#3 Joe Root
You would normally associate Joe Root with having wonderful stats at the end of the year. Although he finished as the third highest run-getter of 2018, yet the numbers aren’t as good as he has accumulated in the past. He made 948 runs from 13 Tests, averaging 41.21. He made 2 centuries and 4 half-centuries as well.
One of the biggest reasons why Root finds a place in Cricadium’s Best Test XI of 2018 is his captaincy throughout the year. Under his leadership, England won 4-1 against India and then went on to clinch a historic series win in Sri Lanka. In both the series, batting wasn’t easy. Earlier, he faced a top-class pace attack of India and tackled spin in Sri Lanka. Hence, there was a dip in the average but Root did well enough to feature in Test XI of 2018.
