WTC23 Top Scorers: The runs have continued to flow in abundance throughout the World Cricket Test Championship cycle, with seven players crossing the 1,000-run mark as their teams battle for the top two spots and a place in the finals this summer. Here are the top five WTC23 run-scorers with three series and eight Tests ahead of the big showdown at The Oval in London in June this year.
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Joe Root, England – 1915 runs
England’s campaign is over, with only one mathematical chance of reaching the final at home. But to not end up as the top run-scorer in this iteration of the competition would be something extraordinary for Joe Root.
England’s batting talisman and former captain has scored a world-leading eight hundreds in the championship, with 1915 runs in 40 innings at an average of 53.19.
Babar Azam, Pakistan – 1527 runs
The Pakistan skipper has been the rock on which his team’s WTC23 campaign has stood, scoring 1527 runs in 14 matches. Babar has reached triple figures four times, recording another ten half-centuries in his 26 innings—a remarkable record that sees him average 61.08 in the competition.
Johnny Bairstow, England – 1285 runs
Jonny Bairstow, in the summer of his life, sees 2022 surge up the run-scorer charts. Bairstow has scored six centuries in 15 matches at an average of 51.40 and a strike rate of 70.
England will not play again in the WTC23, and Bairstow’s injury issues mean he is likely to be out until at least the start of the English summer in any case. But his record in the last two years will go down in history as one of the great purple patches of the game.
Usman Khawaja, Australia – 1275 runs
Khawaja’s return to the Australian side has been an unqualified success. The top-order batsman has played big innings after big innings for his team, scoring five centuries and averaging an impressive 79.68.
Khawaja has had to be patient for another run in the Test team but the left-hander’s form since his return in 2021 shows why you should never write off top-level cricketers.
Marnus Labuschagne, Australia – 1265 runs
Labuschagne’s status as one of the game’s top run scorers shows no sign of abating, with the Australian continuing his successful form in the latest cycle of the World Test Championship.
The Australian player has scored five centuries in the championship at an average of close to 60. And with Labuschagne scoring runs, Australia’s spot at the top of the MRF Tires ICC Test rankings looks secure.
World Test Championship The final is fast approaching, with only three more series to be played before this summer’s final at The Oval in London in June.
Australia is in pole position at the top of the table, currently ranked second, and is set to face India in the final. But Sri Lanka and South Africa are still in the running, especially with the top two teams set to face off in a four-Test series through February and March.
England and the West Indies also have a mathematical chance, but they will need a number of results to go their way to make it to the final in June.