Cricket news round-up – April 9: Wisden names cricketers of the year

Wisden has announced its cricketers of the year in the 2020 edition of the Almanac; Shoaib Akhtar has proposed an India-Pakistan series to raise money for the battle against COVID-19; Cricket Australia face a fifty percent cut in revenue; and Cricket New South Wales have appointed Leah Poulton as new head of female cricket.

Stokes is Wisden‘s leading cricketer of the year

The 2020 edition of the Wisden Cricketers’ Almanack is out, with England’s winning moment in the 2019 World Cup final on the front cover.

As is norm, the five cricketers of the year have been named. The quintet consists of Jofra Archer (who impressed in both the World Cup and the Ashes), Pat Cummins, Marnus Labuschagne (both of whom were instrumental in Australia retaining the Ashes), Ellyse Perry (who had an excellent Ashes in all three formats), and Simon Harmer (who played key role in Essex’s wins in the County Championship and the Vitality Blast).

To nobody’s surprise, Ben Stokes was named the leading cricketer in the world, bringing Virat Kohli’s run to an end: Kohli had won the honours thrice in a row before Stokes. Perry was also named the Leading Woman Cricketer in the World, while Andre Russell was the Leading T20 Cricketer in the World.

Shoaib suggests India-Pakistan fundraiser

On his YouTube channel, Shoaib Akhtar suggested a three-match limited-overs series (ODIs or T20Is) between India and Pakistan to raise money to help fight COVID-19. Of course, he has made it clear that the matches should be played behind closed doors.

“The matches can be only on TV and since everyone is at home these days with nothing much to do, these may prove to be the most viewed games in the history of the sport,” he said. “I am sure such games will generate great funds … For the first time, even if a team loses, it will be a winner.”

CA looking at fifty percent revenue slash

The COVID-19 pandemic may result in a revenue loss of up to 50 percent for Cricket Australia in the upcoming season, according to a report in the Sydney Morning Herald. This would have been considerably more, had cricket not been essentially a summer sport in Australia. A cancellation of the ODIs against Zimbabwe in August will not hurt them badly, the T20 World Cup and the home series against India will.

Meanwhile, the Australian Cricketers’ Association announced a $250,000 emergency assistance fund to help the cricketers. This will cover former cricketers and part-time female cricketers, who may draw up to $2,000 from ACA.

NSW appoint new Head of Female Cricket

Cricket New South Wales have appointed Leah Poulton as their new Head of Female Cricket. The move came as a surprise, for Melbourne Stars had appointed Poulton as their coach in March. Poulton is also Cricket Australia Women’s high-performance coach.

“While it’s not ideal to accept a position and move on so quickly, the Head of Female Cricket role at Cricket NSW was too great an opportunity to pass up,” Poulton told cricket.com.au.

Between 2006 and 2012, Poulton had played 2 Tests, 48 ODIs, and 40 T20Is for Australia. She was a member of Australia’s T20 World Cup winning squad in 2010.