England All-rounder Ben Stokes Named Wisden Leading Cricketer In World For 2019

Stokes became the first English cricketer after Andrew Flintoff since 2005 to win the award whereas Perry, the star Australian all-rounder, had won the award previously in 2016 and has thus become the first woman to claim the award twice.

New Delhi: The Wisden Almanack named England's star allrounder Ben Stokes and Australian female cricketer Ellyse Perry as the World's Leading Cricketers for 2019. Stokes became the first English cricketer after Andrew Flintoff since 2005 to win the award whereas Perry, the star Australian all-rounder, had won the award previously in 2016 and has thus become the first woman to claim the award twice. Stokes had a brilliant 2019 with bith the bat in all formats of the game, notching up 821 Test runs at a healthy average of 45, including an Ashes hundred at Lord's, and 719 runs in ODIs at a staggering 60. Perry, on the other hand, raised the bar a notch higher, scoring a century (plus 76 not out) in her only Test, and two more (both unbeaten) in ODIs, where she averaged 73. From six T20 international innings, she was dismissed once, averaging 150. On top of that were 21 one-day wickets at 13 apiece, and six in T20s. Meanwhile, hard-hitting West Indies all-rounder Andre Russell was named T20 Leading Cricketer of 2019. Last year, Russell took 46 wickets and scored 1,080 runs in T20 matches. Along with Perry, Wisden named Pat Cummins, Marnus Labuschagne, Jofra Archer and Simon Harmer as the Five Cricketers of the Year. The Wisden Five Cricketers of the Year in 2019 were Rory Burns, Tammy Beaumont, Jos Buttler, Virat Kohli, and Sam Curran. Kohli was also named the Leading Cricketer in the world the past three years, while India's Smriti Mandhana was the Leading Woman Cricketer in the World in 2018. The first two Leading T20 Cricketer in the world awards were claimed by Afghanistan's Rashid Khan.