ICC World Test Championship 2021-23: Decoding Australia's campaign in numbers
The 2021-23 cycle of the ICC World Test Championship has finally come to an end with Australia being the champions. The Pat Cummins-led side comprehensively defeated India by 209 runs in the final to taste the glory. Notably, the Aussies were dominant throughout this cycle as they recorded one staggering win after another. Here we decode their campaign in the 2021-23 cycle.
Most wins, least defeats in the cycle (excluding final)
With a PCT (Points percentage system) of 66.67%, Australia topped the points table for the cycle. Their tally of 19 matches (excluding the final) was only second to that of England (22). Notably, the Aussies recorded the most victories (11) and least defeats (3) in this cycle. Five of their encounters ended in a draw. These numbers highlight their dominance in the cycle.
A solitary series defeat
Australia played six bilateral series in the cycle and suffered defeat just once, 1-2 against India. Their two-match series against Sri Lanka ended in a 1-1 draw. Meanwhile, Australia defeated England 4-0, West Indies 2-0, SA 2-0, and Pakistan 1-0. Excluding the final, Australia won three and lost as many away games (Draws: 3). They won eight of their 10 home matches (Draws: 2).
Four Aussie batters were in the top 10 (runs)
Four Australian batters finished in the top 10 of the WTC 2021-23 runs tally. Usman Khawaja finished second with 1,621 runs at 64.84. While Marnus Labuschagne (1,576 at 52.53), Steve Smith (1,407 at 52.11), and Travis Head (1,389 at 55.56) finished third, fifth, and sixth respectively. All four batters averaged in excess of 50. Only England had two batters in the top 10.
Highest average and strike rate
It must be noted that Head's strike rate of 81.91 in the 2021-23 cycle is the highest among batters with at least 500 runs. India's dashing wicketkeeper Rishabh Pant trails him in this regard with a strike rate of 80.81. Khawaja's average of 64.84 is the highest among batters with at least 1,000 runs in this cycle.
Lyon dominates the charts
Nathan Lyon finished the cycle as the highest wicket-taker, scalping 88 wickets in 20 Tests at 26.12. No other bowler could scalp even 70 wickets in this cycle. The off-spinner owns five fifers and four four-wicket hauls. Cummins with 57 wickets at 22.15 and Mitchell Starc with 55 scalps at 27.98 were the other successful Australian bowlers in this WTC cycle.
Here are the partnership records
Labuschagne and Smith added 934 partnership runs in this cycle, the third-most for any pair. Only Pakistan's Abdullah Shafique and Imam-ul-Haq (959) and NZ's Devon Conway and Tom Latham (959) garnered more partnership runs. Head and Labuschagne added 297 runs against WI in Adelaide last year, the highest partnership by an Aussie pair and the second-highest overall in the cycle.
