Over 850 Test matches were played in the past decade. England played the maximum Tests (126), followed by Australia (112) and India (107).
Batsmen of various nations put together a mountain of runs, which reflected their superiority in the last decennium. However, there were few amongst the list of quality batsmen who earned the maximum ratings issued by the International Cricket Council (ICC) every year.
Sri Lanka’s legend Kumar Sangakkara started the trend in 2010. The wicket-keeper batsman grabbed 882 points and led the 2010 ICC Test rankings. Sangakkara continued his sublime form and reached the top of ICC rankings (863 points) once again in the following year. The left-hander scored 1729 Test runs in those two years.
Australia’s Michael Clarke ruled 2012 with his outstanding batting. With the help of his prime touch, he finished the 2012 ICC rankings on top. Clarke bagged 900 points and scored 1595 runs in that year.
The South-African genius AB de Villiers also showcased the show like Sangakkara. He topped the ICC Test rankings in consecutive years of 2013 and 2014.
De Villiers earned 912 points in 2013 and 893 in 2014. He scored 1564 runs in that period.
If repeating a similar show for two consecutive years wasn’t enough, the Aussie batter Steve Smith repeated history thrice in the year 2015,2016, and 2017. The right-hander claimed 899 points in 2015, 937 in 2016, and 947 in 2017. The former skipper clubbed 3858 runs in three years.
India captain Virat Kohli claimed the top spot in ICC rankings in 2018 and 2019. The 32-year-old bagged 931 points in 2018 and 928 in the past year. Kohli went on to score 1934 runs in this period.
🔹 10 years
🔹 Five players
🔹 99 Test centuries between them! 🤯Here are the batsmen that finished No.1 on the @MRFWorldwide ICC Test Rankings in the last decade 👑 pic.twitter.com/yGR5EeMc66
— ICC (@ICC) January 1, 2020
Here’s a list of batsmen with the maximum ratings in the last decade:
- 2010 – Kumar Sangakkara (882)
- 2011 – Kumar Sangakkara (863)
- 2012 – Michael Clarke (900)
- 2013 – AB de Villiers (912)
- 2014 – AB de Villiers (893)
- 2015 – Steve Smith (899)
- 2016 – Steve Smith (937)
- 2017 – Steve Smith (947)
- 2018 – Virat Kohli (931)
- 2019 – Virat Kohli (928)
