Test matches of the year 2023 have ended. It was a memorable year for Test cricket, with the second World Test Championship Final, Border-Gavaskar series and Ashes happening during the season. Teams like Ireland and Afghanistan also got some much-needed exposure to red-ball matches at the international level.
Players like Usman Khawaja, Travis Head, R Ashwin, Virat Kohli and Joe Root stole the show with their performances in 2023. However, not all players had a memorable outing. In this article now, we will form the flop Test XI of the year 2023.
Openers of Flop Test XI in 2023 – Andy Balbirnie and Cheteshwar Pujara
Ireland’s Andy Balbirnie will open the batting with India’s Cheteshwar Pujara. Balbirnie scored 172 runs in eight innings this year. Meanwhile, Pujara managed 181 runs in eight innings. Pujara has been dropped from the Indian Test team now.
Middle Order – Babar Azam, KS Bharat (wk), Jermaine Blackwood, Alex Carey and Raymon Reifer
Former Pakistan captain Babar Azam failed to score a single half-century in the year. It was the first time in his Test career that Azam failed to touch the 50-run mark in any of his Test innings. Two wicket-keepers feature in the team, namely India’s KS Bharat and Australia’s Alex Carey.
Bharat debuted this year but got dropped after five matches due to disappointing batting performances. Alex Carey scored only 461 runs in 20 innings, with his average being less than 25. West Indies players Jermaine Blackwood and Raymon Reifer had an ordinary year as well, with both players failing to deliver the goods for their team.
Bowlers – Shardul Thakur, Blair Tickner, Amir Hamza and Faheem Ashraf
Three fast bowlers feature in this team. India’s Shardul Thakur picked up only four wickets in three Tests, and his batting performances were not up to the mark as well. New Zealand’s Blair Tickner proved to be quite expensive, while Faheem Ashraf failed to impress in the Perth Test match against Australia. Afghanistan’s left-arm spinner Amir Hamza will lead the spin department of this team for his bowling average of 87.5.
