BLACKCAPS Kane Williamson, Brendon McCullum and WHITE FERNS captain Suzie Bates have all been celebrated in the 2016 edition of cricket’s Bible – The Wisden Almanack.
Williamson has tonight been named Wisden’s Leading Cricketer in the World; Bates has been named Wisden’s Leading Women’s Cricketer in the World; and Williamson and McCullum have been named in the almanack’s Five Cricketers of the Year – the first Kiwi double in the 127-year history of the awards.
The Leading Cricketer in the World award, introduced by Wisden in 2004, places Williamson in a club that includes, amongst others, Ricky Ponting, Shane Warne, Muttiah Muralitharan, Jacques Kallis, Sachin Tendulkar and Kumar Sangakkara.
Kane Williamson reached the world number one ranking for Test batsmanship in 2015. GETTY
Noted Wisden: “Ending his Test year as he began it – with a century at home against Sri Lanka, Williamson confirmed himself as one of the talents of his generation. His international aggregate in 2015 was a staggering 2,692 – a full 323 ahead of second-placed Steve Smith, and the third-highest annual haul of all time.
Wisden editor Lawrence Booth said the choice of Williamson “in an era of highly gifted young batsmen, reflected the measured brilliance he brought to every format of the game.”
Of Bates, Wisden said the WHITE FERNS captain “spent 2015 consolidating her status as one of the power hitters of the women’s game, not least when scoring 258 during the five-nil whitewash of Sri Lanka. But the highlight was her sixth one-day century, made in the victory over England in February”.
Power-hitter: a potent year for Suzie Bates. PHOTOSPORT
As Booth noted, “It needed something special to deny both Meg Lanning and Ellyse Perry this award, and Bates’ all-round performances were precisely that.”
Wisden made special mention of McCullum’s influence during New Zealand’s tour of England and beyond, hailing the sense of joie de vivre which allowed him to sign off his international career with a 54-ball century against Australia – the fastest in Test history.
Sweet farewell: Brendon McCullum left his mark. PHOTOSPORT
“An English summer has rarely witnessed a more popular touring captain than McCullum, whose attacking approach obliged England to follow suit during one of the most entertaining and best-natured series they have hosted.”
The Wisden Cricketers’ Almanack was first published in 1864 and has continued uninterrupted to the present day. It is the longest-running sports annual in history, and is considered the world’s most famous sports reference book.
Williamson and McCullum are the 14th and 15th New Zealand players named in the Wisden Five Cricketers of the Year Awards, after Roger Blunt (1928), Stewie Dempster (1932), Martin Donnelly (1948), Bert Sutcliffe (1950), John Reid (1959), Dick Motz (1966), Glenn Turner (1971), Bevan Congdon (1974), Sir Richard Hadlee (1982), Jeremy Coney (1984), Martin Crowe (1985), Chris Cairns (2000) and Jeetan Patel (2015).
Wisden’s previous Leading Cricketer in the World award winners have been: Ricky Ponting (2004), Shane Warne (2005), Andrew Flintoff (2006), Muttiah Muralitharan (2007), Jacques Kallis (2008), Virender Sehwag (2009), Virender Sehwag (2010), Sachin Tendulkar (2011), Kumar Sangakkara (2012), Michael Clarke (2013), Dale Steyn (2014), Kumar Sangakkara (2015).
The Leading Women’s Cricketer of the Year award was inaugurated in 2015, when it was won by Australian captain Meg Lanning; making 2016 the first time a New Zealander has been bestowed with the honour.
