Glenn Moore
Cricket’s “bible” – the Wisden Cricketer’s Almanack – has crowned Australia’s Mitchell Starc as the men’s player of the year, while eviscerating England’s team for their Bazball debacle Down Under in the summer’s Ashes series.
The esteemed publication described the tourists as “feckless, reckless and legless” as they slumped to a 4-1 series defeat, largely inspired by Starc with the ball and Travis Head with the bat.
Starc becomes the fifth Australian man to be named leading cricketer of the year after a superb series in which he took 31 wickets at 19.93.
The left-armer, who was 36 in January, spearheaded an attack that was mostly bereft of his usual compadres Pat Cummins, Josh Hazlewood and Nathan Lyon, who managed three appearances between them.
His Ashes success followed a spellbinding 6-9 in the rout of the West Indies for 27 in Jamaica, during which he passed 40 Test wickets.
In all, Starc played 11 Tests in 2025 taking a career-best 55 wickets at 17 apiece, adding five more in Sydney’s January 2026 Test.
Starc follows Ricky Ponting, the inaugural winner in 2003, Shane Warne (2004), Michael Clarke (2012) and Cummins (2023) as Aussie winners.
The 163rd edition of the famous yellow book will be published on Thursday and the influential comment section makes wince-inducing 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, all of whom kept their jobs after the Ashes debacle, are rebuked for inadequate preparation, muddled tactics and an overly indulgent approach to the social side of touring.
“In the game’s long history, it is hard to think of a privilege so carelessly squandered, a chance so blithely spurned,” writes Lawrence Booth in his editor’s notes.
“England were feckless, reckless and legless. These were the wing-and-a-prayer Ashes and England got what they deserved. What a waste. What a shame.”
Four Indian tourists are named among the five cricketers of the year – a once-in-a-career honour based predominantly on performances over the previous English summer – Shubman Gill, Ravindra Jadeja, Rishabh Pant and Mohammed Siraj following the 2-2 draw with England.
Gill earned the Wisden Trophy for Test performance of the year for his knocks of 269 and 161 in the Edgbaston Test.
Former England opener Haseeb Hameed , who captained Nottinghamshire to the domestic title, makes up the quintet.
Deepti Sharma will be named leading women’s cricketer of the year for her all-round excellence in India’s World Cup win on home soil while her compatriot Abhishek Sharma will be leading T20 cricketer of the year.
AAP, PA
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