Wisden Australia's Cricketer of the Year
Encyclopedia
Each year since it was established in 1998, Wisden Australia has selected one Australian cricketer
as Wisden Australia's Cricketer of the Year. The award recognises the selected player's contribution to cricket
in Australia in the previous season, in a similar manner to the Wisden Cricketers of the Year
, selected by Wisden Cricketers' Almanack
based on their influence on the game in England.
Uniquely, the first award was made to a women's cricket
er, Belinda Clark
. Until Claire Taylor
was nominated by Wisden in 2009, no other female cricket player had been a Cricketer of the Year in any format of the almanack.
Cricketer
A cricketer is a person who plays the sport of cricket. Official and long-established cricket publications prefer the traditional word "cricketer" over the rarely used term "cricket player"....
as Wisden Australia's Cricketer of the Year. The award recognises the selected player's contribution to cricket
Cricket
Cricket is a bat-and-ball game played between two teams of 11 players on an oval-shaped field, at the centre of which is a rectangular 22-yard long pitch. One team bats, trying to score as many runs as possible while the other team bowls and fields, trying to dismiss the batsmen and thus limit the...
in Australia in the previous season, in a similar manner to the Wisden Cricketers of the Year
Wisden Cricketers of the Year
The Wisden Cricketers of the Year are cricketers selected for the honour by the annual publication Wisden Cricketers' Almanack, based primarily on their "influence on the previous English season"...
, selected by Wisden Cricketers' Almanack
Wisden Cricketers' Almanack
Wisden Cricketers' Almanack is a cricket reference book published annually in the United Kingdom...
based on their influence on the game in England.
Uniquely, the first award was made to a women's cricket
Women's cricket
Women's cricket is the form of the team sport of cricket that is played by women.-History:The first recorded match of women's cricket was reported in The Reading Mercury on 26 July 1745, a match contested "between eleven maids of Bramley and eleven maids of Hambledon, all dressed in white." The...
er, Belinda Clark
Belinda Clark
Belinda Jane Clark AM is a former female Australian cricketer, who played international cricket from 1991 to 2005...
. Until Claire Taylor
Claire Taylor
Samantha Claire Taylor MBE is a former English cricketer and retired member of the England women's team. A determined batsman, with almost 3,500 runs in over a hundred One Day International appearances, she was the top ranked female ODI batsman in the world going into the 2009 Women's World Cup...
was nominated by Wisden in 2009, no other female cricket player had been a Cricketer of the Year in any format of the almanack.
- 1998 – Belinda ClarkBelinda ClarkBelinda Jane Clark AM is a former female Australian cricketer, who played international cricket from 1991 to 2005...
- 1999 – Glenn McGrathGlenn McGrathGlenn Donald McGrath AM , nicknamed "Pigeon", is a former Australian cricket player. He is one of the most highly regarded fast-medium pace bowlers in cricketing history, and a leading contributor to Australia's domination of world cricket from the mid-1990s to the early 21st century...
- 2000–01 – Steve WaughSteve WaughStephen Rodger "Steve" Waugh, AO is a former Australian cricketer and fraternal twin of cricketer Mark Waugh. A right-handed batsman, he was also a successful medium-pace bowler...
- 2001–02 – Glenn McGrathGlenn McGrathGlenn Donald McGrath AM , nicknamed "Pigeon", is a former Australian cricket player. He is one of the most highly regarded fast-medium pace bowlers in cricketing history, and a leading contributor to Australia's domination of world cricket from the mid-1990s to the early 21st century...
- 2002–03 – Adam GilchristAdam GilchristAdam Craig Gilchrist AM , nicknamed "Gilly" or "Churchy", is an Australian international cricketer who currently captains Kings XI Punjab and recently captained Middlesex. He is an attacking left-handed batsman and record-breaking wicket-keeper, who redefined the role for the Australian national...
- 2003–04 – Ricky PontingRicky PontingRicky Thomas Ponting , nicknamed Punter, is an Australian cricketer, a former captain of the Australian cricket team between 2004 and 2011 in Test cricket and 2002 and 2011 in One Day International cricket. He is a specialist right-handed batsman, slips and close catching fielder, as well as a very...
- 2004–05 – Darren LehmannDarren LehmannDarren Scott Lehmann is a former Australian cricketer, who made his ODI debut in 1996 and Test debut in 1998. He was on the fringes of national selection for the entirety of the 1990s, and only became a regular in the ODI team in 2001 and Test team in late 2002, before being dropped in early 2005...
- 2005–06 – Glenn McGrathGlenn McGrathGlenn Donald McGrath AM , nicknamed "Pigeon", is a former Australian cricket player. He is one of the most highly regarded fast-medium pace bowlers in cricketing history, and a leading contributor to Australia's domination of world cricket from the mid-1990s to the early 21st century...