England fast bowler Jofra Archer and Australian speedster Pat Cummins are named among Wisden's Five Cricketers of the Year, which is Wisden Cricketers Almanack's oldest and most prestigious honour dating back to 1889.
Besides Archer and Cummins, Australia's Marnus Labuschagne, Australian woman all-rounder Ellyse Perry and Essex's South African offspinner and one-day captain Simon Harmer have also been given the honour, which can only be awarded to each player once and and relates to their influence on the previous English summer.
Archer has been rewarded for his remarkable maiden season in the international cricket. The 25-year-old played a major role during England's maiden International Cricket Council (ICC) World Cup win in 2019 with a victory over New Zealand in the final where he finished with a total of 20 wickets from 11 innings. He then followed it up with a sensational debut Test series against Australia.
Reflecting on Archer's inclusion among five cricketers, Wisden editor Lawrence Booth said the England cricketer had an unprecedented impact in his first summer in the international cricket.
"Jofra Archer had an unprecedented impact in his first summer as an international cricketer.He showed astonishing poise to bowl the super over that delivered England the World Cup, then produced some of the quickest and most memorable spells in recent Ashes history, knocking over Steve Smith at Lord's, and finishing the series with 22 wickets at just 20 apiece," ESNcricinfo quoted Booth as saying.
While Harmer played a crucial role in Essex's victories in both the County Championship and the T20 Blast, Cummins was a pivotal factor in Australia's five-match Ashes Test series win over England as he bagged 29 wickets at 19.62.
Pacer Cummins also claimed 14 wickets during the ICC World Cup 2019 as Australia made it to the semi-finals.
Labuschagne, on the other hand, filled in for former skipper Steve Smith at Lord's in August to become Test cricket's first concussion substitute. He finished as Australia's best batsman behind Smith after notching up four successive half-centuries. He also smashed 1,114 Championship runs at an average of 65.
Perry, who was also named Wisden's leading women cricketer in the world--the honour which she last received in 2016, finished as the highest run-getter in the 2019 Ashes series with a total of 378 runs in seven matches she played across three formats for Australia. The woman all-rounder also finished with 15 wickets as Australia successfully retained their Women’s Ashes title against England last year.
