Test cricket team of the year 2024: Which FIVE Englishmen make it in and which record-breaker takes the armband?
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After a memorable year of 53 Tests, 52,801 runs, 1,820 wickets and only three draws, it’s time to choose a World XI for 2024 – a team to take on any other, in all conditions. A year that began with miracles in Brisbane and Hyderabad on the same day, thanks to Shamar Joseph and Tom Hartley, finished in similarly dramatic style at Centurion and Melbourne, as South Africa and Australia secured thrilling victories as time wound down.
![[In a country that tends towards batting conservatism, Jaiswal offers an exciting future for India]](https://i.dailymail.co.uk/1s/2024/12/31/10/93611153-14238877-image-a-2_1735640504602.jpg)
But who gets into our team of 2024? There's five from one country, none from a team that topped the World Test Championship and a record-breaking performance is more than enough to give one player the armband. Here, Wisden Editor Lawrence Booth picks his best XI from the year that was.
![[Ben Duckett rattled India at Rajkot and swept superbly against Pakistan's spinners in Multan]](https://i.dailymail.co.uk/1s/2024/12/31/10/93611261-14238877-image-a-3_1735640661827.jpg)
Is there a more frightening prospect among international batsmen? In the year he turned 23, Jaiswal scored double-centuries in successive Tests against England, and regularly thrashed run-a-ball fifties. His recent 161, after shrugging off a first-innings duck, set India up for victory at Perth. Perhaps his most significant innings came against Bangladesh at Kanpur, where his 72 off 51 balls set up India’s eight-an-over romp to 285.
![[New Zealand's greatest run machine Kane Williamson's only blip came against Australia]](https://i.dailymail.co.uk/1s/2024/12/31/10/93611319-14238877-image-m-6_1735640714876.jpg)
Yashasvi Jaiswal represents a frightening prospect for international rivals after a red-hot 2024. In a country that tends towards batting conservatism, Jaiswal offers an exciting future for India. In a country that tends towards batting conservatism – witness the long rope given to Virat Kohli – Jaiswal offers a more exciting future.
![[Joe Root had a prolific year for England which saw him score six hundreds - equalling the national record]](https://i.dailymail.co.uk/1s/2024/12/31/10/93611553-14238877-image-a-7_1735640946243.jpg)
