Playing the longest format of the game is the biggest challenge that a cricketer comes across in his life. Even a slight drop in the intensity or aggression can allow the opposition to get back and reflect the pressure that has been exerted. It is highly refreshing to see the modern-day cricketers taking their Test cricket seriously and toiling hard in the nets to perfect every little aspect of their game.
While many players continue to feature in all the three formats of the game, there are some cricketers, who are earmarked as the Test specialists have given their remarkable consistency and impeccability playing the format.
In the below piece, we look at 5 such players, who only play the Test format as of recently and have established themselves to remain irreplaceable in the game:
Cheteshwar Pujara
A solid figure at no.3 for India, Pujara is indispensable when it comes to playing Test cricket for the country. His ability to put the hard grind and tire the bowlers with his defence and controlled aggression makes him a hefty prospect in the middle order for India.
In 77 Tests, Pujara has accumulated 5840 runs at an average of 48.67 and best score of 206. His most impressive performance came in the series against Australia in the last tour down under. The stalwart blasted 521 runs from 7 innings at an average of 74.42 and best score of 193. He scored a fifty and 3 centuries on that gruelling tour.
The responsibility is even greater this time around as their abled skipper, Kohli will return home early to attend the birth of his child. Pujara has to carry his bat through and make sure that India reaches good totals in the first innings
Dean Elgar
This southpaw from South Africa has become their mainstay at the top of the order atleast in the Test format. Like Pujara, Elgar too can remain patient for his runs and will punish any loose deliveries which are there to be hit.
The batsman has amassed 3888 runs from 63 Test matches at an average of 38.12 and best score of 199. His 160 against India in the first test at Visakhapatnam in 2019 was one of the best knocks played by an overseas batsman in India.
Once set, Elgar has a tendency to convert the starts into big scores and the conditions absolutely don’t matter then. It is South Africa’s good fortunes that they possess such an incredible player among their ranks, who finds a way to score runs and remains a supreme force to reckon with at the top of the order.
BJ Watling
The wicketkeeper-batsman from New Zealand is a technically sound and a consistent performer for the Kiwis down the order. He might not be in contention for a place in the limited-overs side but is the preferred choice in the toughest and the longest format.
Watling has mustered 3688 runs from 71 games at an average of 38.42 and the best score of 205. The batsman in the past few years has cracked the code for scoring big hundreds in the Test arena and providing the requisite bulk to the eventual total.
There is absolutely no doubt about his wicketkeeping skills, who grabs the moving red-ball pretty cleanly and keeps well to the spinners as well. His improved batsmanship has just augmented his case as the no. 1 keeper-batsman in the country and put him miles ahead of others.
Stuart Broad
This lanky pacer from England has turned heads in the last few months or so with his remarkable bowling spells and going past the epic landmark of 500 wickets in Test cricket.
Broad has scalped 514 wickets from 143 games at an average of 27.66 and economy rate of 2.94. Previously the bowler used to pitch the ball short and thus, got punished without any mercy.
We are all aware of his in-swinging and away going deliveries, but just to upgrade and be ahead of the game, Broad has started bowling nip-backers which curl inwards sharply and trap the batsmen in front of wickets. He has raised his stature by notches, perfecting the minor aspects of bowling and asking tough questions to the batsmen.
Shannon Gabriel
This muscular, sturdy West Indian is making his presence felt in the multi-day format of the game. His enviable ability to release the ball with the seam upright and getting it to move viciously off the surface has been the reason for the downfall of many opposition lineups.
Gabriel has picked 150 wickets from 50 games at an average of 30.75 and economy rate of 3.4. He can easily clock the high 140s and bang the ball short to shake things up for the batsman. This is how he sets up the batsman before bowling the ideal length.
This ability of planning his wickets and then executing it with near perfection makes his presence an absolute necessity in the Test format. Inspite of playing just one format, Gabriel has often been in the grasp of a few injuries and that has seen him miss some important encounters at the start of a series. If he can keep these niggles and minor injuries away, he can draft a successful career for himself as the leader of the Windies pace attack and demolish opposition lineups with his fearsome pace and aggression.
