Australia beat India in the final of the World Test Championship 2021-23 cycle by a margin of 209 runs to clinch the silverware. By doing so, they’ve earned all the ICC titles and are the first-ever team to do so.
It’s hard for a team to glory without a proper all-rounder in the side. And players like Cameron Green, Mitchell Marsh, etc. had a good contribution towards Australia’s dominance in the league table throughout the period of two years. In this space, we shall look at the best five all-rounders from the World Test Championship 2021-23 cycle.
#5 Kyle Mayers
If someone who can talk with the new ball and offer early wickets for West Indies, Kyle Mayers can be their go-to man. And it’s not just a statement, the all-rounder has proved his mettle in the last couple of years for the Island nation.
The all-rounder smashed 361 runs from 10 matches and has snapped 24 wickets during the WTC 2021-23 cycle. He has been a mainstay in the playing XI and has operated with the new ball under various circumstances.
Mayers has the ability to swing the ball laterally and has been a potential threat to the opposition. One of those examples could be the fifer he bagged against England when the latter toured the Island nation. He dismissed Joe Root twice in the game and ended up with seven wickets across both innings.
With the bat in hand, the Barbadian cricketer’s 146 runs knock against Bangladesh in the second Test during June 2022 has to be one of the key highlights from the recently concluded WTC cycle.
#4 Cameron Green
Australia is one of those sides who have manufactured some great seam all-rounders in the last two decades who have won games for the side from various situations. Talk about Shane Watson, James Hopes, Mitchell Marsh, and Cameron Green can be termed as one of the successors.
Green has had a great outing in the red-ball format during the WTC 2021-23 cycle with both the willow and the sphere in hand. He has smashed 732 runs from 17 matches. He was brilliant at home as well as in overseas conditions. Green brought up his maiden Test century against India in the Ahmedabad Test. In addition, he also ticked up a few 70s against England and Pakistan that turned out very crucial in the respective matches.
When it comes to the ball in hand, Green has been an absolute beauty. Due to his tallness, the Aussie got to extract extra zip off the surface. He has scalped 25 wickets during the WTC 2021-23 cycle. The unique aspect about it is that Green has picked up all his career wickets during this tenure. His five-wicket haul against South Africa in the Boxing Day Test in the iconic MCG has to be one of the sure-shot favorites from this period.
Apart from all these, earning the mace in the final of the World Test Championship serves as the icing on the cake for the young gun who has a great future as predicted by various cricket pundits.
#3 Ben Stokes
England has transformed as a team since the time Brendon McCullum became the coach and Ben Stokes was appointed as the red-ball captain. Under the leadership of the all-rounder, not just England has fared well in terms of results, but Stokes’ individual game has also improved as a three-dimensional cricketer.
The Durham-based cricketer piled up 971 runs from 18 matches with an average of 32.36. He smashed 2 centuries and four half-centuries during this stint. One of the tons- 120, came against West Indies in the Kensington Oval in 2022, which eventually turned out as a drawn affair.
The second ton- 103 came against South Africa in the same year at Old Trafford. It was a more important knock as it came when the Three Lions’ needed the most. Stokes chalked a 173 runs partnership with Ben Foakes which eventually turned out as the game-changing moment of the contest.
England has been a different team altogether under captain Ben Stokes
When we speak about Ben Stokes the bowler, the best of him transpired during the calendar year 2022 when the New Zealand-born grabbed as many as 30 wickets. His 4-33 against India during the Birmingham Test in July was the key highlight of the WTC 2021-23 cycle.
#2 Ravichandran Ashwin
Ravichandran Ashwin had a key role to play in India’s success in the WTC Final. The number one ranked Test bowler ended complied 444 runs with the bat in hand during this phase. It includes two half-centuries, one against Sri Lanka and the other against Bangladesh.
Getting to bat with the Indian tail for most of the time, Ashwin has done a remarkable job in boosting India’s totals on various innings during this period. Although, batting is his secondary role, let us talk about the primary role.
Ashwin is the second-highest wicket-taker in the 2021-23 WTC Cycle after Australia’s Nathan Lyon. He has 61 wickets from 13 matches with an economy of under 3. His 6-91 against Australia in Ahmedabad is the best individual stat as a bowler during this tenure. In addition, the Tamil Nadu-born bagged two fifers during this cycle.
#1 Ravindra Jadeja
Talk about the number one ranked all-rounder in white jersey and the name is Ravindra Jadeja. The Gujarat-based cricketer has notched 711 runs from 7 matches and snapped as many as 47 wickets.
Ravindra Jadeja scored two centuries during WTC 2021-23 cycle
The all-rounder has been one of the prominent names in the Indian XI barring the period he missed owning to an injury. Jadeja also participated in the WTC Final for India but despite endeavours, failed to pull his time past the finishing line.
Jadeja racked up two centuries and three half-centuries during the WTC 2021-23 cycle which includes an unbeaten knock of 175 runs against Sri Lanka in the PCA Stadium, Mohali. The other ton arrived away from home in Edgbaston when the all-rounder troubled the English bowlers with a 104-run knock in 2022.
With the cork in hand, Jadeja ended up with 22 wickets from the 2023 Border Gavaskar Trophy, troubling the mighty Aussies away from their home. His 7-43 against them in the Arun Jaitley Stadium has to be the key highlight of this WTC tenure. He ended up with 10 wickets in the particular Test.