Virat Kohli was superb in all three formats, Steven Smith had an unbelievable year in Tests, while Kagiso Rabada showed once again that he is the real deal

The Statsguru Awards are based purely on numbers from international matches in 2017. However, they go beyond the usual stats and are based instead on detailed data analyses of performances. Which batsman played more consistently than any other over the entire year? Which batting pair was the most prolific through the year? Who scored the most runs in boundaries? Read on to find out.

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BATSMAN OF THE YEAR

(cut-off: 750 runs in Tests, 750 in ODIs, 250 in T20Is)

Virat Kohli

Test weighted score 61.38, ODI weighted scored 76.16, T20I weighted scored 49.81; Total 187.35



Like in 2016, Kohli was exceptional in all forms of international cricket in 2017. In Tests, he averaged 75.64 from 16 innings, including three double-hundreds; in ODIs, he was the top run-getter in the year with 1460, at an average of nearly 77 at a strike rate of 99; in T20Is, he scored 299 runs at a strike rate of over 150.

Kohli's aggregate of 1059 and his average of 75.64 gave him a Test weighted score of 61.38 (average weighted by the number of runs scored, as a ratio of the top scorer in the year), while his ODI score was 76.16 (average multiplied by runs scored per ball, and weighted by the runs scored, as a ratio of the top scorer in the year). His T20I score, calculated in a similar manner to ODIs but with a 1.1 weightage for strike rate, was 49.81, giving him a total of 187.35.

There was only one other batsman who impressed in all three formats: Hashim Amla averaged 47.35 in Tests, 50.7 in ODIs at a strike rate of 88, and scored 269 runs at a strike rate of 148 in T20Is. His total batting score, when calculated similarly, came to 123.12. Impressive, but not close to what Kohli achieved.

BOWLER OF THE YEAR

(cut-off: 35 wickets in Tests, 25 in ODIs, 12 in T20Is)

Kagiso Rabada

Test weighted score 22.41, ODI weighted score 36.83, Total 59.24

Unlike in Tests, where Kohli was head and shoulders above everyone else, in bowling no one player dominated all formats. Among the ten bowlers who took 35 or more Test wickets, only one also made an impact in limited-overs cricket: Rabada was outstanding in Tests, picking up 57 wickets at an average of 20.28, while he also did reasonably well in the ODIs, taking 27 wickets at 27.62 against the top ten teams.

With no other bowler doing well in Tests plus a limited-overs format, it was a one-horse race for this award. Rabada's 57 wickets was the second-highest by any Test bowler in 2017 - next only to Nathan Lyon's 63 - while it was his highest Test haul in a calendar year so far, going past his 46 wickets in 2016.

BEST TEST BATSMAN

(cut-off: 750 runs)

Steven Smith - 1305 runs at 76.76, weighted score 76.76

With 1305 runs at an average of 76.76, there was no looking past Smith when deciding on the best Test batsman of 2017. No batsman scored more runs, struck more hundreds, or averaged higher than Smith (with a 500-run cut-off) in the year. Kohli ran him close, averaging 75.64, but scored 246 fewer runs than Smith. The other batsman who had an outstanding Test year was Cheteshwar Pujara, scoring 1140 runs at 67.05.

MOST CONSISTENT TEST BATSMAN

(cut-off: 750 runs)

Mushfiqur Rahim - Consistency factor 1.32

In 16 innings in 2017, Mushfiqur scored 766 runs at 54.71, but more importantly, only once was he dismissed for a single-digit score, and he had only two other dismissals before 20. In ten innings, he went past 25. His standard deviation - which is a measure of the average distance from the mean - was an impressive 41.47. That combined with his average of 54.71 gave him a consistency factor (average divided by standard deviation) of 1.32, which was the best among all batsmen who scored 750-plus Test runs in 2016.

Smith was next with a consistency factor of 1.23. He had three single-digit dismissals in 20 innings, and 13 scores of more than 25. Pujara was pretty consistent too, with a factor of 1.17, but Kohli's was only 0.94: though he had three double-hundreds in the year, eight times he was dismissed for 15 or fewer runs.

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BEST TEST BOWLER

(cut-off: 35 wickets)

James Anderson - 55 wickets, average 17.58, weighted score 20.14

The year 2017 was a good one for Test bowlers: four of them took 50-plus wickets at averages of under 25. The best among them, though, was Anderson, who took 55 wickets at an average of 17.58. Lyon and Rabada took more wickets, but neither matched Anderson's average. When combining the average with a weightage for wickets, Anderson's bowling score was 20.14, marginally better than Rabada's 22.41 and Lyon's 23.55.

BEST ODI BATSMAN

(cut-off: 750 runs)

Virat Kohli - ODI weighted score 76.16

Two Indian batsmen were streets ahead of the competition in this category: Kohli scored 1460 runs at an average of 76.84 and a strike rate of 99.11, while Rohit Sharma was only marginally behind, scoring 1293 runs at 71.83, and a strike rate of 99.46. When combining average and strike rate and factoring in the runs scored, Kohli finished with a batting score of 76.16, followed by Rohit's 63.27. (All ODI stats are versus the top ten teams only.)

BEST ODI BOWLER

(cut-off: 25 wickets)

Hasan Ali - ODI weighted score 14.29

Hasan was more than a handful for the batsmen who faced him in ODIs in 2017. In just 18 games against the top ten teams, he took 45 wickets at a fantastic average of 17.04. No other bowler took 40-plus wickets against these teams in the year, and when combining his average and economy rate of 5.03, he finished with an ODI bowling score of 14.29. Jasprit Bumrah was next with a score of 25.90.

BEST T20I BATSMAN

(cut-off: 350 runs)

Evin Lewis - T20I weighted score 72.02

Lewis was the top run scorer in T20Is against the top ten teams, scoring 357 runs at an average of 44.62 and a strike rate of 154.54. AB de Villiers and Kohli were superb too, with around 300 runs at 150-plus strike rates, but the sheer weight of runs turned the scales in Lewis' favour.

BEST T20I BOWLER

(cut-off: 12 wickets)

Yuzvendra Chahal - T20I weighted score 18.94

From just 11 games, Chahal picked up 23 wickets, easily the highest by any bowler against the top ten teams, at an average of 14.13 and an economy rate of 7.83. Pakistan's Shadab Khan did very well in the seven games he played, picking up 12 wickets at 11.16 and an economy rate of 5.39, but he only took half the wickets that Chahal took. Taking into account the average, economy rate, and the weight of wickets, Chahal had a bowling score of 18.94, which was marginally better than Shadab's 19.01.

****

OTHER AWARDS

Test batting

(Cut-off: 750 runs, unless mentioned otherwise)

BATTING PAIR OF THE YEAR: OPENERS

(Cut-off: seven innings)

Cameron Bancroft and David Warner

Like 2016, last year wasn't a great one for opening pairs either: the average stand was only 33.43. In this year of slim pickings, Australia's Bancroft and Warner stood out, putting together two century stands from seven partnerships in the Ashes series. Their average partnership of 72.50 was the best among the 12 pairs which batted together at least seven times. Next best was New Zealand's Jeet Raval and Tom Latham, with an average of 41.18 from 11 innings.

BATTING PAIR OF THE YEAR: OTHERS

(Cut-off: eight innings)

Cheteshwar Pujara and Ajinkya Rahane

With 653 runs in eight partnerships including one double-century stand and two other century partnerships, the combination of Pujara and Rahane had the best average among all the non-opening pairs that batted at least eight times in Tests in 2017. They averaged 81.62, but close on their heels were Mushfiqur Rahim-Shakib-Al-Hasan (average 76.55) and Kraigg Braithwaite-Shai Hope (76.11).

HIGHEST PERCENTAGE OF TEAM RUNS (Min 5 Tests)

Steven Smith

For the second year in a row, Smith won this one, scoring a higher percentage of his team's bat runs than any batsman for any team. In 2017, Smith scored 22.39% of Australia's bat runs, marginally higher than the 21.33% he scored last year. Among the teams which played five or more Tests, the next highest contributors were for South Africa and India: Dean Elgar scored 19.27% of South Africa's runs, and Pujara 18.34% of India's.

MOST RUNS IN WINS

Cheteshwar Pujara

Pujara scored 755 runs in India's Test wins in 2017, which was slightly higher than Smith's 719. Both had similar averages in wins too: Pujara averaged 75.50 to Smith's 79.88.

Test bowling

(cut-off: 30 wickets)

BEST STRIKE RATE

Kagiso Rabada

Like in 2016, Rabada had a better strike rate than any other bowler in 2017 as well. His strike rate was an outstanding 37.8, while in second place was team-mate Morne Morkel, at a distant 44.2. In fact, four bowlers - Morkel, Neil Wagner, Keshav Maharaj and Anderson - are bunched together between 44 and 47.

HIGHEST PERCENTAGE OF TEAM WICKETS (Min 5 Tests)

Yasir Shah

Out of the 109 wickets taken by Pakistan's bowlers in Tests in 2017, Yasir Shah took 43, which is a whopping 39.45%, the highest by a bowler for any team in the year. Among teams which played at least five Tests, the next highest was Shakib Al Hasan's 39 wickets out of 110 for Bangladesh, a percentage 35.45. Lyon's 63 wickets out of 185 gave him a percentage of 34.05.

BEST VERSUS RIGHT/LEFT-HAND BATSMEN (Min 20 wkts)

Kagiso Rabada, v right-handers

Rabada dismissed right-hand batsmen 37 times in Tests in 2017, at an average of 13.05, the best among bowlers who took at least 20 such wickets. Anderson was next, with an average of 18.97, followed by Wagner's 19.80.

Nathan Lyon, v left-handers

Against left-handers, Lyon took 34 wickets at an average of 14.73, easily the best among all bowlers who took 20 wickets against left-handers. The next best average belonged to Morne Morkel, who took 24 wickets at 18.83, followed by Ravindra Jadeja (20 wickets at 19.75).

ODI batting

(cut-off: 750 runs, unless mentioned otherwise)

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BEST SCORING RATE (Qual: 600 balls)

AB de Villiers

From 661 balls, de Villiers scored 773 runs, a strike rate of 116.94, the best among all batsmen who faced 600-plus balls against the top ten teams in ODIs in 2017. David Warner was next with a strike rate of 102.82 (691 runs from 672 balls), while Shikhar Dhawan was the only other batsman with a 100-plus strike rate (101.37).

On the other hand, Shai Hope had a strike rate of 68.75 (517 runs from 752 balls), the lowest among the batsmen who faced 600-plus balls.

BATTING PAIR OF THE YEAR: OPENERS

(cut-off: eight innings)

Hashim Amla and Quinton de Kock

For the second year running, Hashim Amla and Quinton de Kock were magnificent at the top of the order for South Africa, scoring 1177 runs in 18 innings, at an average of 69.23, and a run rate of 5.60 per over. Eight times they added more than 50, including a highest of 282 unbeaten runs against Bangladesh.

BATTING PAIR OF THE YEAR: OTHERS

(cut-off: eight innings)

Babar Azam and Shoaib Malik

Among the non-opening pairs, Pakistan's Babar Azam and Shoaib Malik topped the averages, among those who batted together at least eight times in the year. They averaged 95.2 runs per completed partnership, and scored their runs at a rate of 5.8 per over. Kohli and Rohit had an amazing year together too, scoring 846 runs at an average of 94, and a rate of 6.4 per over.

Babar Azam and Shoaib Malik scored over five runs an over in ODIs last year © AFP

HIGHEST PERCENTAGE OF RUNS IN BOUNDARIES

Shikhar Dhawan

The main reason for Shikhar Dhawan's ODI strike rate of 101.4 in 2017 was the number of boundaries he hit: 124 fours and 14 sixes, which means 580 out of his 960 runs came in boundaries. The percentage of 60.42 is the highest among all batsmen who scored 750-plus runs in the year. Upul Tharanga was next, with a percentage of 57.57, followed by Rohit's 57.23. The lowest percentage was Babar Azam's 32.57, followed by Joe Root's 36%.

LOWEST DOT-BALL PERCENTAGE

AB de Villiers

For the fifth time in six years, the winner in this category was de Villiers. He achieved a dot percentage of 34.8, which was well clear of the competition. After him, three batsmen were bunched together in the 41-43% mark: Joe Root (41.72%), Kohli (42.84%) and Faf du Plessis (42.96%).

HIGHEST PERCENTAGE OF TEAM RUNS (Min 10 ODIs v top 10 teams)

Babar Azam

Among all teams that played at least ten ODIs versus the top ten teams, Babar had the highest percentage of bat runs scored by his team. He scored 22.35% of Pakistan's bat runs. Next in line was Tamim Iqbal, who scored 20.51% of Bangladesh's runs, followed by Ross Taylor's contribution of 20.26% of New Zealand's runs.

MOST RUNS IN CHASES

Virat Kohli

Not surprisingly, Kohli tops this list, with 784 runs at 78.40, with a strike rate of 95.37. Rohit was next with 608 runs at an average of 60.8 and a strike rate of 95.89.

ODI bowling

(cut-off: min 125 overs)

BEST ECONOMY RATE

Mitchell Santner

Among the bowlers who bowled at least 125 overs against the top ten teams, Mitchell Santner's economy rate of 4.61 was the best, marginally better than Imran Tahir's 4.62. The only other bowler with an economy rate of less than five was Rabada (4.8). The poorest economy rate also belonged to a New Zealand bowler, Tim Southee's 5.88.

Mitchell Santner conceded a boundary only every three overs or so in ODIs © Getty Images

BEST DOT-BALL PERCENTAGE

Kagiso Rabada

As usual, the fast bowlers dominated this list, but only one had a dot-ball percentage of over 60%: 62.1% of the deliveries Rabada bowled weren't scored off. That percentage was well clear of the rest - the next best was Trent Boult (57.5%), followed by Jasprit Bumrah (57.2%).

LOWEST BOUNDARY PERCENTAGE

Mitchell Santner

Santner conceded only 28 fours and 14 sixes in the 132 overs he bowled in ODIs against the top ten teams in 2017. His rate of conceding a boundary every 18.9 balls is easily the best among all bowlers. Second place went to West Indies' offspinner Ashley Nurse, who conceded one every 13.4 balls, followed by Imran Tahir's 13. At the other end of the spectrum was Southee, who went for a four or a six every 7.8 deliveries.

T20I batting

BEST SCORING RATE (cut-off: 150 balls faced)

Rohit Sharma

Among the 16 batsmen who faced 150-plus deliveries in T20Is in 2017, only one had a strike rate of more than 170. Rohit struck at 171.5 per 100 balls, the best among these batsmen. New Zealand's Colin Munro was next at 163.9, followed by David Miller at 162. The poorest strike rate belonged to Babar Azam, who scored 173 off as many balls, for a strike rate of exactly 100.

BEST BOUNDARY FREQUENCY (Qual: 150 balls)

Rohit Sharma

Rohit struck a four or a six every 3.6 balls, easily the best of the lot. Niroshan Dickwella was next at 4.2, followed by Bangladesh's Soumya Sarkar (4.3). The worst was easily Babar Azam (11.5), followed by Kane Williamson (8.2).

LOWEST DOT-BALL PERCENTAGE (Qual: 150 balls)

Virat Kohli

With a dot-ball percentage of 24.5%, Kohli was the busiest T20I player of 2017. South Africa's Farhaan Behardien was next at 25%, followed by AB de Villiers' 26.5. At the other end of the table was Marlon Samuels, who had a shockingly high dot-ball percentage of 47.9, followed by Dickwella at 45.5%.

BEST IN THE DEATH OVERS (15.1-20) (Qual: 30 balls)

David Miller

In 40 balls he faced during the death overs of T20Is, Miller scored 103 runs and was dismissed only once, giving him an outstanding strike rate of 257.5, easily the best among who faced at least 30 balls during this period of a T20I innings. Next in line was Shoaib Malik, who scored at 183.3, followed closely by Thisara Perera's 182.8.

Sunil Narine was the only bowler who went for less than a run a ball in T20Is last year © AFP

BEST PAIR OF THE YEAR (Qual: 5 partnerships)

Farhaan Behardien and David Miller

In the five partnerships that Behardien and Miller had in T20Is against the top ten teams in 2017, they averaged 65 runs per completed partnership, and scored at 13.4 runs per over, the best among all pairs who batted at least five times in the year. In these five stands, they went past 50 three times.

T20I bowling

(cut-off: min 25 overs)

BEST ECONOMY RATE

Sunil Narine

With an economy rate of 5.93, Narine had the best economy rate in T20Is, among bowlers who bowled 25-plus overs against the top ten teams. In fact, Narine was the only bowler who went at less than a run a ball; the next best bowlers were Imad Wasim (6.30) and Samuel Badree (6.33). Thisara Perera's economy rate of 8.97 was the worst among the 18 bowlers who made the cut, while Chris Jordan (8.96) was only marginally better.

BEST DOT-BALL PERCENTAGE

Samuel Badree

With a dot percentage of 47.6, Badree was the winner in this category. His percentage was marginally above that of Bumrah (46.2%), Narine (44.9) and Hasan Ali (44.4). Perera was at the bottom of this list too, with a dot percentage of 26.4.

LOWEST BOUNDARY PERCENTAGE

Sunil Narine

Narine conceded a four or a six once every 10.4 balls, which was the most frugal among all bowlers in this list. He was marginally ahead of Sri Lanka's Seekkuge Prasanna, who conceded one every ten deliveries. South Africa's Andile Phehlukwayo was the most profligate, conceding a four or a six every 5.3 balls.

BEST ECONOMY IN DEATH OVERS (15.1-20) (Qual: 8 overs)

Jasprit Bumrah

Among the bowlers who bowled at least eight overs at the death, Bumrah's economy rate of 6.47 was the best, followed by Nuwan Kulasekara's 7.09, while the poorest was Jordan's 10.84.

Team

MOST DOMINANT: TESTS

India

With a 7-1 win-loss record in Tests in 2017, India were easily the best team in the format. It helped, of course, that they played largely at home, playing away only against a weak Sri Lankan team. However, they showed once again their mastery of home conditions, winning four Tests and losing only one, to Australia. New Zealand were next in terms of win-loss record (4-1), but all their wins came at home against Bangladesh and West Indies. South Africa had a decent year too, with a 7-3 record, though five of their wins were at home against Sri Lanka, Bangladesh and Zimbabwe.

MOST DOMINANT: ODIs

England

England were the team to beat in ODIs in 2017. Thanks largely to a deep batting line-up with the ability to score relentless from ball one, they had a 13-4 win-loss record against the top teams in the year. One of those defeats, though, was against Pakistan in the Champions Trophy semi-finals, a result that considerably soured their ODI year. India were close behind with a 21-7 win-loss record, while two other teams won at least twice as matches as they lost: South Africa (13-6) and Pakistan (12-6). The two teams with the poorest records in the year were Sri Lanka (5-23) and West Indies (2-15).

MOST DOMINANT: T20Is

Pakistan

Pakistan lost only one out of seven T20Is they played in 2017, though they played only against two opponents, West Indies and Sri Lanka. India had a good year too in this format, winning nine and losing four. Sri Lanka had a poor year, though, losing ten games and winning only five. They lost each of their last eight matches in this format.

S Rajesh is stats editor of ESPNcricinfo. @rajeshstats

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