Glenn Moore
Cricket “bible” – the Wisden Cricketer’s Almanack – has crowned Australia’s Mitchell Starc as the men’s player of the year, as he fires England into their Bazball Down Under clash in the summer’s Ashes series.
The esteemed publication described the tourists as “sloppy, sloppy and legless” as they slumped to a 4-1 series defeat, fueled mainly by Starc with the ball and Travis Head with the bat.
Starc becomes the fifth Australian to be named cricketer of the year after a superb run in which he took 31 wickets at 19.93.
The left-armer, who turned 36 in January, led an attack that often lacked regular team-mates Pat Cummins, Josh Hazlewood and Nathan Lyon, who managed to make three appearances between them.
His Ashes success followed a 6-9 haul in West Indies’ 27-wicket win in Jamaica, where he took 40 Test wickets.
In total, Starc played 11 Tests in 2025 taking 55 wickets each with 17 wickets, adding five more in the January 2026 Sydney Test.
Starc follows Ricky Ponting, the first winner in 2003, Shane Warne (2004), Michael Clarke (2012) and Cummins (2023) as Aussie winners.
The 163rd edition of the popular yellow book will be published on Thursday and the influential commentary section will make interesting reading for those at the England and Wales Cricket Board.
The leadership group of head coach Brendon McCullum, captain Ben Stokes and managing director Rob Key, who all kept their jobs after the Ashes debacle, have been criticized for poor preparation, muddled tactics and an overly indulgent approach to the social side of the tourists.
“In the long history of the game, it is difficult to think of a privilege that has been squandered, a chance that has been carelessly neglected,” writes Lawrence Booth in his editor’s note.
“England were careless, careless and footless. These were the ashes of wings and prayers and England got what they deserved. What a waste. What a shame.”
Four Indian tourists have been named among five cricketers of the year – a once-in-a-lifetime honor in a career largely dependent on last summer’s English performances – Shubman Gill, Ravindra Jadeja, Rishabh Pant and Mohammed Siraj following a 2-2 draw with England.
Gill won the Wisden Award for Test performance of the year for knocks of 269 and 161 in the Edgbaston Test.
Former England opener Haseeb Hameed, who captained Nottinghamshire to the home title, makes up the quintet.
Deepti Sharma will be named the women’s cricketer of the year for her all-round excellence in India’s World Cup win on home soil while her teammate Abhishek Sharma leads the T20 cricketer of the year.
AAP, PA
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