India, Dec. 30 -- Test cricket in 2025 had everything: a World Test Championship final upset at Lord's, a blockbuster England-India series that swung between big runs and big moments, and an Ashes arc that began with noise and ended with Australia taking a firm grip by winning the first three Tests. In between came the year's oddities too - including Wiaan Mulder declaring with himself 34 short of Brian Lara's 400 not out - a reminder that modern Test cricket can still produce the kind of headlines that feel half-impossible.

Cricket Australia's end-of-year Test XI is built around that simple idea of impact. It rewards openers who travelled and scored, a middle order that combined volume with match-shaping peaks, and a bowling attack that...