Gus Atkinson, Jamie Smith, and Dan Worrall have been named three of Wisden Almanack’s Five Cricketers of the Year for their excellence in, or influence on, the English summer of 2024.
Hampshire’s Liam Dawson and Lancashire’s Sophie Ecclestone are the two remaining awardees who complete the quintet.
Atkinson had a dream start in the whites for England, taking 7/45 against West Indies in his debut innings and backing it up with 5/61 in the second innings to win the game, also etching himself on Lord’s honours board in the process. Later in the summer, he also scored a hundred at the same venue and picked up another five-for in the same match. Atkinson carried on his fast start to life as a Three Lions Test cricketer by becoming the third-quickest England bowler to claim 50 Test wickets post World War II.
Talking about dream starts, Jamie Smith followed in the footsteps of his Surrey teammate and took to Test cricket like a duck to water. Quickly establishing himself as England’s first-choice wicketkeeper, Smith smashed his maiden Test ton against Sri Lanka and showcased his ability to bat with the tail. His 677 runs, scored at an average of over 56, played a significant role in helping Surrey secure their historic three-peat and landed him a chance with the Three Lions. During the T20s, Smith’s strike rate of 203.5 was the third highest ever in a Vitality Blast campaign for a top five batter who played five or more innings.
Collecting 52 wickets at a mind-blowing average of 16.15, Dan Worrall was talk of the town when it came to county cricket. The Australian-born seamer spearheaded Surrey’s defence of the title, picking up four four-fors and two five-fors along the way, including a best of 6/22 against Worcestershire at the Kia Oval.
“Gus Atkinson made a dream Test debut, taking 12 wickets against West Indies at Lord’s, and never looked back,” said Wisden Almanack editor Lawrence Booth. “He picked up another Lord’s five-for, against Sri Lanka, and scored a century from No. 8. A hat-trick against New Zealand at Wellington helped him to 52 wickets at just 22 each in his first year as a Test cricketer.
“Jamie Smith ended England’s long-running wicketkeeping saga with a string of stirring performances in his first season as a Test cricketer. He began with 70 against West Indies at Lord’s, then added 95 at Edgbaston, and a superb century against Sri Lanka at Old Trafford.
“Dan Worrall was central to Surrey’s third successive Championship title, taking 52 wickets at an average of just 16 with his accurate, aggressive seamers. Time and again he made incisions with the new ball, and his match figures included ten for 57 against Worcestershire, eight for 73 against Durham and eight for 91 against Hampshire.”
