The 2014 edition of Wisden comes out next week, meaning that the 5 Cricketers of the Year and Leading Cricketer in the World will be named.
There are different rules for both. The 5 Cricketers of the Year are named based on the English summer, meaning players such as de Villiers, Kohli and Johnson won't be in the reckoning, and there is usually at least one player involved in county cricket; it is also a one-off award, meaning players such as Bell, Clarke and Onions are ineligible.
The Leading Cricketer in the World is based on the entire international cricket world over the preceding year.
So, does anyone in /r/cricket have any thoughts on who should, or will, be named to the awards?
P.S. I realize this topic is intensely Anglocentric and will produce much eye-rolling from everyone else.
Obviously the English season isn't quite finished yet, so there's time for people to play themselves onto this shortlist, but we've already had a huge year of cricket in England. Potential nominees could include:
Ben Stokes - not really much point writing anything here.
Jofra Archer - Quite an incredible introduction to international cricket.
Liam Plunkett - Outside chance, but England looked a different team in the WC when he was playing.
Jason Roy - Probably ruined his chances with his performances in the Ashes, which is a shame because he was superb in the WC
Steve Smith - Again, his case speaks for itself.
Marnus Labuschagne - Unlikely to be included, but he's had an incredibly impactful start to his Ashes career.
Mitchell Starc - A demon in the WC but his Ashes exclusion may well hinder his cause
Ellyse Perry - There probably isn't a cricketer so far ahead of their peers as Perry.
Meg Lanning - Scored almost 400 runs in the Ashes and set a T20i record score.
Kane Williamson - Despite losing the WC final, he exemplified everything that cricket should be about. He also carried his team for much of the group stage.
Shakib Al Hasan - The first player to score 500 runs and take 10 wickets in a tournament. Had NZ not lost in such circumstances, you feel that he'd have been player of the tournament
Rohit Sharma - Hit 5 centuries in the WC. May have had a bit of early luck in some of the innings but it was an excellent performance.
Virat Kohli - Felt like he had a quiet WC and I wasn't going to include him, but then he scored over 400 runs at an average of 55 and conducted himself well throughout (e.g. telling the crowd not to boo)
Who would make your 5? I think I'd go for Stokes, Archer, Smith, Perry and Al Hasan/Williamson.
Just thinking about this list, when we've got the conclusion of the Ashes, the CC, and the Blast still to come really has made me think about what an incredible summer it's been.
