A Brief Review of Men’s Test Cricket In 2024: A Year to Remember

There has been some exceptional Test cricket in the three years since the pandemic, in no small measure thanks to the dynamic impact of Bazball. But there was something very special about 2024 for men’s Test cricket.

Even though Test cricket was really entertaining in, say, 2022, there were still occasional gripes about it, in particular the fact that away wins were so difficult to come by. Of course people have been forecasting the death of Test cricket for years but that is happening less now; again “Baz” McCullum and Ben Stokes have been unashamedly trying to “save” Test cricket. But in 2024 the format seemed to be in genuinely rude health. And the away win was very much a part of that.

The year started with two extraordinary away wins. West Indies levelled the two-match so-called series with a marvellous win over Australia at Brisbane, the first time they had won in Australia since 1997. The victory was a triumph for the Guyanese pace bowler Shamar Joseph who had made his debut in the first Test at Adelaide. At the end of West Indies’ second innings at Brisbane he retired hurt with a severely bruised big toe and was not expected to take any further part in the game. He did not bowl at the start of Australia’s second innings – they only needed 216 to win -but when he came on he made all the difference. He took seven for 68 as West Indies won a thriller by eight runs.

Meanwhile in Hyderabad, England beat India in the first Test by 28 runs, debutant Tom Hartley (remember him?) taking seven for 62. India had had a first innings lead of 190, and England’s victory was made possible by a sensational 196 in the second innings by Ollie Pope. India won the series four-one. England played 16 Tests in the calendar year, India 14 (excluding the Sydney Test which took place in 2025), far more than anyone else; South Africa, who qualified for the World Test Championship final at Lord’s in June 2025, played nine. Of course the schedule is not South Africa’s fault. They started the year at what was arguably an all-time low, sending what was in effect a third eleven to New Zealand so that all their best players were available for the commercially critical SA20 competition. But they won their last seven Tests on the trot and no one will begrudge their impressive and long-suffering captain, Tembo Bavuma, his moment in the sun at Lord’s.

Returning to the theme of away wins, Sri Lanka beat England in the third Test at The Oval. England had won the first two matches and really should have won the third but Sri Lanka fought hard – they fought hard throughout the series – and thoroughly deserved their win. Sri Lanka are a better Test side than England gave them credit for and could themselves have qualified for the World Test Championship final, until they travelled to South Africa in December and were walloped two-nil. They were bowled out for 42 in the first Test at Durban, Marco Jansen taking seven for 13. Both Sri Lanka and South Africa beat Bangladesh at home, which is not as easy as it sounds. Bangladesh themselves squared a series in the Caribbean and won two-nil in Pakistan. Pakistan did manage to beat England two-one at home. England’s victory in the first Test at Multan by an innings and 47 runs was a statistical bonanza: England responded to Pakistan’s 556 with a mammoth 823 for seven (Harry Brook 317, Joe Root 262). Most unusually, the second Test was played not only on the same ground – that is quite normal, Sri Lanka very sensibly play all their home Tests at Galle, where Prabath Jayasuriya is virtually invincible – but on the same pitch. For the second time in the year England came a cropper against high quality spin, a commodity in which, despite the promise of Shoaib Bashir and the perseverance of Jack Leach, they themselves seem sadly lacking.

England beat New Zealand in New Zealand, as Australia had done earlier in the year. New Zealand barely turned up for the first Test at Christchurch: the centurion Brook was dropped four times. The third Test at Hamilton was a different story; New Zealand won by 423 runs.

But far and away the most remarkable away victory was New Zealand’s own triumph in India. In the first innings of the series, in Bangalore, India were rolled over for 46; Matt Henry took five for13, tyro Will O’Rourke four for 22. New Zealand responded with 402, Rachin Ravindra 134. India in turn made 462 – at one stage they were 408 for three. New Zealand won by eight wickets; everyone contributed. They won the second Test at Pune by 113 runs. Slow left armer Mitchell Santner, a serious cricketer in all formats but who had never taken a four-for in Tests, took thirteen in the match. That made it two-nil. For England, one feels, that would have been enough. But New Zealand made it three-nil at Mumbai, winning by 25 runs. And all this without their greatest player, Kane Williamson. All the matches were wonderful to watch and attracted good crowds; Test cricket at its enthralling best. This was one of the least expected series results of all time. One would have to go back to the 1989 Ashes to find something comparable.

It was put in context by Australia’s three-one victory over India in the Border-Gavaskar Trophy. In fairness to India, it is not inconceivable that, had the incomparable Jasprit Bumrah remained fit, they would have won the Sydney Test, squared the series and retained the Trophy. But the fact that he didn’t explained part of the Indian problem; their bowling unit, unlike Australia’s, wasn’t strong enough. And their batting was vulnerable too. We have seen this before of course, with outstanding teams from the West Indies and Australia; too many great players retiring, or in this case declining, at the same time. India’s hegemony in Test cricket seems to be over for now.

India did achieve one of the most remarkable of all Test victories, against Bangladesh in Chennai. Almost two-thirds of the game was lost to rain. India made up for lost time by making their first innings runs at a rate of 8.5 an over.

There were some distinguished retirements. Ravichandran Ashwin chose to retire in the middle of the series in Australia. Tim Southee bowed out at his home ground of Napier against England, narrowly failing to hit his hundredth six in Test cricket. And back in July the 41 year old James Anderson bade an emotional farewell in the first Test against West Indies at Lord’s. One of his potential replacements, Gus Atkinson, took twelve wickets in that match. In his next game at Lord’s, the second Test against Sri Lanka, he scored a century.

And at the MCG, on Boxing Day, in front of 90,000 spectators, a teenager, Sam Konstas, hit the world’s greatest bowler to all parts.

And they say Test cricket is boring.

My personal eleven for 2024

Yashasvi Jaiswal, Ben Duckett, Rachin Ravindra, Joe Root, Travis Head, Kamindu Mendis, Jamie Smith (wk), Pat Cummins (c), Jasprit Bumrah, Kaguso Ramada, Nathan Lyon