Tests of 2022-Captaincy records

Finally, we look at captaincy records. Most teams have had more than one captain during the year:

At first glance, this shows RG Sharma and SPD Smith having a W/L ratio of infinity. However they have captained in only 2 and 1 Tests respectively. If we consider those who captained in a minimum of 5 Tests, then we have BA Stokes (9.00) at the top, followed by PJ Cummins (6.00). Others such as KC Brathwaite (1.50) are far behind.

The most Tests captained in are 11 by D Elgar, followed by Stokes and Cummins (10 each) and Babar Azam (9). Several failed to win any Test, led by JE Root (5) and Shakib Al Hasan (lost all 4).

Tests in 2022-Debutants

We now look at the best performances of those who made their debut in 2022.

Batting-40 or more runs in an innings:

Headed by Zakir Hasan whose 100 was the only century on debut, and J Overton with 97. Of special mention is T Chanderpaul with 51 and 45.

Batting-80 or more runs in a match:

Zakir Hasan and Saud Shakeel both scored above 100 runs on debut.

Bowling-4 or more wickets in an innings:

Led by Abrar Ahmed with 7-114, and P Jayasuriya with two 6-fors. Abrar also took a 4-for. MJ Potts’s 4-13 was very economical.

Bowling-8 or more wickets in a match:

P Jayasuriya and Abrar both took 10+ wickets on their debuts.

Fielding-4 dismissals in an innings:

SW Billings is the only one here.

Fielding-5 dismissals in a match:

Again, SW Billings is the only one here.

All-round: 50 runs and 5 wickets:

WG Jacks is the only one here.

All-round: 40 runs and 4 dismissals:

No one.

Tests in 2022-Batting records

Continuing our study of Test performances in the year gone by.

Most runs-500 or more:

Babar Azam leads with 1184, while Root, Khawaja and Bairstow also crossed 1000. For India, only RR Pant appears here with 680.

Also note:

Most 100s: 6 by Bairstow, 5 by Root

Most 50+s: 11 by Babar Azam, 9 by Usman Khawaja

Most 4s: 132 by Z Crawley, 128 by Bairstow

Most 6s: 26 by Stokes, 21 by Pant

Highest innings (150 or more):

A good year for double centuries, led by Latham’s 252 at the beginning of the year.Williamson and Warner scored doubles in their last Tests of the year. Only one from India, Jadeja’s 175*.

Best batting averages (Minimum 20 innings, all instances):

Only 7 instances here which meet the cutoff of 20 innings. Khawaja’s average of 67.50 is much higher than the second-placed Root with 45.75.

Best strike rates (Minimum 1000 balls faced, 40.00 and above):

Headed by Bairstow, Stokes and Root, who may be called the main proponents of Bazball.

No one from India here.

However, JJ Bumrah made the Test record for the most runs in an over (35 off England’s SCJ Broad) at Birmingham. The previous record was 28.

Tests in 2022-Team records

Here we consider all Tests which were played in 2022:

Here are the Test teams arranged by W/L ratios:

Australia is far ahead of other teams, with England in second place. They are followed by the West Indies and India.

Now we look at the ICC ranking table (updated on 25 Dec 2022):

Here Australia leads again, followed by India, England and South Africa.

This has nothing to do with the World Test Championship which has an entirely different calculation method. This is the position of WTC points on 31 Dec 2022:

Here, India is in second place after Australia. The positions may change after all the matches are played in the beginning of 2023.

To be continued with other statistics connected with batting, bowling etc.