Best of the year - Your picks for 2018's best performers

[barah_admi]

As 2018 reaches its final sunset and cricket looks towards a new, hopefully bright dawn, let us take a look back at the year that was.

Pick who you think were the top 3 batsmen, bowlers and all rounders across all 3 formats. Mine is as follows.

Test Batsman of the Year
1. Virat Kohli
2. Jos Buttler
3. Joe Root

Test Bowler of the Year
1. Kagiso Rabada
2. Muhammad Abbas
3. Nathan Lyon

Test All-Rounder of the Year
1. BJ Watling
2. Jason Holder
3. Shane Dowrich

Test Performer of the Year – Kagiso Rabada
Test Performance of the Year – Yasir Shah 14/184 v New Zealand

- So often are our headlines dominated by batsman, at times correctly, at other times through modern media pressure and ignorance of the wider game. Let's not forget that Rabada, still in his infancy, produces exceptional spell, after exceptional spell, more regularly than almost anyone else out there.

He reminds me of the heyday of fast bowling in the 80s and 90s, big, strong and genuinely quick, Rabada is a special cricketer with match winning capabilities.

Long live the fast bowler.

ODI Batsman of the Year
1. Virat Kohli
2. Joe Root
3. Jos Buttler

ODI Bowler of the Year
1. Adil Rashid
2. Kuldeep Yadav
3. Lungi Ngidi

ODI All-Rounder of the Year
1. Jos Buttler
2. Shakib Al Hasan
3. Shadab Khan

ODI Performer of the Year – Virat Kohli
ODI Performance of the Year – Jos Buttler 100 (83) v Australia

- Few players have come to personify their time like Virat Kohli. Superstar batsman in the age of batsmen, superstar limited over player in the age of runs, runs and runs. There is no denying the skill and application. Picking the right spot to attack, knowing when to rotate the strike and when to defends.

As he marches on towards greatness, which is not yet attained but is a tournament or two away, we watch on as more ODI records tumble and fade away.

T20 Batsman of the Year
1. Babar Azam
2. Fakhar Zaman
3. Rohit Sharma

T20 Bowler of the Year
1. Shadab Khan
2. AJ Tye
3. Faheem Ashraf

T20 All-Rounder of the Year
1. Shakib Al-Hasan
2. Shadab Khan
3. Glenn Maxwell

T20 Performer of the Year - Babar Azam
T20 Performance of the Year - 111* (61) Rohit Sharma v West Indies

- As Pakistan marches onto T20 immortality, with an increasing list of top level performers in the format, one man, still barely past boyhood stands out. He is Pakistan's great hope, its knight in green armour andi n T20 he fights more fiercely, more proudly and with more skill than just about anyone else. He does not reinvent the will, he is rarely unorthodox but he scores because he can, when he wills, where he wills.

 

[Bilal Ahmad15]

Test Batsman of the year
1. Kohli
2. Williamson
3. Babar

Test Bowler of the Year
1. Kagiso Rabada
2. Mohammad Abbas
3. Nathan Lyon

Test All-Rounder of the Year
1. Jason Holder
2. Shakib Al-Hasan
3. Ben Stokes

Test Performer of the year- Virat Kohli
Test Performance of they year- Yasir Shah 14/184 vs New Zealand

ODI Batsman of the year
1. Virat Kohli
2. Rohit Sharma
3. Joe Root

ODI Bowler of the year
1. Rashid Khan
2. Kuldeep Yadav
3. Adil Rashid

ODI All-Rounder of the year
1. Shakib Al-Hasan
2. Shadab Khan
3. Mohammad Nabi

ODI Performer of the year- Virat Kohli
ODI Performance of the year- Fakhar Zaman 210* vs Zimbabwe

T20 Batsman of the year
1. Babar Azam
2. Rohit Sharma
3. Fakhar Zaman

T20 Bowler of the year
1. Rashid Khan
2. Kuldeep Yadav
3. Shadab Khan

T20 All-Rounder of the year
1. Shakib Al-Hasan
2. Shadab Khan
3. Glen Maxwell

T20 Performer of the Year - Babar Azam
T20 Performance of the Year - Rohit Sharma 111* v West Indies

 

[Bilal Ahmad15]

As 2018 reaches its final sunset and cricket looks towards a new, hopefully bright dawn, let us take a look back at the year that was.

Pick who you think were the top 3 batsmen, bowlers and all rounders across all 3 formats. Mine is as follows.

Test Batsman of the Year
1. Virat Kohli
2. Jos Buttler
3. Joe Root

Test Bowler of the Year
1. Kagiso Rabada
2. Muhammad Abbas
3. Nathan Lyon

Test All-Rounder of the Year
1. BJ Watling
2. Jason Holder
3. Shane Dowrich

Test Performer of the Year – Kagiso Rabada
Test Performance of the Year – Yasir Shah 14/184 v New Zealand

- So often are our headlines dominated by batsman, at times correctly, at other times through modern media pressure and ignorance of the wider game. Let's not forget that Rabada, still in his infancy, produces exceptional spell, after exceptional spell, more regularly than almost anyone else out there.

He reminds me of the heyday of fast bowling in the 80s and 90s, big, strong and genuinely quick, Rabada is a special cricketer with match winning capabilities.

Long live the fast bowler.

ODI Batsman of the Year
1. Virat Kohli
2. Joe Root
3. Jos Buttler

ODI Bowler of the Year
1. Adil Rashid
2. Kuldeep Yadav
3. Lungi Ngidi

ODI All-Rounder of the Year
1. Jos Buttler
2. Shakib Al Hasan
3. Shadab Khan

ODI Performer of the Year – Virat Kohli
ODI Performance of the Year – Jos Buttler 100 (83) v Australia

- Few players have come to personify their time like Virat Kohli. Superstar batsman in the age of batsmen, superstar limited over player in the age of runs, runs and runs. There is no denying the skill and application. Picking the right spot to attack, knowing when to rotate the strike and when to defends.

As he marches on towards greatness, which is not yet attained but is a tournament or two away, we watch on as more ODI records tumble and fade away.

T20 Batsman of the Year
1. Babar Azam
2. Fakhar Zaman
3. Rohit Sharma

T20 Bowler of the Year
1. Shadab Khan
2. AJ Tye
3. Faheem Ashraf

T20 All-Rounder of the Year
1. Shakib Al-Hasan
2. Shadab Khan
3. Glenn Maxwell

T20 Performer of the Year - Babar Azam
T20 Performance of the Year - 111* (61) Rohit Sharma v West Indies

- As Pakistan marches onto T20 immortality, with an increasing list of top level performers in the format, one man, still barely past boyhood stands out. He is Pakistan's great hope, its knight in green armour andi n T20 he fights more fiercely, more proudly and with more skill than just about anyone else. He does not reinvent the will, he is rarely unorthodox but he scores because he can, when he wills, where he wills.

Jos Buttler isn't all rounder and also BJ Watling isn't an all rounder. They are wicket keepers

 

[battler]

Jasprit Bumrah - Bowler of the year

 

[Shandarchowka]

Tests -

Batsman - williamson
Bowler - Abbas

One dayers -

Batsman - Rohit sharma
Bowler - Rashid

T20s -

Batsman - Babar
Bowler - Rashid

 

[barah_admi]

Jos Buttler isn't all rounder and also BJ Watling isn't an all rounder. They are wicket keepers

I like to consider keepers as all rounders, I. E. Cricketers with more than one facet to their game.

Tests -

Batsman - williamson
Bowler - Abbas

One dayers -

Batsman - Rohit sharma
Bowler - Rashid

T20s -

Batsman - Babar
Bowler - Rashid

Williamson just got pipped by root for me and that was just down to roots phenomenol work in Sri Lanka and his ability to Stan dby the attitude he wanted instilled in his side.

I still believe he is the best, overall testbatsman going. Good picks.

 

[barah_admi]

My Test XI for 2018 -

1. D. Karunaratne SL
2. U. Khawaja AUS
3. K. Williamson c NZ
4. V. Kohli IND
5. J. Root ENG
6. J. Buttler wk ENG
7. A. Mathews SL
8. Y. Shah PAK
9. K. Rabada SA
10. P. Cummins AUS
11. J. Anderson ENG

Pujara is very, very unlucky to miss out.

 

[Buffet]

I am having hard time picking all names, but Lyon's name jumped out to me so decided to comment here. There are 15 bowlers who picked 35+ wickets in 2018.

Sorted by average:


.

Sorted by SR:


Why will Lyon make into the top 3 bowlers in 2018? Yes, stats are not everything, but 34+ avg with 75+ SR in 2018 shouldn't put anyone near the top 3 when we have so may fantastic performers in 2018.

 

[Last Monetarist]

Only doing tests as I don't watch much of the other stuff to have an informed opinion.

Batsmen:
1. Kohli
2. Williamson
3. Mendis

Bowlers:
1. Rabada
2. Abbas
3. Bumrah

 

[light]

I haven't watched enough cricket this year to give my 2 cent but i know for a fact that buttler does not bowl so can't be considered as an allrounder. Might need to add another section as WK/Batsmen

 

[shariqnoor]

Pakistan has not given many moments this year but that ownage of Steyn by Babar where he smacked 10 fours in 17 balls off Steyn was a highlight for me. Didn't matter in the overall context of the match but that was pure entertainment.

 

[barah_admi]

I am having hard time picking all names, but Lyon's name jumped out to me so decided to comment here. There are 15 bowlers who picked 35+ wickets in 2018.

Sorted by average:

View attachment 86883
.

Sorted by SR:
View attachment 86884

Why will Lyon make into the top 3 bowlers in 2018? Yes, stats are not everything, but 34+ avg with 75+ SR in 2018 shouldn't put anyone near the top 3 when we have so may fantastic performers in 2018.

Like you said, stats are not everything and all you have spoken about are stats. Lyon has been Australia's most crucial bowler in this time period, picked up wickets when the other could not and done so against sides considered to be good players of spin, not to mention consistently picking up wickets at home (2 5 fors already against India) and away (SA and UAE).

I haven't watched enough cricket this year to give my 2 cent but i know for a fact that buttler does not bowl so can't be considered as an allrounder. Might need to add another section as WK/Batsmen

As I explained above, I believe wicket keeper batsmen should be recognised as all-rounders. But these are not rigid criteria, you can organise it however you like.

Pakistan has not given many moments this year but that ownage of Steyn by Babar where he smacked 10 fours in 17 balls off Steyn was a highlight for me. Didn't matter in the overall context of the match but that was pure entertainment.

Babar is starting to really look the part in tests, I also enjoyed his 60-odd in England before the injury.

 

[Buffet]

Like you said, stats are not everything and all you have spoken about are stats.

Cricket is still won by picking wickets and scoring runs. No one should pick simply based on stats, but there are too many bowlers with far better output in 2018. Some one averaging 35 can't be among the best batsmen in year unless everyone else is in the same range. Same applies to bowling as well.

You can ignore stats if if others are in the same range , but that's not the case. Anyway, Lyon is a quality spinner. Anyway, I don't have much to add because I was finding it hard to come up with the entire list you asked.