Top 10 Test Batsmen of 2015

That Joe Root will one day captain England has been taken as read since he hit the grand old age of 23 - but for the moment it is his batting potential which so excites England. It is a rare England batsman who achieves maturity so quickly, but Root has looked consumed by the delights of batting from the moment he first took guard. He has also been the standout in the 50-over format and the only batsman to hold his own in the 5-2 drubbing against Sri Lanka. He was one of the first names to be penned down when the 15-member World Cup squad was picked.

Root's ice-cool demeanour and steely determination has already seen him being zeroed in as future England captain.

Steven Smith started his Test career as a legspinner who batted at No.8; by the time he was named Australia's captain five years later, he was the No.1 Test batsman in the world and no more than an occasional bowler. Smith's talent was apparent early, but as a young batsman he had more moving parts than an orchestra, only they didn't always work in harmony.

A batsman of breathtaking chutzpah and enterprise, as well as the skills and the temperament required to back up his creative intent. A fielder able to leap tall buildings and still come up with the catch. A wicketkeeper who is perfectly at ease donning pads and gloves. He also had a wonderful three-match Test series against Australia, where he finished as the second highest run-scorer. He continued to do well in both Tests and ODIs and ended 2014 as the second highest run-getter for South Africa in both the formats, behind Amla.

By the time Kane Williamson is finished with playing cricket, it is probable that he will be New Zealand's greatest batsman. Even Martin Crowe endorsed that view. Williamson is ambidextrous, bats right-handed in the top order across formats, and has become a pillar of the New Zealand side since he made his debut in 2010.He continued to have a great time with the bat and registered his maiden double-hundred in Wellington in the second innings of the second Test match against Sri Lanka. The visitors couldn't stop him from touching fabulous peaks in the ODI series either, as he was in fabulous touch.

David Warner is a hard man to keep quiet. If his bat isn't doing the talking his mouth probably is, and either way you can expect an assertive approach. His breathtaking 89 from 43 balls on debut against South Africa told the world of his talent, but few at the time expected him to become a key Test player as well. He scored a fifty in the home ODI series against South Africa to stay in good shape and smashed three hundreds against India in the 2014-15 Border-Gavaskar Trophy to hurt the visitors badly.

A robust batting technique, nagging consistency with the ball, and athleticism in the field, all set off by an imperturbable temperament, have made Angelo Mathews one of Sri Lanka's most prized assets and a figure on which the team hangs many hopes. Mathews came under lot of flak after Sri Lanka suffered massive defeats against New Zealand in the Test series in 2014-15 and they were not able to save the ODI series as well.

One of Pakistan's modern batting greats, Younis Khan is the kind of man who responds best in adversity. A Test average of over 50, a triple-hundred, a famous double-hundred against India in India, and a brilliant rearguard partnership to clinch Pakistan's 3-0 Test whitewash over England, leave no doubt about his quality and class. He is also one of the most successful fielders for Pakistan, and can bowl respectable slow-medium.

An elegant strokeplayer blessed with the temperament to make the most of his talent, Hashim Amla is the first South African of Indian descent to reach the national squad - his grandparents migrated from Gujarat - and he shares the penchant for wristy leg-side flicks that ooze off his bat. Amla's immense concentration skills and his never ending thirst for runs has ensured that he is the natural successor to the big scoring Jacques Kallis in the South African line-up. A calm and a down to earth person, Amla shies away from the limelight and is known to be an intensely private person.

Those in the know were saying that the tall, dark and handsome Alastair Cook was destined for great things very early on, and on the Ashes tour of 2010-11, he came good on a host of promises, scoring an incredible 766 runs in seven innings to anchor England's first series win in Australia for 24 years. In so doing, he went past 5,000 Test runs, having turned 26 on Christmas Day - the second youngest batsman to reach the landmark after Sachin Tendulkar. Two years later and further records had been broken as he became England's leading Test century-maker - hitting No. 23 against India in Kolkata, his third in three matches - and the youngest player to pass 7000 runs.

Ross Taylor could be just what New Zealand need in the wake of the mass of departures from their batting line-up: an aggressive top-order batsman capable of taking up the challenge to world-class attacks.