Ranking the Top 10 Batsmen in World Cricket in 2014
Trying to work out the top 10 batsmen in world cricket over the past 12 months was never going to be easy.
There have been some amazing performances in the international game, but the names finally chosen on this list have been included for also showing some consistency over the year.
Before beginning the countdown, I should make clear some criteria used during the arduous selection process.
Test match runs are more important; although the Twenty20 format has become extremely popular and there has been a lot of one-day games played in 2014, producing performances in the longest form of the game is still the pinnacle for players at the top level. Long may that continue, too.
Twenty20 runs have not been taken into account. Only Virat Kohli features in the top 10 run-scorers in that format. A look at the other names on the list and it is hard to argue they warrant a place over those who have been picked.
Innings of real significance needed to be taken into consideration. It's not just a simple case of ranking figures—players have been given extra credit for performing when their team needed them the most.
Also, some apologies need to be printed to those who did not make the final cut.
AB de Villiers was outstanding in ODI cricket, but his Test average for the year is below his career mark. Mahela Jayawardene has been as reliable as ever for Sri Lanka, but two of his compatriots were more impressive.
Aaron Finch and Tillakaratne Dilshan do not play Test cricket, while Misbah-ul-Haq struggled so badly in limited overs action that he ended up dropping himself. His Test stats for the year, however, were excellent.
All Test and one-day statistics are from ESPN Cricinfo.
And finally, remember that this is just the opinion of one writer. If you do not agree, and therefore want to argue your case for someone else, please do so in the comments section.
10. Hashim Amla (South Africa)
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Like several of his counterparts on the list, captaincy seems to have only increased Hashim Amla's ability to score runs.
South Africa's new Test captain marked his first match in charge on home soil by hitting 208 against West Indies at Centurion. The innings helped set up a comfortable victory that confirmed his country will finish the year on top of the ICC Test rankings.
Yet it is in one-day cricket where Amla has really shone over the past year.
He hit five hundreds in 50-over action for the Proteas, with all of those three-figure scores coming overseas. It is a feat no other batsman in world cricket was able to match during 2014.
Amla made centuries in Australia, New Zealand, Sri Lanka and Zimbabwe, showing how adaptable he is to whatever conditions or opponents he comes up against. It is therefore not surprising that he boasts Test and ODI averages above 50.
Test runs: 700 (average 63.63)
ODI runs: 892 (average 52.47)
9. Kane Williamson (New Zealand)
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While Brendon McCullum has been the driving force for a successful year for New Zealand, Kane Williamson has played a major part in helping the Kiwis grow in 2014.
In Test action Williamson has managed 929 runs in 17 innings, including four hundreds. He hit a career-best 192 in Sharjah against Pakistan, surpassing his previous high of 161 not out, a score he made in June against West Indies.
The right-handed batsman has also been impressive in one-day action, averaging exactly 70. In 12 innings he has recorded a century and seven half-centuries for the Black Caps.
He led his country to an ODI series victory over Pakistan, hitting 97 in the deciding game, and has also prospered in Twenty20 cricket for his country, averaging over 30 in eight games.
The only disappointment over the past 12 months for Williamson came when he was suspended from bowling by the ICC. However, he has since undergone remedial action and is free to send down his off-spin again.
Test runs: 929 (average 61.93)
ODI runs: 770 (average 70)
8. Virat Kohli (India)
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Virat Kohli has experienced plenty of highs and lows during 2014, but things seem to be on the up again as he finished the year in fine form.
The right-hander endured a lean time of it on his country's tour to England, averaging just 13.4 in his 10 innings during the five-match Test series that saw the tourists squander an early lead to lose 3-1.
However, Kohli has found trips to New Zealand and Australia much more to his liking. He hit a century against the Black Caps early in the year and then ended it with knocks of 141 and 169 against the Aussies, in Adelaide and Melbourne respectively.
While his Test form has been up and down, his scores in ODI cricket he has been consistently outstanding. He has added four more hundreds to take his tally to 21, an astonishing number considering he is still just 26.
Kohli will start 2015 with added pressure on his shoulders—he has been appointed captain of India in Test cricket following the sudden retirement of Mahendra Singh Dhoni.
Test runs: 847 (average 44.57)
ODI runs: 1054 (average 58.55)
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7. Joe Root (England)
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In what has been a topsy-turvy year for England, Joe Root has been a consistent performer throughout.
He endured a difficult Ashes series in Australia towards the end of 2014. He was shunted back up the order from six to three to replace the departed Jonathan Trott, then dropped for the final Test in Sydney.
But, when he returned to English soil, the Yorkshireman looked far more at home. Batting at five, a position where he had made his maiden Test hundred at his home ground of Headingley, Root regained his confidence and blossomed during home series' against Sri Lanka and India.
He made three unbeaten Test centuries, including a maiden double hundred in the first Test of the summer at Lord's, and finished the year averaging a rather impressive 97.12.
Root has also managed a trio of hundreds in ODI cricket, a format England have focused on heavily in 2014 ahead of the World Cup. His previous highest score in 50-over cricket for his country prior to this year was 79 not out.
Test runs: 777 (average 97.12)
ODI runs: 872 (average 43.60)
6. David Warner (Australia)
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Once seen as a limited-overs specialist, David Warner underlined his Test credentials with six hundreds in 2014.
The Australia opener averaged 90.50 in the Test leg of the tour to South Africa, including recording centuries in each innings in Cape Town as Australia won the match to clinch the three-match series.
Warner has also found India's bowlers to his liking when back on home turf, again making back-to-back three-figure scores in the opening Test, in Adelaide. His knock of 145 on day one was particularly important for his country, coming in the first international match since the death of team-mate Phillip Hughes.
Only Younis Khan has matched Warner's number of three-figure scores over the past 12 months in Tests, with the vast difference in style and scoring rates between the pair proving there is no set formula for success at the highest level.
Warner's one-day form has not been quite as impressive, but the left-hander will no doubt be determined to star in the World Cup in Australia early in 2015.
Test runs: 1136 (average 63.11)
ODI runs: 406 (average 36.90)
5. Younis Khan (Pakistan)
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The evergreen Younis Khan has enjoyed a stellar 2014 in Test cricket, scoring six hundreds in 20 innings.
The Pakistan batsman, 37, wasted little time in opening his account, making 136 during a Test against Sri Lanka on the very first day of the year.
He added another century in the same series, though it was Australia who really suffered at the hands of Younis. He made a trio of three-figure scores in just two Tests, including a superb 213 in Abu Dhabi.
Another hundred followed against New Zealand and his outstanding form saw him earn a recall to Pakistan's ODI and Twenty20 squads to play the Black Caps.
If Younis continues to grind out big scores in 2015, he will surely overtake Javed Miandad and become the leading scorer for Pakistan in Test history.
Test runs: 1213 (average 71.35)
ODI runs: 163 (average 27.16)
4. Steve Smith (Australia)
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The last 12 months have seen Steve Smith make a meteoric rise from promising player to captain of his country.
Prior to 2014 Smith had registered two Test hundreds in his career for Australia. Over the past year he has managed to achieve the feat on five occasions, including twice when leading the team in the absence of the injured Michael Clarke.
He has scored 1,146 runs at an average of 81.85, pushing his overall Test mark beyond 50. Such a record seemed so unlikely when he debuted back in 2010 against Pakistan at Lord's as a leg-spinning all-rounder.
While his technique may not quite be lifted from the pages of the MCC Coaching Manual, Smith is a difficult player to bowl at. His natural attacking instincts have also seen him prosper in limited overs cricket.
At 25, the New South Welshman has already proved the doubters wrong and shown off his leadership credentials. Australia look in safe hands with Clarke's understudy.
Test runs: 1146 (average 81.85)
ODI runs: 541 (average 49.18)
3. Angelo Mathews (Sri Lanka)
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Before 2014 Angelo Mathews had scored two international hundreds. Now, 12 months later, he has tripled his tally of three-figure scores for Sri Lanka.
The all-rounder managed three Test centuries during the year, including a superb innings of 160 against England at Headingley that set up the chance for Sri Lanka to clinch not just victory in the match but also the series.
Mathews also made telling contributions to help save his country from defeat; his 102 at Lord's helped avoid the risk of having to follow-on, while he began 2014 by making 157 not out in the second innings to secure a draw against Pakistan in Abu Dhabi.
In ODI cricket he hit 139 not out against India, his maiden century in 50-over cricket. It was a rare highlight for Sri Lanka in a series that saw them on the wrong end of a 5-0 sweep.
Only compatriot Sangakkara managed more runs in Test and ODI cricket than Mathews, a man who has found the added responsibility of captaincy inspiring.
Test runs: 1317 (average 87.80)
ODI runs: 1244 (average 62.20)
2. Brendon McCullum (New Zealand)
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Brendon McCullum has always given examples of his obvious batting talent throughout his career; the difference in 2014 has been the level of consistency he has displayed.
New Zealand's captain has led from the front in Test cricket. He helped the Kiwis to five wins, making for their most successful year ever in the longest format.
McCullum's personal numbers are stunning; he reached three figures in Tests on four occasions, with the lowest score of the lot being the brutal 195 he made in the Boxing Day Test against Sri Lanka in Canterbury
The previous month had seen him smash 202 to set up a series-levelling victory over Pakistan in Sharjah, though it was against India at the start of the year when he was at his very best.
The right-handed batsman amassed 535 runs in four innings in the series on home soil, including a career-best 302 in the second Test in Wellington that not only helped his team salvage a draw but saw him post the first triple hundred by a New Zealander.
Test runs: 1164 runs (average 72.75)
ODI runs: 183 runs (average 20.33)
1. Kumar Sangakkara (Sri Lanka)
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Like a fine wine, Kumar Sangakkara seems to be getting better and better with age.
The Sri Lankan left-hander showed no sign of losing his hunger for runs over the past 12 months despite now turning 37. He finishes as the leading scorer in both Test and ODI cricket for 2014, a magnificent double.
Sangakkara's Test tally of 1,493 was helped by a knock of 319 against Bangladesh in February, a new career best. He hit four hundreds in the long format, plus the same number again in 50-over action for his country.
His superb personal year also saw him enjoy team success; he bowed out from Twenty20 cricket for Sri Lanka by helping them win the ICC World Twenty20.
Sri Lanka fans should enjoy watching the stylish batsman while they still can; Sangakkara has confirmed that he will end his one-day career after the upcoming World Cup, though it remains to be seen if he will carry on playing Test matches for a little while longer yet.
Test runs: 1493 (average 71.09)
ODI runs: 1256 (average 46.51)
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