Wisden picks Pat Cummins as the Leading Cricketer of the World

Pat Cummins and Nat Sciver-Brunt; these two cricketers have made their place in Wisden's 'Leading Cricketers in the World' category. The Wisden 2024 Almanack was published today (Tuesday). There, with glory, the captain of the Australian men's team and the batter of the England women's team have been featured.

Cummins, the Australian fast bowler who has been captaining the Aussies, was outstanding in his leadership role during the ICC World Test Championship final. Following that final in June, Australia won the ODI World Cup in India, where Cummins was also at the helm. His leadership qualities have been increasingly praised since then. Prior to that, Australia retained the Ashes on English soil, with that series ending in a 2-2 draw.

Previously, Michael Clarke was named Wisden's Leading Cricketer in 2012. After a long gap, an Australian has again been honored with this title.

Wisden editor Lawrence Booth said, "Australia's success in retaining the World Test Championship and the Ashes has come under Cummins's leadership. Even the runs he scored at the end of the first Test at Edgbaston should be highly commended. He then led in the World Cup final in India. No other fast bowler could collect more than his 42 wickets in 2023."

Meanwhile, English women's cricketer Sciver-Brunt had an excellent year in 2023. She played a significant role with the bat in the Women's Ashes. She scored two consecutive ODI centuries in that multi-format series.

She continued that success in the series against Sri Lanka. Playing for England, she set a record by scoring a century off just 66 balls. In the Women's Premier League, the Mumbai Indians bought her at the auction, where her price became the highest for a female athlete in the United States.