decade. The pace bowler has 190 wickets in 41 Tests at an average of 22.57 with nine five-wicket hauls. But it is his strike rate of 40, the best for bowlers with at least 100 wickets in the decade, that makes Rabada a certainty in this team of the decade.
Rangana Herath
Much like Ashwin, Herath has flown under the radar for most of his career despite clocking some impressive numbers with the ball. The left-arm spinner from Sri Lanka will complement Ashwin in the spin department in this team. He has one wicket more than Ashwin – 363 at 26.41 – in the decade and comes fourth in the list of most wicket-takers in the decade. While Nathan Lyon has 380 wickets, the most in the decade, he comes behind Ashwin and Herath in the pecking order because of an unimpressive average.
Dale Steyn
Despite being injured for a large part of the decade, Dale Steyn will figure in the side for picking up 267 wickets in 59 Test matches at an average of 22.29. The South African pacer is a natural force with the new ball and with a strike rate of 43.9 and 15 five-wicket hauls, he is a must-pick in the team of the decade. The other contender for this slot is Pat Cummins but with him missing a very large chunk of the decade, the Aussie pacer isn’t a suitable pick.
James Anderson
The England fast bowler went on to become the pacer with most wickets in Test history this decade. In 150 Test matches, Anderson has a stunning 577 Test wickets with 429 of them coming in this decade. The England pacer, after early hiccups in his career, averages a pretty good 24.35 with a strike rate of 54.9. With 20 five-wicket hauls in the decade, the England pacer put to rest debates surrounding his effectiveness in all conditions.