Australia’s Ellyse Perry England’s Ben Stokes were named the Leading Cricketers of 2019 by Wisden Almanack on Wednesday.
Having previously won in 2016, Perry became the first woman to claim the award twice. The star Australian all-rounder reclaimed the title from India’s opening batter Smriti Mandhana.
Stokes, on the other hand, became the first English cricketer to receive the honour since Andrew Flintoff in 2005. The 28-year-old ended Virat Kohli’s three-year reign at the top after playing a starring role in England’s World Cup win last year.
Andre Russell was named the T20 Leading Cricketer in the World. In 2019, the West Indies all-rounder took 46 wickets and scored 1,080 runs in T20 matches.
Along with Perry, Wisden named Australia’s Pat Cummins, Marnus Labuschagne, England’s Jofra Archer and South Africa’s Simon Harmer as the Five Cricketers of the Year.
Stokes won the player of the match award in the World Cup final against New Zealand at Lord’s and then produced a remarkable match-winning innings of 135 not out in the third Ashes Test against Australia.
“Ben Stokes pulled off the performance of a lifetime – twice in the space of a few weeks,” said Wisden editor Lawrence Booth. “First, with a mixture of outrageous talent and good fortune, he rescued England’s run-chase in the World Cup final, before helping to hit 15 off the super over.
“Then, in the third Ashes Test at Headingley, he produced one of the great innings, smashing an unbeaten 135 to pinch a one-wicket win. Against red ball or white, he was a force of nature.”
Stokes won the International Cricket Council’s player of the year award in January.
(With inputs from AFP)