‘Dismal’: Graph proves England’s Test side is a laughing stock

England has been a one-man show in 2021, but this unfathomable statistic exposes how terribly their Test side has performed.

England has been a one-man show in 2021.

Captain Joe Root has been the only player to stand up with the bat this year, plundering 1680 runs in 15 Tests.

It currently ranks as the third-largest runs tally by a cricketer in a calendar year in Test history – he needs at least 109 in the second innings at the MCG to beat the all-time record set by Pakistan’s Mohammad Yousef in 2006.

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England’s next best batter for 2021 has been opener Rory Burns – who was dropped for the Boxing Day Test — on 530 runs. But the real marker of just how putrid England has been this year arrives in spot three.

As cricket writer Jarrod Kimber pointed out on his social media channels, extras have been England’s third-highest run-getter in Tests over the past 12 months.

England has accumulated 407 sundries since January, meaning no-balls, wides, leg byes and byes have contributed more to the Test side’s totals than any player apart from Root and Burns.

That’s unheard of, and shows just how awful England’s batters have been.

Extras are the third top scorer for england this year. Do read the article by @ajarrodkimber on english batting. https://t.co/nS5eAtt1Sjpic.twitter.com/Xia4lt8IcS

— Anmol Singh Turna (@PsychedelicBab5) December 26, 2021

In comparison, Australia has registered 120 runs from extras in 2021, which ranks eighth among their batters – narrowly ahead of former Test captain Tim Paine.

Twenty-five cricketers have represented England at Test level in 2021, but only two boast a batting average above 29 during that period – Root and England No. 3 David Malan.

Root has scored six Test centuries in 2021 – his teammates have collectively mustered just one triple-figure score over the past 12 months.

Most Test runs for England in 2021

Joe Root – 1680 at 62.22

Rory Burns – 530 at 27.89

Jonny Bairstow – 386 at 25.73

Ollie Pope – 368 at 21.64

Dom Sibley – 356 at 19.77

Daniel Lawrence – 354 at 27.23

Jos Buttler – 348 at 24.85

Dawid Malan – 308 at 38.50

Ben Stokes – 293 at 22.53

Haseeb Hameed – 198 at 19.80

Chris Woakes – 173 at 28.83

Zak Crawley – 168 at 11.20

Moeen Ali – 132 at 18.85

Ollie Robinson – 125 at 10.41

* Correct as of December 27

Joe Root of England. Photo by Robert Cianflone/Getty Images

England were rolled for 185 on day one of the Boxing Day Test, with Root the only player to reach fifty. It was the 12th time England had been bowled out for less than 200 in Test cricket this year.

Former English captain Mike Atherton, writing for The Times, described the side’s performance as “dismal”.

“The similarities to the opening two Tests were readily apparent, with early wickets falling to the new ball, key wickets going at crucial moments in the overs immediately before lunch and tea and a vital one in second session to a build-up of immense pressure,” he wrote.

“Once again it was Root or bust, so when England‘s captain departed within the first hour after lunch for a perky half-century, but no more, the chances of a competitive score went with him.”