London: Australian skipper Pat Cummins and England all-rounder Nat Sciver-Brunt have been named as the Wisden Leading Cricketers in the World in the 2024 edition of Wisden Cricketers' Almanck, published on Tuesday.
As per ESPN, the Australian pace spearhead and skipper in Tests and ODI formats, led his side to the front as they overcame a tough challenge from India to win their maiden ICC World Test Championship in June and later their sixth ICC Cricket World Cup title in Ahmedabad in November. He also played a crucial role in his side defending the Ashes urn away from home, drawing the series 2-2 in England.
Cummins is the first Aussie since Michael Clarke (2012) to secure the top honour and he has succeeded Ben Stokes, the English skipper who won the honour three times in 2020, 2021 and 2023. In 11 Tests last year, he took 42 wickets and scored 254 crucial runs at an average of 15.87. Across 24 international games, he took 59 wickets and made 422 runs at an average of 21.10. Within these 422 runs were many small, but impactful batting contributions throughout the Ashes and Cricket World Cup.
Sciver Brunt has been recognised as the top women's cricketer because of her role in the women's Ashes. She played a crucial role in England's series wins in the white-ball leg of the competition, scoring two back-to-back centuries in ODIs.
In six ODIs last year, she made 393 runs at an average of 131.00, with three tons and took three wickets. In two Tests, she made 137 runs in four innings, with the best score of 78 and also took a wicket. In 10 T20Is, she scored 364 runs at an average of 45.50, with three half-centuries. She also took five wickets in the shortest format.
After that, she scored a record-breaking 66-ball ton against Sri Lanka, the fastest by an England women's player in ODI history. Her all-round appeal was recognised by the Indian T20 franchise Mumbai Indians (MI), who paid 3,20,000 pounds to get her services in 2023. She was also a part of MI team, which won the inaugural Women's Premier League (WPL) in India.
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