AB de Villiers and Farhaan Behardien have been named in the ‘Definitive T2o Team of the Year’ selected by Cricket Australia’s correspondents.
The team, chosen by Cricket.com.au, also had Hashim Amla on the brink of selection, but he was edged out by England’s Durban-born big-hitter Jason Roy (once described by Kevin Pietersen as the next Kevin Pietersen), on the back of his two hundreds in the short format.
Performances from internationals and all domestic leagues were taken into account.
AB owes his position to his irresistible batting in the IPL.
‘De Villiers passed 50 just once in the Proteas’ disappointing WT20 campaign but saved his best for another devastating IPL stint,’ the citation reads. ‘Only Kohli and Warner eclipsed his 687 runs but his sky-high strike-rate of 168.97 for the tournament was the highest among the top 25 run-scorers. De Villiers’ record-breaking 52-ball 129 against Gujarat saw him and Kohli put on 229 for the second wicket, the highest partnership in T20 history.
‘A short spell in the Caribbean Premier League for the Barbados Tridents also saw De Villiers add 234 more runs (at 58.50) to his 2016 tally.’
Behardien was a surprise package, but an effective one, nonetheless.
‘A close look at his efforts in England and South Africa domestic tournaments in the second half of 2016 reveal his presence among some of the better performers with the bat this year,’ says Cricket.com.au.
‘The freakish Kohli aside, the Proteas all-rounder is the only other player to average over 50 with the bat in T20s in 2016 (minimum 20 matches). His 481 runs over the past 12 months came at a strike-rate of 165.86 and he was unbeaten in six of his 19 knocks. But Behardien’s crowning moment came earlier this month, where he pummelled the fastest half-century in South Africa’s T20 history (domestic or international); a whirlwind 14-ball effort for Titans in the country’s domestic tournament. The 33-year-old became just one of nine players to have struck a T20 half-century in 14 balls or fewer with the knock. A handy medium-pacer to boot, Behardien provides a useful back-up bowling option in this side.’
Roy edged out Amla (890 runs at 40.45 in 2016), due to his superior strike-rate (153.29 to Amla’s 133.43) and his two centuries to Amla’s none.
The team:
David Warner (Matches: 27; Runs: 1 086; Average: 45.25; Strike-rate: 150.41; Top score: 93*)
Jason Roy (Matches: 25; Runs: 812; Average: 33.83; Strike rate: 154.37; Top score: 120*)
Virat Kohli (c) Matches: 31; Runs: 1 614; Average: 89.66; Strike-rate: 147.12; Top score: 113)
AB de Villiers (Matches: 30; Runs: 1 122; Average: 46.75; Strike-rate: 166.96; Top score: 129*)
Andre Russell (Matches: 58; Runs: 1 025; Average: 24.40; Strike rate: 160.15; Top score: 100. Wickets: 76; Average: 19.93; Economy: 7.98; Best-bowling: 4-20)
Jos Buttler (wk) (Matches: 31; Runs: 816; Average: 37.09; Strike-rate: 155.42; Top score: 73*; Dismissals: 14)
Farhaan Behardien (Matches: 22; Runs: 481; Average: 53.44; Strike rate: 165.86; Top score: 72*)
Shahid Afridi (Matches: 45; Runs: 553; Average: 16.26; Strike rate: 161.22; Top score: 49. Wickets: 46; Average: 23.56; Economy: 6.56; Best bowling: 5-7)
Jasprit Bumrah (Matches: 44; Wickets: 57; Average: 20.15; Economy: 6.91; Best-bowling: 3-10)
Adam Zampa (Matches: 33; Wickets: 46; Average: 16.89; Economy: 6.80; Best-bowling: 6-19)
Mustafizur Rahman (Matches: 26; Wickets: 37; Average: 18.10; Economy: 6.68; Best-bowling: 5-22
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