Archer named one of five Wisden Cricketers of the Year

Despite the prospect of no cricket for the foreseeable future, earlier today the five Cricketers of the Year were announced by Wisden, ahead of the Wisden Cricketers’ Almanack 2020 which is published on Thursday 9th April.

The five Cricketers of the Year were as follows; Jofra Archer, Pat Cummins, Simon Harmer, Marnus Labuschagne and Ellyse Perry.

Jofra Archer

The Sussex paceman had an unprecedented impact in his first summer as an international cricketer. After making his England debut in May 2019.

He showed astonishing courage to bowl the nerve-racking super over that delivered England the Cricket World Cup. He also produced some memorable spells of bowling in Ashes history, including knocking over Steve Smith at Lords and finishing the series with 22 wickets at an average of 20 apiece.

Pat Cummins

Australian paceman Cummins was the leading wicket taker in the series, claiming 29 wickets as Australia retained the Ashes for the first time since 2001.

He was fast, hostile, accurate and the pick of the Aussie attack. Deserves to currently sit at No 1 in the World.

Simon Harmer

Off-break bowler Harmer, enjoyed a rich vein of form with the ball for County Champions Essex, with a haul of 83 wickets at 18 apiece, including a remarkable 10 five-fors.

He also helped the county to T20 Blast success thanks to his heroics with both bat and ball on finals day by securing victory off the last ball, to give Essex the honour of being the first county side to win both Championship and the T20 Blast in the same season.

Marnus Labuschagne

Became an Aussie hero by becoming Test cricket’s first concussion substitute and finished the series as Australia’s best batsman behind Steve Smith, having scored four successive half- centuries.

That followed an outstanding season for Glamorgan, where he hit 1,114 championship runs at an average of 65. Backed up with an average of 112 in the Australian summer, Labuschagne simply oozes class.

Ellyse Perry

The Australian dominated the women’s version of the Ashes, inspiring Australia to a crushing victory.

Devastating with the ball by claiming seven for 22 in the ODI at Canterbury and outstanding with bat during the one- off test at Taunton, where she made 116 and an unbeaten 76, Perry has become the first non-English woman to be named as a Wisden Cricketer of the Year, and has also been named as Wisden’s Leading Woman Cricketer in the World.

The all-rounder finished the multi-format series with 378 runs and 15 wickets.

On the same day, Ben Stokes was awarded the honour of being named The Leading Cricketer in the World, with West Indian Andre Russell, who was named as The Leading Twenty 20 Cricketer in the World.