West Indies white-ball captain and the mainstay of their batting across formats, Shai Hope, has become the leading run-getter in international cricket in 2025. Hope was coming off a match-defining century in the first Test in Christchurch, coupled with Justin Greaves' unbeaten double hundred, which propelled the West Indies in salvaging a draw in the series opener against New Zealand and it was the right-hander again, who scored a high of 48 in the first innings of the second game, when the entire team folded for 205.
Hope scored 48, which took him past India's ODI and Test captain Shubman Gill to get to the top of the list of batters with the most runs in the current calendar year. Hope has aggregated 1,749 runs in 47 innings across formats this year, while Gill now sits in second place with 1,736 runs against his name at the highest level in 2025.
Most runs in international cricket in 2025
1,749 - Shai Hope (West Indies), in 47 innings
1,736 - Shubman Gill (India), in 40 innings
1,585 - Brian Bennett (Zimbabwe), in 46 innings
1,569 - Salman Agha (Pakistan), in 58 innings
1,540 - Joe Root (England), in 29 innings
Gill got out for just four runs on Tuesday, December 9, in the opening T20I against South Africa and now is 13 runs behind Hope, but has four innings to catch up. Hope, on the other hand, has three innings left in international cricket in 2025, including the second in the ongoing Wellington Test, and a couple more in the final Test in Mount Maunganui.
Among the top five, Joe Root also has four innings left and has the highest average among the ones in the top five, but given how the Australian tour is going for England so far, it will be a challenge for the former skipper to score 250-300 runs across those four attempts
As for the game, the depleted New Zealand bowling attack, which further lost Blair Tickner, who had his left shoulder dislocated while saving a couple of runs, bowled the West Indies out for just 205, after Tom Latham chose to field first. Tickner took four wickets, while the debutant Michael Rae chipped in with a three-for. New Zealand were at 24/0 at the stumps and with potentially just three bowlers in the second innings, the Black Caps will be aiming to bat big.
