India's Jasprit Bumrah, Smriti Mandhana win top Wisden awards
India duo Jasprit Bumrah and Smriti Mandhana have been crowned the world's leading cricketers in the latest edition of the Wisden Cricketers' Almanack.
Bumrah won the honour in the men's section after a stellar 2024 when he excelled across formats and was named player of the tournament as India won the Twenty20 World Cup in the West Indies.
'In an eventful year for Indian cricket, their success depended largely, if not entirely, on one factor: whether or not he had the ball,' the publication wrote about the 31-year-old, who is considered the best all-format bowler of his era.
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
TimesLIVE
a day ago
- TimesLIVE
Proteas hope risks bring rewards in WTC final, as both XIs revealed
There were no secrets from the two captains before this World Test Championship final. None of that 'we want to take one more look at the pitch in morning' nonsense before announcing the starting team. Pat Cummins revealed his starting side just as Temba Bavuma had done an hour earlier. Both teams had top order decisions to make along with the composition of their respective attacks; the Australians will open with Marnus Labuschagne, the South Africans will play Wiaan Mulder at no.3. The Proteas also chose Lungi Ngidi over Dane Paterson, which Bavuma described as 'one of the tougher decisions that have been made.' Cummins said virtually the same thing about picking Josh Hazlewood instead of Scott Boland. Ngidi is a risk, simply because he hasn't played much under Conrad. In one of those two Tests, he wrapped up the Indian tail on that minefield at Newlands. Last year's first match against the West Indies was the last time he started a Test. "That first 10 overs versus the Aussies is important." @VDP_24 shares his knowledge of playing against Australia to Shukri, Temba, and Ashwell ahead of the #WTC25 final 🇿🇦 🔗 Watch on CatchUp: — SuperSport 🏆 (@SuperSportTV) June 10, 2025 Paterson took two 'five-fers' last season, was the senior bowler in that 'C team' that toured New Zealand and generally when the front-line players were back, did the ugly work, especially in Gqeberha against Sri Lanka. At Lord's which has been his home ground the last few months with Middlesex, his form hasn't been as good — 11 wickets at 43.72 in five matches — but what swayed the selectors opinion was ultimately Ngidi's ability to get extra bounce from the surface. 'The selection was more from a tactical point of view, you know, (Lungi) probably has a little bit more pace, he's taller as well, ' said Bavuma. His presence means SA will match Australia in terms of height in their attack, so should a bouncer battle commence, as was the case when Cummins' team won at Lord's against England in 2023, SA will have the weaponry to stand toe to toe with the opposition. Ngidi, who has had his differences with Conrad in the last two years, certainly won't be lacking motivation this week. He has a point to prove to the coach, his captain and himself about his value to the Proteas and in this format. Wiaan Mulder reflects on the challenge of batting at No. 3 and the confidence he feels in taking on the responsibility in the #WTC Final 🏏🔥. #WTCFinal #WozaNawe #ProteasWTCFinal — Proteas Men (@ProteasMenCSA) June 10, 2025 Since making his first class debut for Northerns in 2016, he's played only 33 first class matches and in those — which include 19 Tests — he's bowled 20 overs or more in an innings, just four times and never in the same match. His stamina has long been a question mark as has his work ethic. But Conrad, when naming the WTC squad last month, praised Ngidi's fitness adding that he was impressed by how strong he looked. The Mulder decision is another that carries significant risk. Even more so than Australia deciding Labuschagne will open and Cameron Green will bat at 3, Mulder in the top order is a gamble. He's not batted there for his province, the Lions, and only did it in two innings' last season — once to manage a broken finger. 'Mulder is quite young obviously in that position. But having played with him provincially,and how he's kind of grown in the last two years within the red ball family, it's about giving him a lot more confidence, to keep backing him, and just allowing him to do what he does best,' said Bavuma. Thank you, Mr. President 🇿🇦🙏 We're honoured to carry the hopes of a proud sporting nation into the ICC World Test Championship Final. Inspired by the recent brilliance of our athletes and our nation's unwavering resilience, we'll give it our all at Lord's 🏏 Ons is gereed.… — Proteas Men (@ProteasMenCSA) June 10, 2025 Labuschagne, while a risk, has at least batted in the top order and as Cummins explained, there wasn't much difference in changing one position. Green, with an eye on returning to the Australian line-up after missing their home summer with a back injury, has batted at no.3 for Gloucestershire in the County Championship for the last few weeks and made three centuries and averages 66.71 in that spot. Besides those two innings at no.3 last season, Mulder has batted at no. 6 (once), 7 (15 times) and 8 (three times). An overall Test average of 22.65, doesn't provide confidence, but last season he made his first Test century — batting at 7 — so there is that. It feels like one of those 'gut feel' choices that Conrad has become famous for in the last two years. It worked with Ryan Rickelton at Newlands. The jury is still out on Tristan Stubbs at no.3, not least because he hasn't batted there since Durban last year, while choosing Senuran Muthusamy over Keshav Maharaj, in his first Test as coach against the West Indies at Centurion was Conrad, later admitted, a mistake. In the biggest game of their lives maybe some comfort can be drawn from Conrad remaining eccentric. 'A guy like Shukri coming in, it was kind of at the right time,' said Bavuma. 'When he came in, it was encouraging guys to be themselves and to play their best cricket.' Teams South Africa: Aiden Markram, Ryan Rickelton, Wiaan Mulder, Temba Bavuma (capt), Tristan Stubbs, David Bedingham, Kyle Verreynne, Marco Jansen, Kagiso Rabada, Keshav Maharaj, Lungi Ngidi.
TimesLIVE
a day ago
- TimesLIVE
Red Bull's Arvid Lindblad granted F1 licence ahead of 18th birthday
Formula One's governing body has granted Red Bull junior driver Arvid Lindblad a super licence ahead of his 18th birthday in August after the team requested a dispensation. F1 rules say drivers must be over 18, a measure introduced after Red Bull's now four-times world champion Max Verstappen was signed by Toro Rosso at 16 and made his race debut at 17 in 2015. Lindblad, born in Britain to a Swedish father and mother of Indian heritage, is seen as a hot prospect and the exemption will allow him to take part in F1 practice ahead of the August break. He has been tipped for an eventual seat at Racing Bulls, Red Bull's Italy-based sister team which currently have Frenchman Isack Hadjar and New Zealand's Liam Lawson. Hadjar has impressed in his rookie season, with speculation he could be next to move up to the senior team alongside Verstappen if Yuki Tsunoda is not retained. Verstappen is also only a penalty point away from a one-race ban, meaning Red Bull need to be prepared to shuffle around drivers. Lindblad, third overall in the Formula Two championship, already has enough points for a super licence, with age his only barrier. The governing FIA's World Motor Sport Council, granting the request at a meeting in Macau, said Lindblad had 'recently and consistently demonstrated outstanding ability and maturity in single-seater formula car competition'. Mercedes were in a similar position with Kimi Antonelli last year but waited until he was 18, also in August, before giving him a practice debut. The Italian this season took the seat vacated by seven-times world champion Lewis Hamilton.
Eyewitness News
5 days ago
- Eyewitness News
2 former Proteas back in court in October as match-fixing case continues
JOHANNESBURG - Two former Proteas, Lonwabo Tsotsobe and Thami Tsolekile, will be back in the Palm Ridge Commercial Crimes Court in October as the high-profile match-fixing case against them continues to unfold. The case dates back to a 2015-2016 Ram Slam T20 tournament, where a network of former cricketers allegedly worked with illegal bookmakers to fix match outcomes for cash. This week, former fast bowler Ntaketo Mbalati became the fourth ex-player to be convicted. He was handed a five-year suspended sentence after pleading guilty to corruption. Hawks investigators said the scheme involved at least six players who were approached by a former Protea and Indian syndicates to fix key moments in domestic games. "Corruption undermines the integrity of sport and the Hawks are determined to safeguard the values of fairness and professionalism in all of society. We thank Cricket SA for their co-operation and commitment to addressing this scourge," said Hawks spokesperson Katlego Mogale. Tsotsobe and Tsolekile were both banned by Cricket South Africa in 2016 after an internal probe but now face criminal charges, alongside former player Jean Symes. The case has been postponed to 7 October.
