Recently, England’s captain, Ben Stokes, was honoured as the ICC’s Men’s Test Cricketer of the Year for 2022. Stokes played a crucial role in reshaping both the make-up and playing style of England’s red-ball side. Stokes has won nine of England’s last ten Test matches as captain. Prior to then, England had only one victory in the previous 17 Tests.
The star player has been the driving force behind the team’s success with the bat and the ball. He scored 870 runs while batting at an average of 36.25 and a strike rate of 71.21, including two hundreds. He also took 26 wickets, which helped the squad in many ways.
The Border-Gavaskar Trophy and the Ashes are two of the most important Test series that will be played in 2023, even though it is an ODI World Cup year.
Considering this, let’s have a look at three possible candidates for the ICC Men’s Test Cricketer of the Year award in 2023.
#1 Steve Smith – Australia
Former Australian captain Steve Smith is widely considered one of the best batsmen in Test history. He had an outstanding season in 2017, scoring 876 runs in 11 games at a 58.40 batting average. This included two centuries and five fifties, with his highest score being an unbeaten 200.
The second-best Test batsman in the world has maintained his form this year, as evidenced by his 104 runs batted in against South Africa at the Sydney Cricket Ground (SCG).
With the most Tests scheduled for Australia in 2023, Smith has a great shot at leading the league in batting average. This makes him a leading contender for the ICC Men’s Test Cricketer of the Year.
#2 Pat Cummins – Australia
Pat Cummins, the current Test captain of Australia, has been in sensational form with the ball since he assumed the role. Since 2021, he has played in 14 tests, in which he has taken 57 wickets.
Beginning 2023 on a high note, the New South Wales cricketer took four wickets in his lone 2023 Test appearance.
Cummins has a strong chance at winning the ICC Men’s Test Cricketer of the Year award in 2023, thanks to upcoming competitions for the Border-Gavaskar Trophy and the Ashes.
#3 Virat Kohli – India
Virat Kohli, the former captain of India, has gone quiet in the red-ball feature for the past few years. In 2021, he scored 536 runs at a 28.21 clip, but in 2018, he scored just 265 runs in six games for a 26.50 average.
As a white-ball cricketer, Kohli roared back to form in the Asia Cup 2022 and the ICC T20 World Cup 2022 after a few disappointing years on the international stage. It is anticipated that the star striker batter will finally find his groove in the forthcoming Border-Gavaskar Trophy match against Australia, despite his disappointing performance thus far in Tests.
If Kohli finds his form again in 2023, he will be among the top contenders for the ICC Men’s Test Cricketer of the Year award.