Sports Desk- England all-rounder Ben Stokes was elected Wisden Leading Cricketer of the Year for 2019, ending the 3-year reign of Indian captain Virat Kohli. After 15 years an England player received this honor. The last time Wisden selected Andrew Flintoff was the Cricketer of the Year in 2005. Kohli was elected Leading Cricketer of the Year for three consecutive years in 2016, 2017 and 2018. However, this time no Indian has got a place in this list.
The 28-year-old Stokes played a key role in England’s ODI World Cup victory in 2019. Stokes had an unbeaten 84-run knock in the World Cup final. Also, thanks to Stokes’ unbeaten 135, England defeated Australia by one wicket in the third Ashes Test at Headingley. Stokes scored 821 in Tests in 2019, while 719 runs in ODIs.
Ben Stokes was awarded the ‘Sir Garfield Sobers Trophy’ by the ICC for the Player of the Year award in January this year. But praise from the famous ‘Yellow Book’ (@WisdenAlmanack) has always held a special place in cricket culture.
Wisden has also revealed his five cricketers of the year, including Stokes’ World Cup-winning teammate Jofra Archer. The five cricketers are Joffra Archer (England), Pat Cummins (Australia, Simon Harmer (South Africa), Marnus Labuschagne (Australia) and Ellyse Perry (Australian woman).
