Root, Rogers, Harris take top award

England's Joe Root, India's Shikhar Dhawan and Australian duo Chris Rogers and Ryan Harris have been named among Wisden's five Cricketers of the Year.

England's Joe Root, India's Shikhar Dhawan and Australian duo Chris Rogers and Ryan Harris have been named among Wisden's five Cricketers of the Year.

England women's captain Charlotte Edwards completed the esteemed quintet, while the publication named South African fast bowler Dale Steyn was named as the Leading Cricketer in the World.

In its press testimony for Root's inclusion, Wisden – published on Wednesday – restricts itself, in keeping with tradition, to his deeds last season.

"Two memorable innings helped Joe Root become the leading English batsman in the national averages," stated the almanack.

"He was the first Yorkshire player to make his maiden Test century at Headingley when he took 104 off New Zealand in May, and he then became the youngest England batsman to score an Ashes hundred at Lord's – with 180 in July."

Wisden 2014 has many other meaty topics to digest, and predictably does not flinch from forceful comment about the future of the International Cricket Council and the global influence of the Board of Control for Cricket in India following this winter's "takeover [of the world governing body] by their most powerful members".

England's "worst Ashes result in [their] 137-year Test history", and its seismic aftermath, is also dissected – while the retirement of Sachin Tendulkar accords the great Indian batsman pride of place on the front cover as well as several of the 1,584 pages inside.
Wisden demonstrates too its readiness to break new ground, as appropriate, and for the first time includes a 27-strong list of players who "have served or are serving bans for corruption offences".

Editor Lawrence Booth explains Wisden is bound to incorporate comprehensive numerical records, even when some of the matches or individual performances are questionable, adding: "[This] is the simplest way of allowing readers to reach their own conclusions, without compromising the wider set of statistics: it takes skill to score runs off a no-ball, even if the no-ball is deliberate."

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