England trio among Wisden cricketers of the year

England trio Gus Atkinson, Jamie Smith and Sophie Ecclestone have been named among Wisden's five Cricketers of the Year.

The players are chosen by the Wisden editor, a tradition that dates back to 1889. The awards are based on performances in the previous English summer and no player can win the award more than once in their career.

Hampshire spinner Liam Dawson and Surrey fast bowler Dan Worrall complete the line-up, which has been announced as this year's Wisden almanack is published on Thursday.

India duo Jasprit Bumrah and Smriti Mandhana are crowned the leading cricketers in the world, while West Indies' Nicholas Pooran is the world's leading T20 player.

Atkinson took 12 wickets against West Indies on his Test debut in July, which sparked a remarkable tally of 52 scalps in the year.

He then scored a Test century - also his maiden first-class century - batting at number eight against Sri Lanka at Lord's the following month.

Smith also made his Test debut in the summer as England's new wicketkeeper and made his first century against Sri Lanka at Old Trafford.

The 24-year-old finished the three-match series with 280 runs at an average of 46.6, second only to Joe Root.

His solid wicketkeeping also solved England's selection dilemma as he edged out Jonny Bairstow and Surrey team-mate Ben Foakes.

Ecclestone has been an outlier in a difficult year for England's women, as she becomes the first English woman to be named in the quintet since batter Tammy Beaumont in 2019.

England were unbeaten during their home summer against Pakistan and New Zealand, before the disappointing group-stage exit in the autumn's T20 World Cup and a disastrous Ashes defeat which saw head coach Jon Lewis and captain Heather Knight removed from their positions.

Left-arm spinner Ecclestone, 25, is the world's number one ranked bowler in both white-ball formats, and surpassed Katherine Sciver-Brunt as England Women's leading T20 wicket-taker during the series against Pakistan.

England's Nat Sciver-Brunt and Australia captain Pat Cummins were the leading cricketers in the world for 2024.