The inaugural season of the World Test Championship (WTC) is about to come to its rightful end with New Zealand and India ready to square up at Southampton on June 18 to decide the ultimate king of Test cricket. The Championship went on for more than two years and the Australian top-order batter Marnus Labuschagne has been one of the finds of the WTC, having finished as the highest run-getter of the inaugural edition.
Along with Labuschagne, there were four other batters who lit up the competition and finished in the top five run-getters list in the Championship. Let’s find out who they are.
MARNUS LABUSCHAGNE (AUSTRALIA)
In just a span of a couple of years, Marnus Labuschagne has emerged as one of the leaders in the batting department for the Australian team and finished the WTC with 1675 runs from 23 innings. Labuschagne also holds the record for the most number of fifties (9) and centuries (5) in the inaugural edition with the highest score of 215 against their neighbours New Zealand. Even though Australia failed to qualify for the final of the Championship, they have found a gem of a player in Labuschagne who can be the future of Australian cricket.
JOE ROOT (ENGLAND)
The second on the highest run-getter list is England’s captain Joe Root. The Three Lions captain had a great couple of years in Test cricket after suffering from a lean patch till 2019. England played the most number of games in the WTC. In 37 innings, Root managed to stack up 1660 runs with some scintillating innings in the subcontinent.
STEVE SMITH (AUSTRALIA)
After some time away from the game due to the suspension handed to Steve Smith over the Sandpaper fiasco, the former Australian captain made his Test comeback in the Ashes of 2019 in the United Kingdom. That was also the first match of the WTC and Smith had the series of his lifetime. His returns eventually plummeted and Smith finished as the third-highest run-getter in the Championship with 1341 runs from 22 innings.
BEN STOKES (ENGLAND)
Due to England playing the most number of Tests in the WTC, the England all-rounder Ben Stokes finished as the fourth-highest run-getter in the Championship with 1334 runs from 32 innings. His innings at Headingley would go down in history as one of the best Test innings ever played in the sport and will remain as the most iconic moment in the inaugural season of the WTC.
AJINKYA RAHANE (INDIA)
Lastly, it’s the man who led India valiantly Down Under, Ajinkya Rahane. He is India’s highest run-getter in the WTC and finished as the fifth overall with 1095 runs from 28 innings. He scored three centuries in the process but none more significant than the Boxing Day hundred against Australia at the MCG.
