WTC 2023-25: From Joe Root to Yashasvi Jaiswal – top run-scorers in third World Test Championship cycle | Cricket News

The third ICC World Test Championship cycle is slated for a finish on Saturday as South Africa and Australia resume play with 69 runs on the line. While the Proteas are closing in on a horic triumph, skipper Temba Bavuma leads the batting charts for the team this edition that began in mid-2023 after Australia beat India in the previous final at the Oval in June that year.
Interestingly, none of South Africa’s batters find themselves among the top-20 run getters in the WTC 2023-25 cycle. England batter Joe Root topped the charts for a second cycle in succession, notching up 1968 runs at a 54.66 average. Root also topped the century-makers l, having piled on seven hundreds during the course of the WTC cycle. The former England captain, who recently went past 13,000 Test runs, has finished in the top two run-scorers of all three cycles thus far. Root continues to dominate the World Test Championship, leading the combined charts in the hory of the tournament with 5543 in 117 innings, averaging 51.80 with 18 centuries.
Following Root on the chart this time is Yashasvi Jaiswal, whose maiden WTC campaign since his Test debut in 2023 has garnered him 1798 runs. In 19 Tests, Jaiswal has slammed four centuries and 10 fifties to emerge as the most successful opener in the campaign, averaging north of 52. England batters Ben Duckett, Harry Brook and Ben Duckett make up the top five as a total of 15 players aggregated more than 1000 runs in the cycle. New Zealand’s Kane Williamson, Australia’s Steve Smith and Sri Lankan batter Kamindu Mendis are the other players in the top 10 who accumulated five centuries.
Most runs in ICC World Test Championship 2023-25 cycle

Player
Inns
Runs
HS
Ave
100
50

Joe Root (ENG)
40
1968
262
54.66
7
7

Yashasvi Jaiswal (IND)
36
1798
214*
52.88
4
10

Ben Duckett (ENG)
41
1470
153
36.75
2
8

Harry Brook (ENG)
29
1463
317
50.44
4
7

Usman Khawaja (AUS)
39
1428
232
39.66
2
6

Steve Smith (AUS)
37
1403
141
41.26
5
5

Travis Head (AUS)
36
1197
152
34.2
3
5

Zak Crawley (ENG)
34
1175
189
34.55
1
8

Kane Williamson (NZ)
22
1152
156
54.85
5
4

Kamindu Mendis (SL)
20
1123
182*
62.38
5
3