The white shark, Shane Watson on Wednesday named his Big Five Test Batters. Former Australia skipper Watson picked this from the current crop of batters. In ICC Review’s latest episode, Watson had made the rankings. This, however, can lead to a debate among cricket fans. Moreover, he made special remarks for each of the players on his list. Unofficially, there has been a popular ‘Big four’ in Test cricket. However, this is challenged by the Pakistan batter Babar Azam and Australian Marnus Labuschagne with consistent performances. However, the current number 1 Test batsman could not be included as he hasn’t made an appearance in 40 Tests, an important criterion. Let us have a look at Shane Watson’s Big Five.
Shane Watson Big Five Test Batters
1. Virat Kohli
Despite Virat searching for his 71st ton since 2019, he is Shane’s top pick. With a Test average of 49.95, Virat Kohli has a total of 27 centuries and 28 half-centuries to his credit. Recently, in his 100th Test, Virat completed 8000 runs in the format.
“In Test match cricket, I am always going to say, Virat Kohli. It’s nearly superhuman, what he is able to do because he has such high intensity every time he goes out to play.”
Shane Watson
2. Babar Azam
This youngster from Pakistan is reaching great heights with consistent important knocks for the national team. Currently ranked number 2 in the ICC Men’s Test ranking, Babar had a great World Test Championship series against Australia. He even achieved his highest individual Test score of 196 in the series.
“Babar Azam is playing incredibly well. [It’s great] to be able to see how he has adapted his game to really move his game to Test cricket as well. Babar Azam would probably be No.2 at the moment.”
Shane Watson
3. Steve Smith
Currently, Smith ranks second on ICC Men’s Test rankings. Moreover, the Australian batter has 8010 Test runs at the highest average of 59.77. Steve Smith has 27 Test tons and 36 half-tons.
“Steve Smith has just started to come off a little bit. It looks like Smith has really started to play for time a little bit more and is not putting as much pressure on the bowlers as he did when was at his absolute best. For me, Steve has dropped down that list a little bit.”
Shane Watson
4. Kane Williamson
The New Zealand skipper Kane has not played a lot of Test cricket in the past months. With 24 Test centuries, Kane Williamson has an average of 53.37.
“Kane Williamson has had a few elbow issues. Kane knows his game inside out and knows how to put pressure on bowlers in any conditions.”
Shane Watson
5. Joe Root
Root has played some class cricket against West Indies recently. He returned to open the English batting. With 25 Test centuries, he has 9889 Test runs. Joe Root will enter the 10,000 runs in Test cricket group soon.
“Joe Root recently scored a hundred but he has had a bit of time along the lines of Steve Smith where he hasn’t been able to nail the big scores like he has done in the past. It’s incredible how these world-class batters just go through waves where instead of scoring those big hundreds, get the 70s-80s, but still have an impact on the game but are not able to really maintain that really high standard of getting those big runs as they have done in the past.”
Shane Watson
Shane Watson’s Big Five Test Batters
| Player | Matches | Runs | HS | Avg | 100s/50s |
| Virat Kohli | 101 | 8043 | 254* | 49.95 | 27/28 |
| Babar Azam | 40 | 2851 | 196 | 45.98 | 6/21 |
| Steve Smith | 85 | 8010 | 239 | 59.77 | 27/36 |
| Kane Williamson | 86 | 7272 | 251 | 53.57 | 24/33 |
| Joe Root | 117 | 9889 | 254 | 49.19 | 26/53 |
