Cricket: How Australian star bowler Pat Cummins is 'best since Richard Hadlee'

Pat Cummins took the most wickets of any player in test cricket in 2019. Photo / Photosport

Australian Pat Cummins produced the most dominant year by a fast bowler since Sir Richard Hadlee in 1985 after taking 59 test wickets in 2019.

Cummins, who had an average of 20.14 over the last 12 months, finished 14 wickets ahead of teammate Nathan Lyon who ended 2019 with 45 wickets.

No player has had such a bigger margin over the next best bowler since Hadlee's staggering 1985 season, when the New Zealand great took 28 wickets more than any other bowler.

Black Caps bowler Neil Wagner was tied third on 43 wickets despite playing half as many tests as Cummins. Wagner had a test bowling average of 17.81 in 2019 which included four five wicket bags.

Tim Southee finished with the sixth most test wickets in 2019 taking 33 in eight tests. Trent Boult had 23 in six tests while Colin de Grandhomme was the only other Kiwi to hit double figures with 11 wickets in six tests.

Australia and England dominated the runscorers in tests with Aussie Marnus Labuschagne the only player to crack the 1000 mark, scoring 1104 in 2019 at an average of 64.94. He was followed by teammate Steve Smith who returned in form from his ban to score 965 runs. Smith and Labuschagne both scored three centuries in the year along with India's Mayank Agarwal and Rohit Sharma and New Zealand opener Tom Latham.

Ross Taylor was the best of the Black Caps with the bat scoring 607 in eight tests at an average of 55.18. Latham scored 601 runs at an average of 50.08.

Stuart Broad led the way with most ducks with five while Rohit Sharma hit 20 test sixes to lead that category.

In ODI's, Black Caps bowlers Trent Boult (38 in 20 matches) and Lockie Ferguson (35 in 17) finished second and third respectively for the year in wickets behind India's Mohammed Shami who took 42 in 21 matches.

India's Rohit Sharma scored the most ODI runs in 2019 with 1490 in 28 matches followed by teammate Virat Kohli (1377 in 26 matches). Black Caps skipper Kane Williamson was sixth for the year with 948 from 20 matches.

Test wickets in 2019
Pat Cummins (Australia) - 59 in 12 tests
Nathan Lyon (Australia) - 45 in 12 tests
Neil Wagner (New Zealand) - 43 in six tests
Stuart Broad (England) - 43 in 11 tests
Mitchell Starc (Australia) - 42 in eight tests.

Test runs in 2019
Marnus Labuschagne (Australia) - 1104 in 11 tests
Steve Smith (Australia) - 965 in eight tests
Joe Root (England) - 851 in 12 tests
Rory Burns (England) - 824 in 12 tests
Ben Stokes (England) - 821 in 11 tests