THE International Cricket Council (ICC) yesterday commenced announcements as part of the ICC Awards 2024 by revealing the first three ICC Teams of the Year – The ICC Men’s Test Team of the Year, and the ICC Men’s and Women’s ODI Teams of the Year.

On the first of five days of announcements, the standout XIs in both formats were revealed, selected by an independent panel of prominent cricket media – the ICC Voting Academy – on the basis of statistics and overall achievements in international cricket during the calendar year.

Announcements in the ICC Awards 2024 will continue today (Saturday), with Men’s and Women’s T20I Teams revealed alongside the outstanding individual Men’s and Women’s T20I Cricketers of the Year.

Winners in 12 individual categories will be revealed each day until Tuesday, culminating in the most coveted and iconic prizes – the Sir Garfield Sobers Trophy for ICC Men’s Cricketer of the Year and the Rachael Heyhoe Flint Trophy for ICC Women’s Cricketer of the Year.

Winners in individual categories are determined by both the ICC Voting Academy and global fans, who registered over 1.5million votes at icc-cricket.com during a twelve-day voting period.

ICC Men’s Test Team of the Year:
1. Yashasvi Jaiswal (Ind)
2. Ben Duckett (Eng)
3. Kane Williamson (NZ)
4. Joe Root (Eng)
5. Harry Brook (Eng)
6. Kamindu Mendis (SL)
7. Jamie Smith (Eng) (wk)
8. Ravindra Jadeja (Ind)
9. Pat Cummins (Aus) (c)
10. Matt Henry (NZ)
11. Jasprit Bumrah (Ind)

Australia’s Pat Cummins captains the ICC Men’s Test Team of the Year for the second successive year, earning his place thanks to another memorable stint in which he guided his side to the ICC World Test Championship Final, overseeing victories against Pakistan, New Zealand and India, and picking up 37 wickets in his nine Tests at an average of 24.02.

India’s Yashasvi Jaiswal takes a spot atop the order after scoring 1,478 runs during the year at 54.74, which included double-centuries in back-to-back Tests against England in February and a sublime 161 against Australia in Perth. His opening partner is Ben Duckett, one of four Englishmen who appear, and another who scored over a thousand Test runs in the year (1,149).
Century-makers litter the middle order, comprised of New Zealand’s Kane Williamson, English duo Joe Root and Harry Brook and Sri Lanka’s Kamindu Mendis.

Williamson notched 1,013 runs in 2024 at an average of almost 60, while Brook’s 1,100 calendar runs were headlined by a record knock of 317 in victory over Pakistan in October. Mendis enjoyed a breakthrough year, hitting five centuries and becoming the fastest to 1,000 Test runs in 75 years, while the evergreen Root scored more Test runs (1,556) and recorded more centuries (6) than anyone else.

Jamie Smith earns a spot as the designated wicketkeeper in the Test Team of the Year, six months after making his Test debut for England, thanks to 637 runs in nine Tests which included a maiden hundred against Sri Lanka in August.

Captain Cummins is joined in the bowling group by all-rounder Ravindra Jadeja of India, who boasted 527 runs and 48 wickets in his Test year. Also with 48 wickets is New Zealand’s Matt Henry, the pacer making impressive contributions against Australia, India and England. Completing the list is top-ranked Test bowler Jasprit Bumrah, who excelled once more with ball in hand, topping the wicket-taking charts with 71 wickets in 2024 at a sensational average of 14.92. (ICC Media)