Ben Stokes dethrones Virat Kohli as Wisden's leading cricketer in world

England all-rounder Ben Stokes has been rewarded for his brilliant 2019 year as he became the first player from the country since Andrew Flintoff in 2005 to be named as Wisden's leading cricketer in the world.

By picking up the award, the 28-year-old England star has ended Indian skipper Virat Kohli's three-year reign as the Wisden's leading cricketer. Kohli has received the honour in 2016, 2017 and 2018.

Stokes had enjoyed a teriffic last year as he first guided England to their maiden International Cricket Council (ICC) World Cup glory before producing one of the all-time great innings during the third Ashes Test against Australia to guide his side to a one-wicket win.

Stokes was declared 'Man of the Match' after he smashed an 84-run knock off just 98 balls to help England post 241 runs in their stipulated 50 overs against New Zealand and guide the final of the World Cup at Lord's into the Super Over after the match ended in a tie. He then scored eight runs in the Super Over to help England register 15 runs before New Zealand too scored 15 runs to once again level the score. The winner was later announced based on more number of boundaries scored.

In the third Ashes Test, the English star failed to click with the bat in the first innings but he notched up a blistering knock of 135 runs, including 11 boundaries and eight sixes, in the second-innings as the side chased down the target of 362 runs to clinch a narrow one-wicket win.

Reflecting on the same, Wisden's editor Lawrence Booth said that Stokes pulled off the best performance of his cricketing career twice in the space of few weeks.

"Ben Stokes pulled off the performance of a lifetime - twice in the space of a few weeks.First, with a mixture of outrageous talent and good fortune, he rescued England's run-chase in the World Cup final, before helping to hit 15 off the super over. Then, in the Third Ashes Test at Headingley, he produced one of the great innings, smashing an unbeaten 135 to pinch a one-wicket win," ESPNcricinfo quoted Booth as saying.

In the women's category, Australian all-rounder Ellyse Perry has been named as the leading woman player in the world besides being named as one of Wisden's Five Cricketers of the Year. She was last named as Wisden's leading women cricketer in 2016.