Australia's Test year: the bowlers

With April 1 marking the annual cut-off date for the International Cricket Council's Test rankings, here's a look back at the 25 players who donned the Baggy Green over the past 12 months, and how they fared across 13 Tests in what was a tumultuous year for Australian cricket - starting with the batsmen.

Quick single: Twists and turns in Test year to remember

Mitchell Starc

Matches: 11 | Wickets: 57 | Average: 24.80 | SR: 43.2 | BBI: 6-50

Returning from injury to be Australia’s standout player on an otherwise disappointing tour of Sri Lanka, Starc was his country’s most prolific wicket taker in Tests over the last 12 months despite missing the final two matches in India due to a fractured foot.

Josh Hazlewood

Matches: 13 | Wickets: 48 | Average: 24.85 | SR: 59.7 | BBI: 6-67

Currently the world's top-ranked fast bowler in Test cricket, Hazlewood played all 13 Tests for his country in the last 12 months, with one of his best performances coming in the second India Test in Bengaluru, where he struck with old ball and new to capture career-best figures of 6-67.

Peter Siddle

Matches: 1 | Wickets: 3 | Average: 32.66 | SR: 76.0 | BB: 2-62

Returning from injury for Australia’s first Test of the home season at the WACA Ground, Siddle’s comeback was short-lived, the paceman breaking down during that Perth match, sidelining the fast bowler for the remainder of the summer.

Joe Mennie

Matches: 1 | Wickets: 1 | Average: 85.00 | SR: 168.0 | BB: 1-85

Mennie made his Test debut in Hobart, but like South Australian teammate Callum Ferguson, it was to be a one-off, the fast bowler dropped for the third and final Test in Adelaide.

Jackson Bird

Matches: 3 | Wickets: 13 | Average: 31.00 | SR: 58.1 | BB: 3-23

Bird returned to Australia’s Test XI in the aftermath of the Hobart Test defeat, featuring in Adelaide, Brisbane and Melbourne before being left out as selectors opted for a second spinner in Sydney, the fast bowler also consigned to carrying the drinks throughout the tour of India.

Pat Cummins

Matches: 2 | Wickets: 8 | Average: 30.25 | SR: 57.7 | BB: 4-106

Pace, bounce and consistency were the hallmarks of Cummins’ long-awaited Test return in Ranchi, the paceman sending down 39 overs during India’s innings that lasted 210 overs. India opener KL Rahul became Cummins’ first victim upon his return, while he added the key scalps of Virat Kohli, Ajinkya Rahane and Ravi Ashwin to finish with 4-106. He picked up another three in India’s first innings in Dharamsala.

Steve O’Keefe

Matches: 6 | Wickets: 26 | Average: 23.80 | SR: 56.0 | BBI: 6-35

Sent home due to a hamstring injury after the first Test of the Sri Lanka tour, O’Keefe returned as Australia played two spinners against Pakistan at the SCG, maintaining his place in the side through the tour of India that followed. He started that series in remarkable fashion, ripping apart India not one but twice to collect 6-35 in each innings and shatter countless records in Pune.

Nathan Lyon

Matches: 13 | Wickets: 52 | Average: 35.36 | SR: 63.9 | BB: 8-50

One of just four players to feature in all 13 Tests Australia played during the past 12 months, Lyon’s highlight was undoubtedly in Bengaluru, when he re-wrote the history books in the second Test with an astonishing 8-50 on day one, the best performance by a touring bowler in India.

Jon Holland

Matches: 2 | Wickets: 5 | Average: 54.80 | SR: 98.4 | BB: 2-72

The left-arm orthodox spinner made his Test debut in Sri Lanka following an injury to Stephen O’Keefe and would certainly have figured in discussions for the India tour had he not suffered an untimely injury of his own in Victoria’s last Sheffield Shield game of 2016.