England’s Test skipper, Ben Stokes has received another feather to his cap as he has been awarded the Leading Men’s Cricketer.
Additionally, this is the third time that the English skipper has won this award.
However, this time around, it’s for his leadership qualities.
Ever since, taking the reins of Test cricket from Joe Root, Stokes has completely revitalized England’s fortunes in red-ball cricket.
Furthermore, England has also become the first visiting side to beat Pakistan at the latter’s home 3-0 in Tests.
On the other hand, Stokes has also played a huge part in England’s T20 side by crowning them T20 champs.
So far, England has won 10 Tests out of 12 under Stokes’ captaincy.
Says Wisden editor, Lawrence Booth on Ben Stokes,
It’s hard to think of any other cricketer who could have transformed his team’s fortunes so suddenly as Ben Stokes.
Adding further, he says,
When he took over the Test captaincy, England had won one game in their previous 17. By the time they had become the first visiting side to win 3-0 in Pakistan, they had won nine out of 10, and were playing with unprecedented style and verve.
Concluding his interview, Booth says,
Later in the year, he steered England to the T20 World Cup with the defining innings of the final against Pakistan in Melbourne- the icing on the cake for a cricketer who has transformed the way the game is played.
Bairstow, Foakes, and Matthew Potts also get recognition for their Test contributions
Apart from Stokes, England’s Jonny Bairstow, Ben Foakes and Matthew Potts have also been rewarded.
Bairstow has been awarded the newly minted Wisden trophy for outstanding individual Test performance.
On the other hand, Ben Foakes and Matthew Potts have been added to Wisden’s Almanack of the historic five cricketers of the year.
Furthermore, Bairstow was at his career best when he scored 106 and 114* against India at the Edgbaston Test to chase down 378 runs.
Meanwhile, Foakes’ contributions with the bat and gloves in the series against New Zealand and South Africa gave him recognition. He also hit his first ton at the Emirates Old Trafford.
Potts has gotten recognition based on his international and county performances. In his first 5 Tests, he took 20 wickets, which included, Kane Williamson and Virat Kohli thrice and once respectively.
Also, he has scalped 58 wickets in the LV= County Championship in his breakout campaign.
New Zealand, India, and Australia also find a place in Wisden’s Almanack
Meanwhile, the Kiwi pair of Tom Blundell and Daryl Mitchell has also been added to the historic five cricketers of the year following their excellent performances against England last year.
Additionally, India skipper Harmanpreet Kaur wraps off this list after a successful away campaign.
Moreover, Australia’s Beth Mooney has been awarded Leading Women’s Cricketer in the World for the second time while India’s Suryakumar Yadav has succeeded Pakistan’s Mohammad Rizwan to win the Top T20 Cricketer in the World.
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