#5 Steve Smith
From a leg-spinner who could bat a bit to a batsman pillaging towards greatness, Smith is truly a legendary batsman of the modern era.
In his initial years, Smith did not possess the batting prowess that he became so popular of in the latter part of his career. However, when Australia lost the Ashes in 2010-11, Smith’s resurgence started to brew.
And 3 years later, a transformed Smith with a superior technique and an aggravated trigger movement appeared on the scene. These changes helped him to score a crucial hundred at the MCG cricket ground and clinch the Ashes back from the English side.
Following this achievement, Smith amassed more than 700 runs against India and shot up the Test batting rankings. This achievement also allowed him to enter the list of elite batsmen of this era.
However, all things considered, his best hour in Test cricket arrived a year ago when he scored a diligent hundred against India. This innings helped Australia to win their first test match in India since 2004.
His immense form continued in the home Ashes series, as he scored 687 runs in seven innings with an average of 137.40. This further stamped his authority as the number one batsman in Test cricket, a rank which he still retains up to this date.
At present, Steve Smith has scored 6199 runs from 64 matches with an average of 61.37 and 23 hundreds and 24 fifties to his name.
#6 Ben Stokes
Ostensibly the best all-rounder going around right now in World Cricket today, England’s Ben Stokes is the only option at No.6. After a progression of reliable exhibitions in the limited overs set-up, Stokes was given a chance in the Ashes of 2013-14 in Australia.
England lost the Ashes however, Stokes stole the limelight by scoring 279 runs and taking 15 wickets from 5 test matches.
But it was not until 2016, when Stokes really established himself as a world class all-rounder. In this year England toured South Africa where he struck a swashbuckling 258 against a dangerous Proteas attack.
Soon, Stokes became England’s X-factor as his abilities with the bat and ball truly made him an indispensable part of the English side.
At present, Ben Stokes has played 42 tests and amassed 2579 runs paired with his 98 wickets in the longest format of this game.
For #7 and #8 move on to the next page!
