leatherface58
Senior T20I Player
- Joined
- Jul 18, 2011
- Runs
- 17,956
Steve Smith, Virat Kohli, Kane Williamson and Joe Root are considered the best young batsmen in cricket today. I was having a look at their stats since 2014 in tests and it pretty much proves how these 4 are on a totally different level compared to the rest. There are some other very good batsmen too such as de Kock and Pujara but these 4 are the gold standard right now.
Smith:
His lowest average is against Bangladesh where he played 2 tests to average under 30. So if you remove Bangladesh, his average will go up even more. His next lowest average is in and against Sri Lanka, 41. He averages almost 50 at a very good strike rate in ODIs so he can play the shorter format too.
Those are phenomenal stats by any yardstick. He has an unconventional technique but so did Chanderpaul and it worked well for him and it will work well for Smith too.
Kohli:
It is a very good record but it is marred by the horrible England tour he had. His conversion rate is off the charts though so if he does well in England, his record will look even better. His terrible England series is balanced by an amazing series in Australia where he scored 4 centuries. Just to put it into perspective, most folks cannot score a century after multiple tours in Australia and Kohli scored 4 in one series. Kohli is already pretty much a legend in ODIs and his performance in T20s is disturbingly consistent, so he is probably the most well-rounded performer in the game today across all formats.
Root:
Root has a great average but his conversion rate is pretty bad and you saw that on the India tour, where he scored a lot of 50s but they needed tons from him and he did not deliver. Regardless, he is another great talent and he should get over this stumbling block of not scoring tons. Root is doing great in ODI and T20 as well.
Williamson:
Williamson has been on a tear himself. He is the least showy of the four batsmen described here but his conversion rate is great and his performances in wins and overseas are good too. Williamson has a good record in ODI and T20 but he needs to up the ante that the other three described here are capable of. He tends to go into his shell and come up with good but not match-winning knocks. Regardless, he is pretty great right now and hopefully this will continue.
Overall, in terms of batting solely in tests taking into consideration their record and having seen them play, I would say currently, Smith > Williamson > Kohli > Root. Root has a chance to have a great ashes and go higher up. Smith has a chance to cement his spot as the best test batsman today which he already seems to be doing. Kohli will look to score runs in South Africa where he did well last time while Williamson will look to improve his record even more in the upcoming West Indies series.
What is your opinion, folks?
Smith:
Code:
Mat Inns NO Runs HS Ave BF SR 100 50 0 4s 6s
41 74 12 4481 215 72.27 7653 58.55 18 17 3 504 21His lowest average is against Bangladesh where he played 2 tests to average under 30. So if you remove Bangladesh, his average will go up even more. His next lowest average is in and against Sri Lanka, 41. He averages almost 50 at a very good strike rate in ODIs so he can play the shorter format too.
Those are phenomenal stats by any yardstick. He has an unconventional technique but so did Chanderpaul and it worked well for him and it will work well for Smith too.
Kohli:
Code:
Mat Inns NO Runs HS Ave BF SR 100 50 0 4s 6s
40 66 5 3255 235 53.36 5371 60.60 13 6 4 361 9It is a very good record but it is marred by the horrible England tour he had. His conversion rate is off the charts though so if he does well in England, his record will look even better. His terrible England series is balanced by an amazing series in Australia where he scored 4 centuries. Just to put it into perspective, most folks cannot score a century after multiple tours in Australia and Kohli scored 4 in one series. Kohli is already pretty much a legend in ODIs and his performance in T20s is disturbingly consistent, so he is probably the most well-rounded performer in the game today across all formats.
Root:
Code:
Mat Inns NO Runs HS Ave BF SR 100 50 0 4s 6s
46 82 8 4383 254 59.22 7096 61.76 11 28 2 517 13Root has a great average but his conversion rate is pretty bad and you saw that on the India tour, where he scored a lot of 50s but they needed tons from him and he did not deliver. Regardless, he is another great talent and he should get over this stumbling block of not scoring tons. Root is doing great in ODI and T20 as well.
Williamson:
Code:
Mat Inns NO Runs HS Ave BF SR 100 50 0 4s 6s
32 58 8 3322 242* 66.44 5892 56.38 13 13 1 372 9Williamson has been on a tear himself. He is the least showy of the four batsmen described here but his conversion rate is great and his performances in wins and overseas are good too. Williamson has a good record in ODI and T20 but he needs to up the ante that the other three described here are capable of. He tends to go into his shell and come up with good but not match-winning knocks. Regardless, he is pretty great right now and hopefully this will continue.
Overall, in terms of batting solely in tests taking into consideration their record and having seen them play, I would say currently, Smith > Williamson > Kohli > Root. Root has a chance to have a great ashes and go higher up. Smith has a chance to cement his spot as the best test batsman today which he already seems to be doing. Kohli will look to score runs in South Africa where he did well last time while Williamson will look to improve his record even more in the upcoming West Indies series.
What is your opinion, folks?
