CMS International Cricket Awards 2019.

[Arthur Crabtree]

Patrick Cummins. Currently the world's top ranked bowler and talked about as a future Australian captain, it seems the 26 year old has shrugged off the injuries (which kept him out the Test side for six years) and has entered his peak. He was a key figure in enhancing his side's reputation after the ball fixing scandal. Now the leader of the Australian pace attack, he was the world's top wicket taker in 2019 (59). Resourceful in adversity, likeable whatever the scoreboard and slow to enter into verbals, Cummins is an appealing face of the new team Australian ethic.

[Arthur Crabtree]

Marnus Labuschagne. Leading Test run scorer in 2019, Marnus is the first of two South Africans in the big five Test players of the year. He hardly knows how to fail. He debuted for the Baggy Greens in a unique way, as a concussion substitute for Steve Smith in the second Ashes Test. In that second innings at Lord's his 59 ensured Australia held onto a draw. Since then he has four hundreds and 1378 runs including a run of 185, 162 and 143 at the start of the Australian summer. Mix in 12 wickets in 14 games and we have the most impressive Australian debut season since Adam Voges. Only 25 years old too.

[Arthur Crabtree]

Steve Smith. Pundits for the CMS International Cricket Awards have forgiven Steve Smith for sandpapergate, at least enough to allow him into the prestigious five Test cricketers of the year list. Maybe not by the English cricket public though, who booed the bleached Bradman up, down and across the UK last summer until they applauded him off at the Oval. He made three hundreds in the Ashes, calming the batter's anxieties on a traditionally tough tour for them and with the openers in dire form. His 211 at Old Trafford confirmed the urn would stay in the lucky country. Steve came back from his ban as good a batter as ever, which places him among the greats. But it's not clear yet if Australia will ever truly forgive his misdemeanour.

[Arthur Crabtree]

Neil Wagner. Our second South African born selection, Neil Wagner has become the classic example of the invisible New Zealander, rarely receiving recognition regardless of how prodigious his achievements. In only six Tests in 2019, Wagner took forty three wickets. And that's with almost never getting his hands on a new ball. Genial of nature, lethal of bouncer, Wagner, is another full time good guy who enhances the reputation and likability of the game. Wagner starts 2020 at number two in the rankings. It's way past time that this invisible Kiwi came into focus.

[Arthur Crabtree]

Time for a short break after which we'll be back with the ODI five and the overall international player of the year.

[Arthur Crabtree]

Jasprit Bumrah. Maybe there is a corner of the internet that is forever India, and all they do there is bang on all day about how good Jasprit Bumrah. But I don't go there. It feels there is far too little commotion about his incredible couple of years in international cricket. He had a quiet year in terms of games, especially in Tests, but the numbers remained phenomenal. He had a great World Cup going for hardly any runs. pinning the batters with his wicket-to-wicket bowling. The hype starts here. Jasprit is the first of CMS' five best ODI players in 2019.

[Arthur Crabtree]

Lockie Ferguson. Lachlan Ferguson was another bowling star of the World Cup, second only to Mitchell Starc in terms of wickets, but with a much better economy rate. And he has plenty of star quality; hardly any cricketer has looked as good with a moustache. Ever. And I can remember Dennis Lillee. That he has made the five ahead of the brilliant Trent Boult is an indicator of how much of a mark he made at the World Cup. He ran out of steam a touch as the competition progressed, but it was Lockie who removed Bairstow and Buttler in the final, taking 3-50. He's 28 now. This is his time.

[Arthur Crabtree]

Rohit Sharma. Arguably the best ODI opening bat ever, he was the World Cup top scorer as well as weighing in with an astonishing five hundreds and scoring at a run a ball. He now shares the most hundreds in World Cups with Sachin Tendulkar (6). When he was out for one in the World Cup semi final against New Zealand, India went out of the competition. He was arguably the player of the competition, but without his side taking the trophy, he will inevitably remembered as an afterthought.

[Arthur Crabtree]

Jason Roy. While Jason Roy (the third of our South African born stars of the year) was hamstrung during the middle part of the World Cup in the summer, England faltered and flirted with being eliminated from the competition. He returned without fully recovering against tournament favourites India and Roy (66) and Jonny Bairstow (111) saw England to 160-1 off 22 overs. They again started brilliantly against New Zealand in the group stage reaching 123-1 off 18, and then Roy was top scorer in the semi final with 85 off 65 balls as England beat Australia with 18 overs to spare. Without Jason Roy England would have gone out in the group stage. Like his partner Bairstow, he scores big runs at a crazy rate, but Roy was the bigger scorer of the two in 2019.

[Durhamfootman]

and despite previous fumbles, he held his nerve in the penultimate act of the WC final to pick up cleanly and throw perfectly to the waiting Buttler. At that point in the match and under that sort of pressure, neither of those 2 things could have been taken for granted

[Arthur Crabtree]

Ben Stokes. The last of our five ODI stars, Stokes was probably the leading ODI player in the world last year, averaging 60 with the bat, and while injury made his bowling a secondary consideration during the World Cup, he still took seven wickets there, getting his economy rate down well below five. And he was one of the best fielders in the world too. Beyond all the stats was a player of intense determination and a crowd pleasing match winner who dominated the game in 2019 in the UK. It was the best year of a career that has threatened greatness before only to falter due to injury, controversy and inconsistent form. Perhaps 2020 will reveal whether he has the reliability to make the most of all that star quality and turn him into one of the legends of the English game.

[Arthur Crabtree]

and despite previous fumbles, he held his nerve in the penultimate act of the WC final to pick up cleanly and throw perfectly to the waiting Buttler. At that point in the match and under that sort of pressure, neither of those 2 things could have been taken for granted

Excellent point.

[bigfluffylemon]

Well done AC.

No Starc in our ODI shortlist? Well well. Was very hard to pick just 5 though.

[Arthur Crabtree]

And finally tonight, as the curtain falls, raise your bottles to the CMS World Player of the Year, Rohit Sharma, a long time star of limited overs cricket who finally secured a place in the Indian Test side, scoring three hundreds in five matches, averaging 93 over the 12 months on being given his chance as an opener. Established now as a pair with Mayank Agarwal, with whom he added 317 for the first wicket against South Africa, expect India to continue to dominate in Tests in 2020, and to be very quick off the mark getting there.

Thanks for your attention, and thanks to all who posted nominations and chatted on the thread. Later we'll be going to outside broadcast for a round up of the CMS team of the year poll. But for now, goodnight.

[Arthur Crabtree]

Well done AC.

No Starc in our ODI shortlist? Well well. Was very hard to pick just 5 though.

Yes, should have been there. Probably ahead of Ferguson, but the NZer was more of a surprise performer, so I felt a bit more goodwill towards his story compared with the rather sharklike Mitch2!