Ben Gardner picks a world Test XI from the lower section of the ladder to take on the best around.

The last few years have seen a slight breaking away of world cricket’s top four from the rest. England, India, Australia and New Zealand made up the four semi-finalists at the 2019 Cricket World Cup, and are the current top four in the ICC’s Test and ODI team rankings, as well as the only four sides who still retain hope of reaching the inaugural World Test Championship final.

The last time any side from outside that quartet won a Test series against a team from inside it was early 2019, when West Indies shocked England. Since then, 13 rubbers have come and gone, with the gap growing all the while.

Still, that’s not to say there isn’t strength outside the top four. In fact, you can drum up a pretty handy combined XI from Pakistan, South Africa, Bangladesh, Sri Lanka and West Indies, even before considering Afghanistan and Ireland. Whether that team could challenge the best going is another question.

Wisden’s ‘Best of the rest’ world Test XI: The selection process

The openers

Dimuth Karunaratne

68 Tests, 4,657 runs @ 36.66, 10 100s

Dean Elgar

67 Tests, 4,260 runs @ 39.81, 13 100s

A doughty opening pair, each of whom average not far under 40 with the bat and are among their country’s most valuable batsmen. Dimuth Karunaratne’s value was only emphasised by how bereft Sri Lanka looked without him against England, with a hundred in his most recent Test innings against South Africa confirmation of his class. Dean Elgar contributed 95 and 127 in the Proteas’ first innings in that series, and he holds a prized record which shows his true value to contribute when the going is tough and no one else can score: he’s carried his bat three times in Test cricket. No one else has done so more than twice.

There were a fair few names unlucky to miss out. West Indies’ Kraigg Brathwaite is in a similar mould, while Aiden Markram and Tamim Iqbal could have brought some belligerence.

The middle order

Babar Azam

31 Tests, 2,167 runs @ 44.22, 5 100s

Mominul Haque

41 Tests, 3,001 runs @ 41.68, 10 100s

Angelo Mathews

88 Tests, 6,194 runs @ 45.54, 11 100s

Babar Azam needs no introduction. A player among the very best in the world, now bringing his white-ball class into the Test arena, he could dominate international cricket for a while yet. Angelo Mathews has done a sterling job bridging the gap after Sri Lanka’s glut of greats quit the game, and a century against England last month showed that his talent remains undimmed. The other slot was more debatable. With so many strong wicketkeepers around, there was a temptation to pick one as a batsman. The likes of Faf du Plessis and Kusal Mendis were strong candidates, while Fawad Alam and Jermaine Blackwood have impressed recently after absences from Test cricket.

Instead, Mominul Haque, Bangladesh’s Mr. Reliable, got the call. His record has tailed off slightly after an exceptional start: twelve Tests in, he had four hundreds among 1,198 runs at 63.05. But he’s still a consistent performer, and with two tons in his last three games, he may just be reaching those heights again.

The all-rounder

Shakib Al Hasan

57 Tests, 3,930 runs @ 39.69, 5 100s | 210 wickets @ 31.10, 18 5-fors

The hipster’s choice for the world’s best all-rounder, Shakib Al Hasan is up there with the best polymaths there have ever been. For those worried over whether we forgot the other great current non-Stokes batter/bowler, we’ll get to him.

The wicketkeeper

Quinton de Kock

51 Tests, 3,008 runs @ 37.13, 5 100s | 208 catches, 11 stumpings

The South Africa gloveman has had a rough time of it recently, with his fortunes waning along with his country’s. Being burdened by the captaincy in recent times doesn’t seem to have helped either, and with Mohammad Rizwan coming up strong, Quinton de Kock was under serious threat in this XI. But there was still enough credit in the bank to justify sticking with him, and when on song, there are few who can change the course of an innings and a game quite like he can.

The quicks

Jason Holder

45 Tests, 116 wickets @ 27.94, 7 5-fors

Kagiso Rabada

45 Tests, 202 wickets @ 23.36, 9 5-fors

Kemar Roach

61 Tests, 205 wickets @ 27.90, 9 5-fors

The first two, among the finest bowlers in the world today, and among the best West Indies and South Africa have produced in the modern era, were absolute shoo-ins. The final spot was a bit more up in the air, with plenty of contenders. Pakistan’s young guns Shaheen Afridi and Naseem Shah could make the cut in a few years, while Anrich Nortje and Shannon Gabriel would have brought some heat. Mohammad Abbas’ overall stats are phenomenal, as are Suranga Lakmal and Hasan Ali’s recent records. But Kemar Roach’s combination of a significant body of work and excellent recent returns meant he got the spot.

The spinner

Yasir Shah

45 Tests, 235 wickets @ 30.83, 16 5-fors

One of the toughest decisions in this XI. Lasith Embuldeniya showed his class against England, and Keshav Maharaj may already be South Africa’s second greatest Test spinner behind Hugh Tayfield. Taijul Islam was a contender too. But the really tricky decision was between Yasir Shah, a man with 235 Test wickets, and another leg-spinner with just 21 scalps to his name: Afghanistan’s Rashid Khan, who, in four Tests, has already gone some way to showing he can bring his world-class white-ball skills into the red-ball arena. Match figures of 11-104 in a magnificent win against Bangladesh showed his potential, but there just wasn’t quite enough evidence there to edge out his Pakistani counterpart, who holds the record for the fastest bowler, in terms of Tests played, to 200 wickets.

Wisden’s best of the rest world Test XI: The team

1. Dimuth Karunaratne
2. Dean Elgar
3. Babar Azam
4. Mominul Haque
5. Angelo Mathews
6. Shakib Al Hasan
7. Quinton de Kock (wk)
8. Jason Holder
9. Yasir Shah
10. Kagiso Rabada
11. Kemar Roach