Quinton de Kock
95 v England
first Test, Centurion
Heading into the series, pundits warned that England needed to beware the hosts, wounded as they were, but England found little resistance as they reduced South Africa to 111 for five . de Kock started the turnaround with three boundaries in five balls against Sam Curran - England's best bowler on the day - and took the lead in an 87-run stand with debutant Dwaine Pretorius. de Kock batted for slightly below three hours, but he got 95 of the 147 runs South Africa made therein time. it had been the lower-order stretch that found out South Africa's first win under their spiffy new administration.
Virat Kohli
254 not out v South Africa
second Test, Pune
This wasn't a quintessential Virat Kohli innings - his first hour was a struggle, and he edged multiple times and survived. on the other hand, it hadn't been a quintessential Kohli year either - this can be his first Test hundred in 2019. During his five-and-a-half-hour stay, South Africa was a gooey mess, unable to stay their fast bowlers on, struggling to copy throws, barely ready to stand one another at some points, and possibly wondering how Kohli had inflicted those horrors on them without being at his complete best.
Kusal Perera
153 not out v South Africa
first Test, Durban
Perera was modest and understated as he spoke of this innings afterward. He wasn't nearly as restrained when No. 11 Vishwa Fernando (who finished on 6 not out off 27) joined him with 78 still to urge. Against an attack of Dale Steyn, Kagiso Rabada, and Duanne Olivier, Perera unleashed the type of shots that normally get him in trouble in Tests - swats at rising deliveries, slashes against ones on a length, hoicks when cramped for the room - and gave Sri Lanka an hour of outrageous authenticity. The ripples lasted until the top of the Test series, which they won 2-0, and beyond.
Steven Smith
144 v England
first Test, Birmingham
Smith would have liked a return to check cricket in damn near the other country on the earth than England, but he battled a difficult pitch and a hostile crowd - right up until the purpose he celebrated 100 - and brought calm to a room that had felt his absence during far too many collapses over 16 months. A dreadful 122 for 8 on day one among the Ashes became a seemingly respectable 284 for Australia. By the top of the sport, it proved such a lot quite that.
Ben Stokes
135 not out v Australia
third Test, Leeds
Stokes did not have to seem too far back for notes on miracles: it had been just over a month since he had brought home the planet Cup for England under extraordinary circumstances. So out he came here with the last man, Jack Leach, 73 to get, nerveless throughout, and lots of will say fortunately another time. Except, Australia's errors were all forced. Stokes was blistering. The boundaries came when he wanted, and even when he was expansive, he rarely looked out of control. during a year filled with redemption stories, Stokes managed to sneak during a second entry with this knock.
Tom Latham
154 v Sri Lanka
second Test, Colombo
When you think Latham within the subcontinent, you think that sweeps, flicks, and glances. during this rain-hit match, he made only 60 runs in boundaries; the remainder came altogether his trademark ways - 99 of them on the leg side altogether - but crucially, at a brisk pace. New Zealand was still in their first innings at the top of day four, but Latham's strike rate of 61.35 ensured the lower-order cameos that came later would help them placed on an enormous enough total to bat just one occasion and save the series.
BJ Watling
205 v England
first Test, Mount Maunganui
It is a trope that you simply call upon Watling to grind the opposition down after they need to be taken early wickets during a Test in New Zealand. Even so, it had been remarkable watching as Watling drained England empty with 11 hours of batting from 127 for 4. Watling's method was simple as ever - punches through the off side, glances fine - but it did find yourself forcing 136 overs out of England's seamers in total, and made them spend 201 overs within the field, while New Zealand put up 615. England stood little chance trying to avoid an innings defeat then.
Steven Smith
211 v England
fourth Test, Manchester
Like at Edgbaston, Smith was forced to steer in early again and was the last man out again. In between, another rearguard, and more remarkable chemistry with the lower order. most significantly, he provided the counterpunch Australia needed after Ben Stokes' Headingley heroics. One superstar against another. Smith shuffled, nudged, and left deliveries alone animatedly again - and again, he made the Ashes his own. A 2-1 scoreline at the top of the fourth Test was all Australia needed to stay their title.
David Warner
335 not out v Pakistan
second Test, Adelaide
Only two of Warner's 24 Test centuries have come at a strike rate under 60. So it had been clear after his 154 at 52.02 within the first Test of this series that he was looking to seek out his feet following a nightmare return during the Ashes. In Adelaide, it had been back to boisterous business. There was little anyone could do as he carved Pakistan's insipid and understaffed four-man attack under lights, merely every week after the opposite pink-ball Test had produced hooping, troublesome, helmet-taking action. it had been an unabashed return.
Marnus Labuschagne
143 v New Zealand
first Test, Perth
It only appeared like a passing gag that Labuschagne was the right like-for-like concussion replacement for Steven Smith, but by the top of the year, the comparison still had legs. In Perth, Labuschagne kept the strike ticking over and was especially resilient against a probing Neil Wagner, albeit not fully comfortable. His boundary-hitting was as assertive as ever, but the hundred - the third of three during a row - was marked by his patients on each day during which Australia only scored at 2.75. Eventually, New Zealand went a bowler down and Labuschagne's effort proved to be a match-winning one.
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