5 players who can win Cricketer of the Year in 2019

We are nearing the end of yet another calendar year, and it has witnessed some breath-taking and mind-blowing cricketing action. Some of the games played in 2019 have been hailed as the most exciting and thrilling of all time. Two games, in particular, involved Ben Stokes- the finals of the ICC World Cup 2019 and the memorable Edgbaston Test against Australia where he single-handedly defied the visitors with the help of Jack Leach whose 1 run will go down in history books.

England and Australia then played out one of the greatest Test matches of all time, where Ben Stokes and Jack Leach stitched a 76-run stand for the last wicket to seal the deal for England. The seriousness of the situation was such that if Stokes and Leach hadn’t stitched together that partnership England would have lost the series. Although the series ended with a scoreline of 2-2 and the Ashes is still with Australia, Stokes ensured the hosts didn’t lose the series.

The final of the ICC Cricket World Cup 2019 saw New Zealand and the hosts England lock horns in one of the most dramatic games of all time. In the end, it was England who were crowned champions for the first time ever, in a rather controversial manner.

2019 has also seen the start of the ICC World Test Championship, and India are bossing it right now with 240 points from 5 games. India are on top of the Test match rankings, while England are the No. 1 ODI team. In the T20I format, Pakistan occupy the top spot.

On that note, here’s a look at the top five contenders for the Cricketer of the Year award:

5. Pat Cummins

Pat Cummins the Aussie bowling spearhead has been in fine form right through 2019. He ended the year with a total of 99 wickets across formats in this calendar year. Cummins has been in terrific form throughout the year and has picked up a truckload of wickets for Australia. He has established himself as one of the best in the world and is one of the few bowlers who can deliver the goods across all three formats.

Cummins is the No. 1 ranked bowler in Tests and occupies the 4th position in the ICC rankings for bowlers in the 50-over format. His batting is also very useful for the Kangaroos and due to his impressive performances in that area, he is in the top 10 of the all-rounder’s rankings in the longest format of the game.

In eight Test matches this year, Cummins has picked up 43 wickets at a strike rate of 40.5. The 26-year-old’s incredible form was one of the main reasons for Australia retaining the Ashes.  In the ODI format, he has picked up 31 wickets in 16 games at a strike rate of 27.3. His economy rate of 4.73 also makes for good reading.

The Sydney-born star’s value has shot up tremendously and it was clearly visible in the recently concluded IPL Auctions where he got bought for a price tag of 15.5 crores by the Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) franchise, making him the costliest buy ever in the history of the IPL.

4. Ben Stokes

Ben Stokes has had a memorable year in which he managed to win the World Cup and be part of a team that created history. He played a key role for England in their World Cup campaign; without him, it wouldn’t have been possible for The Lions to triumph and become world champions for the first time in their cricketing history.

Stokes was simply stunning in the final and stitched a crucial partnership with the talented wicket-keeper batsman Jos Buttler.  His superb 84 ensured that the match went into the Super Over, and the rest as we know is history.

Stokes had a great time in the Ashes too and was at the centre of one of the greatest matches the world has ever seen. He single-handedly took his country to a win as he scored an unbeaten 135 in the third Test. His 76 run partnership with Jack Leach will be etched in the minds of cricket fans worldwide.

In 8 Tests this year, Stokes has scored 627 runs at an average of 48.23 while also picking up 18 wickets. The New Zealand-born player has also scored 719 runs in 20 ODIs at an average of nearly 60, along with 12 wickets. A large percentage of England’s successes in LOI’s in 2019 has got to do with the performance of this talented all-rounder. That itself makes him a strong candidate for the cricketer of the year.

3. Rohit Sharma

Ro ‘Hit-Man’ Sharma has arguably had a career-best year, managing to score runs in all formats of the game. He enjoyed a terrific ICC World Cup 2019 campaign and scored five hundred. Along with Virat Kohli, he carried India’s batting line-up; the duo’s collective failure coincided with the entire team’s failure in the semi-final.

The aftereffect of their collective failure is still felt as fans are still not able to come out of India’s exit from the World cup in the semis as they were clearly looking like favourites to win the trophy along with England. Rohit’s inhuman World Cup coupled with his explosive start to life as an opener in the longest format of the game, make him a strong candidate for the Cricketer of the year, also known as the Sir Garfield Sobers trophy.

He scored 529 runs in just four innings in the longest format, including two hundred in a single game, which made him just the 6th Indian batsman to score hundreds in both the innings of a Test match. In the 50-over format, the Mumbaikar has scored 1232 runs in 24 games at an average of 53.56, and 648 of those runs came in the World Cup and could become the 3rd Indian to win the award in the last four years.

2. Virat Kohli

Virat Kohli, the Indian skipper across all formats won the award in 2017 and 2018, and he is once again a strong contender to win it in 2019. If he manages to win the award this year too, he will become the first player to win it thrice. Kohli has been at his usual best lately, scoring runs without any problems whatsoever. Along with Rohit Sharma, he is the only batsman to feature in the top 10 of the ICC rankings across all the formats.

Kohli has scored 479 runs in 6 Test matches at an average of 68, and led his team to 5 victories. The ‘Run Machine‘ has also scored 1288 runs in 22 ODIs at an average of 64.4, winning 16 matches out of 22 with a win percentage of 73.

The Indian skipper has had a very good year, and the only thing that he will regret is the World Cup semi-final loss against the Kiwis in a thriller. Winning coveted trophies is something that has evaded Kohli so far. He lost the finals of the ICC Champions Trophy to arch-rivals Pakistan, lost to New Zealand in the World Cup semi-finals and hasn’t won the IPL trophy as skipper of RCB.

1. Kane Williamson

Kane Williamson is undoubtedly one of the best cricketers of his generation and is possibly on his way to becoming New Zealand’s greatest ever. He has been nothing short of sensational for the Kiwis both as batsman and skipper. He was one of the better batsmen at the World Cup and easily the best captain of the tournament.

The Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH) skipper carried his team and didn’t let the weight of expectations get the better of him. He could have become the first Kiwi captain to lead his country to a World Cup title, but his dreams were shattered due to the controversial boundary rule – which has now been scrapped. What impressed experts and fans across the globe was the way in which he carried himself despite coming so close to winning the trophy- with such humility and grace.

The Tauranga-born player has scored 298 runs in 4 Test matches (5 innings) at an average of 74.5. He has also racked up 948 runs in 20 ODIs at an average of 59.25 to go with that. Williamson has won 12 ODIs as captain in 20 games, and in the four Test matches he has played, he has captained his team to three victories.

Williamson won the Player of the Tournament award for his exploits in the World Cup, and that significantly boosts his chances of winning the Cricketer of the Year Award.