The Best of 2017: Test Cricket in numbers

2017 turned out to be a year with some exciting Test match action that saw a high percentage of results as 40 out of 47 Tests played ended with a result same as in 2016. This year also witnessed the increase in the day/night Test matches as England and South Africa turned out to be the hosts for the first time. The Indian dominance in the longer format continued as they firmed their position at the top of ICC rankings. 2017 also saw the return of 4-day Test for the first time in over 40 years.

All the stats and numbers that were recorded in the Test cricket in 2017:

1 – Moeen Ali’s hat-trick against South Africa in The Oval Test match is the only hat-tricks recorded in the Test cricket in 2017.

5 – Yasir Shah, Nathan Lyon and Rangana Herath have bagged five 5-wicket hauls each in Test cricket this year which are the most by any player.

6 – Steven Smith’s six hundreds are the most in 2017 Tests. Virat Kohli and Dean Elgar have scored five hundreds each. Joe Root’s ten fifty-plus scores are the most by any player in 2017.

7 – India and South Africa’s seven Test wins in 2017 are the most for any team. India featured in 11 Tests and lost one while Saffers played 12 losing three matches.

7 – Number of losses in the 2017 Tests for Sri Lanka and Bangladesh. These are the most number of losses for any team in this format in 2017.

8/50 – Nathan Lyon’s 8/50 against India in Bangalore are the best bowling figures this year. Four other 7-wicket hauls were recorded in this format in 2017.

13/154 – Nathan Lyon’s match figures of 13/154 in the Chittagong Test against Bangladesh are the best match figures in 2017 for a player. Five other players took seven 10-wicket match hauls in Test cricket this year.

15 – Colin de Grandhomme’s 15 sixes are the most hit by any player in 2017 Tests. Dean Elgar’s 143 fours are the most by any player.

50 – Quinton de Kock’s 50 dismissals are the most for any wicketkeeper in 2017. His 45 catches behind the stumps are also the most for any keeper while Niroshan Dickwella’s seven stumpings are the most by any keeper this year. Steven Smith’s 21 catches are the most for any fielder in 2017 Tests.

63 – Number of wickets for Nathan Lyon in the Tests played this year. He is the leading wicket-taker in this format in 2017. Kagiso Rabada’s 57 wickets are the most among pacers.

68 – Zimbabwe’s total of 68/10 in the Port Elizabeth Test against South Africa is the lowest total in 2017. They were bowled out for 123 in the 2nd innings of the same Test.

244* – Alastair Cook’s unbeaten 244 in the Boxing Day Test is the highest individual score in 2017. His 243 against Windies is the joint 2nd highest this year along with Virat Kohli’s 243 against Sri Lanka.

359 – The 359-run 5th wicket stand between Shakib Al Hasan and Mushfiqur Rahim against New Zealand is the highest partnership for any wicket in 2017. The 301-run partnership between Steven Smith and Mitchell Marsh for the same 5th wicket is the only other triple century stand in 2017.

687/6 – India’s first innings total of 687/6 in the Hyderabad Test match against Bangladesh is the highest team total of 2017. India recorded five out of six 600+ team totals this year.

1305 – Steven Smith is the 2017’s highest run-getter in Test cricket with 1305 runs. Cheteshwar Pujara stands behind Smith with 1140 runs.

1511 – The Wellington Test match between New Zealand and Bangladesh is the highest aggregated (1511 runs) game of 2017 while the Port Elizabeth Test between South Africa and Zimbabwe (498 runs) is the lowest aggregated match.