Ben Stokes and Ellyse Perry were named Wisden Cricketers of 2020 by Wisden Cricketer’s Almanack on Thursday . The award is bestowed on an Englishman after 14 years, Since Andrew Flintoff in 2005.
Ben Stokes succeeds Virat Kohli’s by ending Kohli’s three-year streak as Wisden’s leading cricketer in the world. The English all-rounder lead England to their maiden World Cup win and later produced an unforgettable match winning innings of 135 not out in third Ashes Test against England at Lords.
The leading cricketer in the world is awarded to the player who has had the most impact on the game in that year. The 28 year old had pulled off two match winning performances in a span of few weeks.
“Against red ball or white ball, he (Ben Stokes) was a force of nature.”
Wisden editor Lawrence Booth
Match Winning Performances of Ben Stokes
In the 2019 World Cup Final, chasing 242 to win, England needed 15 runs from the last 4 deliveries. Thanks to a little good fortune, Stokes managed to score 14 from them and take the match to the super overs. In the super over he contributed 8 runs along with Butler’s 7 runs to set a target of 15.
Toward the end, New Zealand needed 3 runs from 2 balls to win. New Zealand managed to score only 2 more runs leading to another tie. According to the rules, if there’s a tie in super overs then the side with more boundaries throughout the match wins. Such was the drama when England won the World Cup by the barest of margins.
Stokes was the player of the match for his 84 not out from 98 balls in the first 50 overs followed by 8 not out from 3 balls in the super over.
In the third match of 2019 Ashes series the world witnessed one of the greatest test knocks by Ben Stokes. England were bowled out for a mere 67 runs in their first innings leaving them with a mammoth target of 359 to win the test match.
At the fall of 9th wicket, England still needed another 73 runs with Jack Leach and Ben Stokes in the middle. The pair added an unbeaten 76 runs to complete England’s highest run chase ever out of which Jack Leach scored just 1 run from 17 balls.
In his phenomenal counter-attacking innings, Ben Stokes scored a total of 135 runs not out off 219 deliveries with 11 fours and 8 maximums to keep the series alive. His heroics won him another player of the match award.
Leading Women Cricketer In The World
Australian all-rounder Ellyse Perry was named the leading women player in the world. She succeeds the Indian star Smriti Mandhana for the prestigious title.
Ellyse Perry dominated the 2019 women’s Ashes like no one ever before. In the ODI match at Canterbury, she tore through the England batting line up claiming 7 wickets for 22 runs.
In the only test match at Taunton, Perry scored 116 runs in the first innings followed by a 76 not out in the second innings. Australian drew the test match to retain the Ashes Ellyse Perry was awarded the player of the match award.
Wisden Cricketers Of 2020
The Wisden selects 5 cricketers of the year from around the world. They are selected based upon the impact that they have had on the sport of cricket because of their performance.
Jofra Archer was selected for his impact in the Ashes for some of the quickest and memorable spells in the 2019 Ashes series.
Pat Cummins was named for his series defining performance in the Ashes that helped Australia retain the urn. The number one bowler in the world was the highest wicket taker of the series with 29 dismissals.
Marnus Labuschagne was selected for his four successive half- centuries following his debut in Ashes as Test cricket’s first concussion substitute and a very impressive Australian summer.
Simon Harmer, the Essex’s South African spinner and their one-day captain was also selected for his pivotal role in the team’s County Championship and T20 Blast victories.
The fifth cricketer of the Year was the Australian all-rounder, Ellyse Perry.
West Indies all-rounder Andre Russel was named the leading T20 player in the world. Russel has managed to make an impact in the T20 cricket because of his explosive batting and deceiving bowling abilities.
Follow us on facebook for more sports news updates