View source for Wisden Leading Cricketer in the World

{{Short description|Annual cricket award}}
{{DISPLAYTITLE:''Wisden'' Leading Cricketer in the World}}
{{Use British English|date=February 2013}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=March 2022}}
[[File:Bradman&Bat.jpg|thumb|right|[[Don Bradman]] was retrospectively named as the notional winner ten times between 1930 and 1948.|alt=Don Bradman]]
The '''''Wisden'' Leading Cricketer in the World''' is an annual [[cricket]] award selected by ''[[Wisden Cricketers' Almanack]]''. It was established in 2004, to select the best cricketer based upon their performances anywhere in the world in the previous calendar year.<ref name="orig">{{cite book |editor-first=Matthew |editor-last=Engel |editor-link=Matthew Engel |title=[[Wisden Cricketers' Almanack|Wisden Cricketers' Almanack 2004]] |edition=141 |year=2004 |publisher=John Wisden & Co. Ltd |location=[[Alton, Hampshire]] |isbn=0-947766-83-9 |page=8}}</ref> A notional list of previous winners, spanning from 1900 to 2002, was published in the 2007 edition of ''Wisden''.<ref name="past">{{cite book |editor-first=Matthew |editor-last=Engel |editor-link=Matthew Engel |title=[[Wisden Cricketers' Almanack|Wisden Cricketers' Almanack 2007]] |edition=144 |year=2007 |publisher=John Wisden & Co. Ltd |location=[[Alton, Hampshire]] |isbn=978-1-905625-02-4 |pages=32–41}}</ref>
Since 1889, ''Wisden'' has published a list of [[Wisden Cricketers of the Year|Cricketers of the Year]], typically selecting five cricketers that had the greatest impact during the previous English cricket season. However, in the 2000 edition, the editor [[Matthew Engel]] recognised that the best players in the world were typically no longer playing English domestic cricket, and opted to select the Cricketers of the Year based on their performances anywhere in the world.<ref>{{cite book |editor-first=Matthew |editor-last=Engel |editor-link=Matthew Engel |title=[[Wisden Cricketers' Almanack|Wisden Cricketers' Almanack 2000]] |edition=137 |year=2000 |publisher=John Wisden & Co. Ltd |location=Guildford, Surrey |isbn=0-947766-57-X |page=61}}</ref> This criterion was applied for the following three years, but in 2004 it reverted to being based on the English season, and a Leading Cricketer in the World was also selected.<ref name="orig"/> The recipient of the award is selected by the editor of ''Wisden'', with advice from cricket experts.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.espncricinfo.com/wisden/content/story/350988.html |title=''Wisden's'' Leading Cricketer in the World |website=ESPNcricinfo |publisher=ESPN |year=2007 |access-date=28 June 2015}}</ref> An Australian, [[Ricky Ponting]] was chosen as the first winner of the award, for scoring 1,503 runs in international cricket, including eleven [[Century (cricket)|centuries]] during 2003.<ref>{{cite news |url=http://www.abc.net.au/news/2004-04-08/ponting-named-worlds-leading-cricketer/166370 |title=Ponting named world's leading cricketer |publisher=[[ABC News (Australia)|ABC News]]|location=Sydney |date=7 April 2004 |access-date=2 June 2015}}</ref>
In the 2007 edition of ''Wisden'', a list of winners for previous years was published. A sixteen-person panel helped to select the winners, which Engel described as the cricketer that "would have been the first name down in the World XI to play Mars".<ref name="past"/> It was decided that the first year that would be listed was 1900, as prior to that Engel claimed international cricket was too "inchoate and haphazard to make comparison sensible".<ref name="past"/> No awards were made for the periods of the World Wars, leaving a list of 93 winners. During this selection, [[Don Bradman]] was listed the most, winning on ten occasions, while [[Garfield Sobers]] was the leading cricketer eight times. Engel noted that despite attempts to the contrary, the award maintains cricket's bias towards batsmen.<ref name="past"/>
==List of award winners==
===Actual winners===
[[File:Kumar_Sangakkara_bat_in_hand.JPG|thumb|right|[[Kumar Sangakkara]] was twice recognised by ''Wisden'' in 2012, being named a Cricketer of the Year and Leading Cricketer in the World.|alt=Kumar Sangakkara]]
*''Note that each year's Leading Cricketer of the World is announced in the following year's ''Wisden'', so the 2003 winner was announced in 2004, and so on.''
{| class="wikitable sortable plainrowheaders"
|-
! scope="col" | Year
! scope="col" | Player<ref name="Bloomsbury List"/>
! scope="col" | Country
|-
|| 2003
! scope="row" | {{sortname|Ricky|Ponting}}
| rowspan="2" | {{cr|AUS}}
|-
|| 2004
! scope="row" | {{sortname|Shane|Warne}}
|-
|| 2005
! scope="row" | {{sortname|Andrew|Flintoff}}
| {{cr|ENG}}
|-
|| 2006
! scope="row" | {{sortname|Muttiah|Muralitharan}}
| {{cr|SRI}}
|-
|| 2007
! scope="row" | {{sortname|Jacques|Kallis}}
| {{cr|ZAF}}
|-
|| 2008
! rowspan="2" scope="row" | {{sortname|Virender|Sehwag}}
| rowspan="3" | {{cr|IND}}
|-
|| 2009
|-
|| 2010
! scope="row" | {{sortname|Sachin|Tendulkar}}
|-
|| 2011
! scope="row" | {{sortname|Kumar|Sangakkara}}
| {{cr|SRI}}
|-
|| 2012
! scope="row" | {{sortname|Michael|Clarke|Michael Clarke (cricketer)}}
| {{cr|AUS}}
|-
|| 2013
! scope="row" | {{sortname|Dale|Steyn}}
| {{cr|ZAF}}
|-
|| 2014
! scope="row" | {{sortname|Kumar|Sangakkara}}
| {{cr|SRI}}
|-
|| 2015
! scope="row" | {{sortname|Kane|Williamson}}
| {{cr|NZL}}
|-
|| 2016
! rowspan="3" scope="row" | {{sortname|Virat|Kohli}}
| rowspan="3" | {{cr|IND}}
|-
|| 2017
|-
|| 2018
|-
|| 2019
! rowspan="2" scope="row" | {{sortname|Ben|Stokes}}
| rowspan="4" | {{cr|ENG}}
|-
|| 2020
|-
|| 2021
! scope="row" | {{sortname|Joe|Root}}
|-
|| 2022
! scope="row" | {{sortname|Ben|Stokes}}
|-
|| 2023
! scope="row" | {{sortname|Pat|Cummins}}
| {{cr|AUS}}
|}
=== Women's award winners ===
{| class="wikitable"
|+
!Year
!Player
!Country
|-
|2014
|[[Meg Lanning]]<ref>{{Cite web |title=Wisden honours |url=https://www.bloomsbury.com/uk/discover/wisden/wisden-honours/ |access-date=2024-04-16 |website=www.bloomsbury.com}}</ref>
|[[Australia women's national cricket team|Australia]]
|-
|2015
|[[Suzie Bates]]<ref>{{Cite web |date=2024-04-17 |title=Cricket: Suzie Bates gets highest honour |url=https://www.nzherald.co.nz/sport/cricket-suzie-bates-named-wisdens-leading-womens-cricketer-of-the-world/HILHQTBE6ARAP5YZFZGRBIJJKM/ |access-date=2024-04-16 |website=NZ Herald |language=en-NZ}}</ref>
|[[New Zealand women's national cricket team|New Zealand]]
|-
|2016
|[[Ellyse Perry]]<ref>{{Cite web |date=2017-04-05 |title=Ellyse Perry |url=http://www.espncricinfo.com/wisdenalmanack/content/story/1090040.html |access-date=2024-04-16 |website=Cricinfo}}</ref>
|[[Australia women's national cricket team|Australia]]
|-
|2017
|[[Mithali Raj]]<ref>{{Cite web |last=Gardner |first=Ben |date=2018-04-11 |title=Virat Kohli & Mithali Raj Named Wisden's Leading Cricketers in the World {{!}} 2018 Wisden Almanack |url=https://wisden.com/stories/news-stories/virat-kohli-mithali-raj-named-wisdens-leading-cricketers-in-the-world |access-date=2024-04-16 |website=Wisden |language=en-GB}}</ref>
|[[India women's national cricket team|India]]
|-
|2018
|[[Smriti Mandhana]]<ref>{{Cite web |last=Gardner |first=Ben |date=2019-04-10 |title=Smriti Mandhana: Wisden's Leading Cricketer In The World 2018 |url=https://wisden.com/almanack/smriti-mandhana-leading-women-cricketer-wisden-2019 |access-date=2024-04-16 |website=Wisden |language=en-GB}}</ref>
|[[India women's national cricket team|India]]
|-
|2019
|[[Ellyse Perry]]<ref>{{Cite web |last=Gede |first=Roshan |date=2020-04-08 |title=Leading Woman Cricketer in the World in 2019: Ellyse Perry |url=https://wisden.com/almanack/leading-woman-cricketer-in-the-world-in-2019-ellyse-perry |access-date=2024-04-16 |website=Wisden |language=en-GB}}</ref>
|[[Australia women's national cricket team|Australia]]
|-
|2020
|[[Beth Mooney]]<ref>{{Cite web |title=Stuff |url=https://www.stuff.co.nz/sport/cricket/124847787/england-allrounder-ben-stokes-named-wisden-almanacks-leading-cricketer-of-2020 |access-date=2024-04-16 |website=www.stuff.co.nz}}</ref>
|[[Australia women's national cricket team|Australia]]
|-
|2021
|[[Lizelle Lee]]<ref>{{Cite web |last=Waris |first=Sarah |date=2022-04-20 |title=Lizelle Lee: Wisden's Leading Woman Cricketer In The World In 2021 |url=https://wisden.com/stories/wisden-almanack-2021/lizelle-lee-wisdens-leading-woman-cricketer-in-the-world-in-2021 |access-date=2024-04-16 |website=Wisden |language=en-GB}}</ref>
|[[South Africa women's national cricket team|South Africa]]
|-
|2022
|[[Beth Mooney]]<ref>{{Cite web |last=Mukherjee |first=Abhishek |date=2023-04-17 |title=Beth Mooney Named Wisden’s Leading Cricketer In The World (Women) |url=https://wisden.com/stories/wisden-almanack-2023/beth-mooney-named-wisdens-leading-cricketer-women-2022 |access-date=2024-04-16 |website=Wisden |language=en-GB}}</ref>
|[[Australia women's national cricket team|Australia]]
|-
|2023
|[[Nat Sciver-Brunt]]<ref>{{Cite web |last=Mukherjee |first=Abhishek |date=2024-04-15 |title=Nat Sciver-Brunt Named As Wisden’s Leading Cricketer In The World (Women) |url=https://wisden.com/stories/wisden-almanack-2024/the-wisden-leading-cricketer-in-the-world-women-2023-nat-sciver-brunt |access-date=2024-04-16 |website=Wisden |language=en-GB}}</ref>
|[[England women's cricket team|England]]
|}
===Notional winners===
[[File:Ranjitsinh.jpeg|thumb|right|[[Ranjitsinhji]] was the first historical winner, being recognised for 1900.|alt=Ranjitsinhji]]
[[File:Hobbs_in_Australia_in_1928_Version_2.jpg|thumb|right|[[Jack Hobbs]] is one of only six players to have won the award more than twice.|alt=Jack Hobbs]]
[[File:Harold_Larwood_Cigarette_Card_Crop.jpg|thumb|right|[[Harold Larwood]] was the only non-Australian cricketer to be recognised in the 1930s.|alt=Harold Larwood]]
[[File:Keith Miller 1951.jpg|thumb|right|[[Keith Miller]] reading ''[[Wisden Cricketers' Almanack]]'' in 1951, his selection year|alt=Keith Miller]]
[[File:Garfield Sobers, 1956.jpg|thumb|right|[[Garfield Sobers]] was the winner eight times between 1958 and 1970.|alt=Garfield Sobers]]
[[File:Vivian_richards_crop.jpg|thumb|right|[[Viv Richards]] was recognised in 1976, 1978 and 1980|alt=Viv Richards]]
[[File:Konferenz_Pakistan_und_der_Westen_-_Imran_Khan_(cropped).jpg|thumb|right|[[Imran Khan]] was the first Pakistani cricketer to be recognised, for 1982.|alt=Imran Khan]]
{| class="wikitable sortable plainrowheaders"
|- bgcolor="#efefef"
! Year
! Player<ref name="Bloomsbury List"/>
! Country
|-
|| 1900
! scope="row" | {{sortname|K. S.|Ranjitsinhji|Ranjitsinhji}}
| rowspan="2" | {{cr|ENG}}
|-
|| 1901
! scope="row" | {{sortname|C. B.|Fry}}
|-
|| 1902
! scope="row" | {{sortname|Victor|Trumper}}
| {{cr|AUS|1901}}
|-
|| 1903
! scope="row" | {{sortname|C. B.|Fry}}
| rowspan="4" | {{cr|ENG}}
|-
|| 1904
! scope="row" | {{sortname|Bernard|Bosanquet|Bernard Bosanquet (cricketer)}}
|-
|| 1905
! scope="row" | {{sortname|Stanley|Jackson|dab=cricketer}}
|-
|| 1906
! scope="row" | {{sortname|George|Hirst}}
|-
|| 1907
! scope="row" | {{sortname|Bert|Vogler}}
| {{cr|RSA|1876}}
|-
|| 1908
! scope="row" | {{sortname|Monty|Noble}}
| {{cr|AUS|1903}}
|-
|| 1909
! scope="row" | {{sortname|Wilfred|Rhodes}}
| {{cr|ENG}}
|-
|| 1910
! scope="row" | {{sortname|Aubrey|Faulkner}}
| {{cr|ZAF|1910}}
|-
|| 1911
! scope="row" | {{sortname|Victor|Trumper}}
| {{cr|AUS}}
|-
|| 1912
! rowspan="2" scope="row" | {{sortname|Sydney|Barnes}}
| rowspan="3" | {{cr|ENG}}
|-
|| 1913
|-
|| 1914
! scope="row" | {{sortname|Jack|Hobbs}}
|-
|| 1915–18 || colspan="2" | {{sort|z|''Not awarded due to [[World War I]]''}}
|-
|| 1919
! scope="row" | {{sortname|Jack|Gregory|Jack Gregory (cricketer)}}
| rowspan="3" | {{cr|AUS}}
|-
|| 1920
! scope="row" | {{sortname|Herbie|Collins}}
|-
|| 1921
! scope="row" | {{sortname|Charlie|Macartney}}
|-
|| 1922
! scope="row" | {{sortname|Jack|Hobbs}}
| rowspan="4" | {{cr|ENG}}
|-
|| 1923
! scope="row" | {{sortname|Patsy|Hendren}}
|-
|| 1924
! scope="row" | {{sortname|Maurice|Tate}}
|-
|| 1925
! scope="row" | {{sortname|Jack|Hobbs}}
|-
|| 1926
! scope="row" | {{sortname|Charlie|Macartney}}
| rowspan="2" | {{cr|AUS}}
|-
|| 1927
! scope="row" | {{sortname|Bill|Ponsford}}
|-
|| 1928
! scope="row" | {{sortname|Tich|Freeman}}
| rowspan="2" | {{cr|ENG}}
|-
|| 1929
! scope="row" | {{sortname|Wally|Hammond}}
|-
|| 1930
! rowspan="3" scope="row" | {{sortname|Don|Bradman}}
| rowspan="3" | {{cr|AUS}}
|-
|| 1931
|-
|| 1932
|-
|| 1933
! scope="row" | {{sortname|Harold|Larwood}}
| {{cr|ENG}}
|-
|| 1934
! scope="row" | {{sortname|Don|Bradman}}
| rowspan="6" | {{cr|AUS}}
|-
|| 1935
! scope="row" | {{sortname|Stan|McCabe}}
|-
|| 1936
! rowspan="4" scope="row" | {{sortname|Don|Bradman}}
|-
|| 1937
|-
|| 1938
|-
|| 1939
|-
|| 1940–45 || colspan="2" class="sortbottom"  | {{sort|z|''Not awarded due to [[World War II]]''}}
|-
|| 1946
! scope="row" | {{sortname|Don|Bradman}}
| {{cr|AUS}}
|-
|| 1947
! scope="row" | {{sortname|Denis|Compton}}
| {{cr|ENG}}
|-
|| 1948
! scope="row" | {{sortname|Don|Bradman}}
| {{cr|AUS}}
|-
|| 1949
! scope="row" | {{sortname|Len|Hutton}}
| {{cr|ENG}}
|-
|| 1950
! scope="row" | {{sortname|Frank|Worrell}}
| {{cr|WIN}}
|-
|| 1951
! scope="row" | {{sortname|Keith|Miller}}
| {{cr|AUS}}
|-
|| 1952
! scope="row" | {{sortname|Len|Hutton}}
| rowspan="2" | {{cr|ENG}}
|-
|| 1953
! scope="row" | {{sortname|Alec|Bedser}}
|-
|| 1954
! scope="row" | {{sortname|Clyde|Walcott}}
| {{cr|WIN}}
|-
|| 1955
! scope="row" | {{sortname|Frank|Tyson}}
| rowspan="3" | {{cr|ENG}}
|-
|| 1956
! scope="row" | {{sortname|Jim|Laker}}
|-
|| 1957
! scope="row" | {{sortname|Peter|May|Peter May (cricketer)}}
|-
|| 1958
! scope="row" | {{sortname|Garfield|Sobers}}
| {{cr|WIN}}
|-
|| 1959
! scope="row" | {{sortname|Richie|Benaud}}
| {{cr|AUS}}
|-
|| 1960
! scope="row" | {{sortname|Garfield|Sobers}}
| {{cr|WIN}}
|-
|| 1961
! scope="row" | {{sortname|Alan|Davidson|Alan Keith Davidson}}
| {{cr|AUS}}
|-
|| 1962
! scope="row" | {{sortname|Garfield|Sobers}}
| {{cr|WIN}}
|-
|| 1963
! scope="row" | {{sortname|Fred|Trueman}}
| {{cr|ENG}}
|-
|| 1964
! rowspan="3" scope="row" | {{sortname|Garfield|Sobers}}
| rowspan="3" | {{cr|WIN}}
|-
|| 1965
|-
|| 1966
|-
|| 1967
! scope="row" | {{sortname|Graeme|Pollock}}
| {{cr|ZAF|1928}}
|-
|| 1968
! scope="row" | {{sortname|Garfield|Sobers}}
| {{cr|WIN}}
|-
|| 1969
! scope="row" | {{sortname|Graeme|Pollock}}
| {{cr|ZAF|1928}}
|-
|| 1970
! scope="row" | {{sortname|Garfield|Sobers}}
| {{cr|WIN}}
|-
|| 1971
! scope="row" | {{sortname|Mike|Procter}}
| {{cr|ZAF|1928}}
|-
|| 1972
! scope="row" | {{sortname|Dennis|Lillee}}
| {{cr|AUS}}
|-
|| 1973
! scope="row" | {{sortname|Barry|Richards}}
| {{cr|ZAF|1928}}
|-
|| 1974
! scope="row" | {{sortname|Jeff|Thomson}}
| {{cr|AUS}}
|-
|| 1975
! scope="row" | {{sortname|Clive|Lloyd}}
| rowspan="2" | {{cr|WIN}}
|-
|| 1976
! scope="row" | {{sortname|Viv|Richards}}
|-
|| 1977
! scope="row" | {{sortname|Dennis|Lillee}}
| {{cr|AUS}}
|-
|| 1978
! scope="row" | {{sortname|Viv|Richards}}
| {{cr|WIN}}
|-
|| 1979
! scope="row" | {{sortname|Greg|Chappell}}
| {{cr|AUS}}
|-
|| 1980
! scope="row" | {{sortname|Viv|Richards}}
| {{cr|WIN}}
|-
|| 1981
! scope="row" | {{sortname|Ian|Botham}}
| {{cr|ENG}}
|-
|| 1982
! scope="row" | {{sortname|Imran|Khan}}
| {{cr|PAK}}
|-
|| 1983
! scope="row" | {{sortname|Kapil|Dev}}
| {{cr|IND}}
|-
|| 1984
! scope="row" | {{sortname|Joel|Garner}}
| {{cr|WIN}}
|-
|| 1985
! scope="row" | {{sortname|Richard|Hadlee}}
| {{cr|NZL}}
|-
|| 1986
! scope="row" | {{sortname|Malcolm|Marshall}}
| {{cr|WIN}}
|-
|| 1987
! scope="row" | {{sortname|Martin|Crowe}}
| {{cr|NZL}}
|-
|| 1988
! scope="row" | {{sortname|Malcolm|Marshall}}
| {{cr|WIN}}
|-
|| 1989
! scope="row" | {{sortname|Allan|Border}}
| {{cr|AUS}}
|-
|| 1990
! scope="row" | {{sortname|Graham|Gooch}}
| {{cr|ENG}}
|-
|| 1991
! scope="row" | {{sortname|Curtly|Ambrose}}
| {{cr|WIN}}
|-
|| 1992
! scope="row" | {{sortname|Wasim|Akram}}
| {{cr|PAK}}
|-
|| 1993
! scope="row" | {{sortname|Shane|Warne}}
| {{cr|AUS}}
|-
|| 1994
! rowspan="2" scope="row" | {{sortname|Brian|Lara}}
| rowspan="2" | {{cr|WIN}}
|-
|| 1995
|-
|| 1996
! scope="row" | {{sortname|Sanath|Jayasuriya}}
| {{cr|SRI}}
|-
|| 1997
! scope="row" | {{sortname|Shane|Warne}}
| {{cr|AUS}}
|-
|| 1998
! scope="row" | {{sortname|Sachin|Tendulkar}}
| {{cr|IND}}
|-
|| 1999
! scope="row" | {{sortname|Steve|Waugh}}
| {{cr|AUS}}
|-
|| 2000
! scope="row" | {{sortname|Muttiah|Muralitharan}}
| {{cr|SRI}}
|-
|| 2001
! scope="row" | {{sortname|Glenn|McGrath}}
| rowspan="2" | {{cr|AUS}}
|-
|| 2002
! scope="row" | {{sortname|Matthew|Hayden}}
|}
==Multiple winners==
[[File:Shane_Warne_bowling_2009.jpg|thumb|right|[[Shane Warne]] was listed twice in the historical list, as well as being recognised for 2004.|alt=Shane Warne]]
Unlike ''Wisden''{{'}}s Cricketers of the Year, players can be recognised more than once as the Leading Cricketer in the World, and eighteen players have been selected for multiple years.<ref name="Bloomsbury List"/> The majority of these have won the award twice, but seven players have been recognised for three or more years: [[Don Bradman]], [[Garfield Sobers]], [[Jack Hobbs]], [[Viv Richards]], [[Shane Warne]], [[Virat Kohli]] and [[Ben Stokes]]. In the 2007 edition which published the notional historical winners, Engel noted with "surprise and pleasure" that the first five players were the same as had been selected as ''Wisden''{{'}}s five [[Wisden Cricketers of the Century|Cricketers of the Century]].<ref name="past"/>
[[Sachin Tendulkar]] and Warne have both been selected as notional and actual winners, while [[Virender Sehwag]] was the first player to be recognised twice by ''Wisden'' as an actual winner since 2004.<ref name="Bloomsbury List"/> [[Kumar Sangakkara]] has since similarly been selected twice, and in 2012 he became the first player to be recognised twice in one edition of ''Wisden'', as both Leading Cricketer in the World and a Cricketer of the Year.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://sports.ndtv.com/cricket/news/188298-kumar-sangakkara-leading-cricketer-in-the-world-for-2011-wisden |title=Kumar Sangakkara 'Leading Cricketer in the World' for 2011: Wisden |work=NDTV Sports |publisher=[[NDTV]] |location=New Delhi |date=11 April 2012 |access-date=1 June 2015 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20151026130603/http://sports.ndtv.com/cricket/news/188298-kumar-sangakkara-leading-cricketer-in-the-world-for-2011-wisden |archive-date=26 October 2015 |url-status=dead }}</ref>
{| class="wikitable sortable plainrowheaders"
|-
!scope="col"| Player
!scope="col"| Awards
!scope="col"| Years
|-
!scope="row"| {{sortname|Don|Bradman}}
| 10 || 1930, 1931, 1932, 1934, 1936, 1937, 1938, 1939, 1946, 1948
|-
!scope="row"| {{sortname|Garfield|Sobers}}
| 8 || 1958, 1960, 1962, 1964, 1965, 1966, 1968, 1970
|-
!scope="row"| {{sortname|Jack|Hobbs}}
| 3 || 1914, 1922, 1925
|-
!scope="row"| {{sortname|Virat|Kohli}}
| 3 || 2016, 2017, 2018
|-
!scope="row"| {{sortname|Viv|Richards}}
| 3 || 1976, 1978, 1980
|-
!scope="row"| {{sortname|Ben|Stokes}}
| 3 || 2019, 2020, 2022
|-
!scope="row"| {{sortname|Shane|Warne}}
| 3 || 1993, 1997, 2004
|-
!scope="row"| {{sortname|Sydney|Barnes}}
| 2 || 1912, 1913
|-
!scope="row"| {{sortname|C. B.|Fry}}
| 2 || 1901, 1903
|-
!scope="row"| {{sortname|Len|Hutton}}
| 2 || 1949, 1952
|-
!scope="row"| {{sortname|Brian|Lara}}
| 2 || 1994, 1995
|-
!scope="row"| {{sortname|Dennis|Lillee}}
| 2 || 1972, 1977
|-
!scope="row"| {{sortname|Charlie|Macartney}}
| 2 || 1921, 1926
|-
!scope="row"| {{sortname|Malcolm|Marshall}}
| 2 || 1986, 1988
|-
!scope="row"| {{sortname|Muttiah|Muralitharan}}
| 2 || 2000, 2006
|-
!scope="row"| {{sortname|Graeme|Pollock}}
| 2 || 1967, 1969
|-
!scope="row"| {{sortname|Kumar|Sangakkara}}
| 2 || 2011, 2014
|-
!scope="row"| {{sortname|Virender|Sehwag}}
| 2 || 2008, 2009
|-
!scope="row"| {{sortname|Sachin|Tendulkar}}
| 2 || 1998, 2010
|-
!scope="row"| {{sortname|Victor|Trumper}}
| 2 || 1902, 1911
|}
==Winners by country==
{{Pie chart
|caption = Awards won by nationality (%)
|label1 = Australia – 36
|value1 = 31.6
|color1 = yellow
|label2 = England – 32
|value2 = 28.1
|color2 = blue
|label3 = West Indies – 20
|value3 = 17.5
|color3 = maroon
|label4 = India – 8
|value4 = 7.0
|color4 = orange
|label5 = South Africa – 8
|value5 = 7.0
|color5 = green
|label6 = Sri Lanka – 5
|value6 = 4.4
|color6 = navy
|label7 = New Zealand – 3
|value7 = 2.6
|color7 = black
|label8 = Pakistan – 2
|value8 = 1.8
|color8 = #046e07
}}
Cricketers from eight of the twelve [[Test cricket|Test]] playing nations have been recognised for the award by ''Wisden'', with [[Bangladesh national cricket team|Bangladesh]], [[Zimbabwe national cricket team|Zimbabwe]], [[Ireland cricket team|Ireland]] and [[Afghanistan national cricket team|Afghanistan]] not represented. Players from [[Australia national cricket team|Australia]] and [[England cricket team|England]] dominate the list, having won more than half of the time, although this is disproportionately the case in the notional list. Prior to [[World War II]], 34 of the 36 winners played for Australia or England. The "actual" award winners are more evenly distributed; Indian players have won six times, English players five times and Australian players four times, whilst players from Sri Lanka have received the award on three occasions since 2004.<ref name="Bloomsbury List">{{cite web|url=http://www.bloomsbury.com/uk/special-interest/wisden/wisden-honours/leading-cricketers-in-the-world/ |title=Leading Cricketer in the World |publisher=[[Bloomsbury Publishing|Bloomsbury]] |access-date=8 April 2020}}</ref>
{| class="wikitable sortable plainrowheaders"
|+ Awards by country
|-
!scope="col"| Country
!scope="col"| Awards
|-
!scope="row"| {{cr|AUS}}
|align=center| 36
|-
!scope="row"| {{cr|ENG}}
|align=center| 32
|-
!scope="row"| {{cr|WIN}}
|align=center| 20
|-
!scope="row"| {{cr|India}}
|align=center| 8
|-
!scope="row"| {{cr|ZAF}}
|align=center| 8
|-
!scope="row"| {{cr|SRI}}
|align=center| 5
|-
!scope="row"| {{cr|NZL}}
|align=center| 3
|-
!scope="row"| {{cr|PAK}}
|align=center| 2
|}
==See also==
* [[Six Giants of the Wisden Century]]
* [[Wisden Australia's Cricketer of the Year]]
* [[Wisden Cricketers of the Century]]
* [[ICC Awards]]
==References==
{{reflist}}
{{Wisden awards}}
{{featured list}}
[[Category:Cricket awards and rankings]]
[[Category:Wisden Leading Cricketers in the World| ]]
[[Category:Wisden]]