17 April 2023 , 21:30
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Ben Stokes has been named Wisden’s leading cricketer in the world for the third time in four years in recognition of England’s Test revolution.
The skipper led his team to 10 wins out of 12 matches with a brand of cricket dubbed ‘Bazball’ after the coach Brendon ‘Baz’ McCullum, and fittingly the duo adorn the front cover of this year’s fat yellow book - the 160th edition.
But if Stokes and McCullum have put this style into practice, then some of the inspiration has undoubtedly come from Shane Warne who knew both men well and who was the most attacking, captivating and entertaining cricketer the game had known until his sudden death last year. Warne is given the obituary he deserves, plus several other must read pieces to reflect his impact on the game.
Whereas last year’s winner Joe Root took the honour purely by dint of his statistical feats with the bat while overseeing just one win in 17 as Test skipper, Stokes has been recognised as much for his leadership as his obvious cricketing talents.
There were individual high points such as his Test hundred against South Africa at Old Trafford, or his 4-33 in the win against India at Edgbaston, not to mention his match-winning innings’ against Sri Lanka and Pakistan at the T20 World Cup. But it is the way he has turned the England Test team around to the point where they chased down their highest target ever against India before scoring more than 500 in a day against Pakistan that has caught Wisden’s eye.
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“It’s hard to think of any other cricketer who could have transformed his team’s fortunes so suddenly as Ben Stokes,” declares the 1,616 page tome.
Jonny Bairstow has been awarded the first Wisden Trophy for his twin Test tons against India (Stu Forster - ECB/ECB via Getty Images)The batting star of Australia’s dominant team, Beth Mooney, is named the equivalent in the women’s game after helping her side to Commonwealth Gold and T20 World Cup glory, and she even starred in an Ashes win with a titanium plate inserted into her jaw after being hit by a ball.
The oldest individual award in the game, remains being named as one of Wisden’s five cricketers of the year for performances in the previous English summer, and England’s Ben Foakes and Matthew Potts are joined by New Zealand’s Daryl Mitchell and Tom Blundell in being recognised along with India’s Harmanpreet Kaur.
There is a new gong being dished out too, for the outstanding Test performance of the year, which is won by Jonny Bairstow for his twin tons against India amid the record chase.
The 160th edition of Wisden has been published
Australia cricket hero Shane Warne has also been recognised (Getty Images)The Wisden Trophy had been contested between England and West Indies, but was unceremoniously dumped by the ECB and its then chief executive Tom Harrison in 2020 in favour of the Botham-Richard’s Trophy.
Bairstow's 106 and 114 not out makes him the first winner of the same titled prize just as he was when he was the first winner of the Wisden schoolboy cricketer of the year award in 2007, and the connection is appropriate as he reflected on the match.
“I was playing the way I did as a kid for Yorkshire,” said Bairstow. “Taking teams on, taking the pull on and having the confidence to do it. For Rooty and me, it was just like our academy days, with that knowledge of finishing games. We had done it together since we were kids.”