Summarizing the team performances of 2018
Ranked by W/L ratio:
And the ICC ranking tables at the end of the year:
Note that the rankings are quite different, as the ICC rankings cover a longer period and are supposed to take the opponent’s strength into account.
Note the close bunching for 2nd to 4th position by England, New Zealand and South Africa. Also 6th and 7th (Pakistan and Sri Lanka) and for 8th and 9th (West Indies and Bangladesh).
Now we go on to individual performances.
Batting:
Most runs: 500 and above:
Virat Kohli has the most centuries (5). He also has the most scores above 50 (10).
Highest innings (110 and above):
The top score of 264* by Tom Latham was the highest by anyone carrying his bat through an innings, surpassing the 244* by Alastair Cook less than a year earlier. Here is a live link of all those who carried their bat through an innings, in chronological order.
http://stats.espncricinfo.com/ci/content/records/283149.html
Curiously, it was the first instance of anyone scoring 264 or 264* in a Test. The lowest score which has never been made is 229/229* (but there is also an outlier at 140*).
KJ O’Brien is here for Ireland’s first Test century, while Afghanistan still has no score above 50.
Highest batting average (Minimum 20 innings, all instances):
Kohli and the hitherto unheralded Kusal Mendis are on top here, as in the listing of most runs. Others from India can also be seen here.
Highest strike rates (Minimum 1000 balls faced, all instances):
Here it is Buttler and Mominul who have the highest strike rates. Pujara is near the bottom as we may expect. Kohli and Rahane are also here.
To be continued:
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