Pathum Nissanka - The Best Cricketer of the Week

 

A full compliment of T20 World Cup players this week with nobody featuring outside of that competition.

Weekly Top 5

1. Pathum Nissanka - 282 - Was looking worryingly out of nick up to this point of the year but burst into life with a century and a half century against Australia and Zimbabwe. When he is at his best, there are few better.

2. Aiden Markram - 214 - Continuing his fine spell of form with 114 runs scored over two T20 games....impressively he did better against the Test nation than he did the Associate.

3. Sam Curran - 213 - Not doing anything phenomenal (few English players are) but he is doing just enough with both bat and ball to feature in the weekly Top 5 for the second week in a row.

4. Travis Head - 168 - Something of a case of too little too late for the stand-in Aussie captain as he saved two decent performances for when his team were already on the brink. 27 points in the first two weeks and 168 in the last says it all.

5. Rachin Ravindra- 142 - Nothing like a knock against an Associate side to build confidence. RR is having a torrid time this year but bagged his first half century against Canada to see him pip into the Top 5 for the week.

Overall Top 5

1. Vaibhav Sooryavanshi - 1302 - Despite the points spraying around in the T20 World Cup, for Vaibhav to still have a 200+ lead is really something special.

2. Quinton De Kock - 1085- A comparatively quiet week for QDK. He is now looking over his shoulder rather than into the distance as he has a lead of just 28 off third.

3. Sam Curran - 1057 - Despite being one of the highest point scorers this week, Curran is unable to move out of bronze medal position. Still games to play for him though.

4. Aiden Markram - 1041 - Despite his big points haul this week, he does not manage to move out of fourth spot. There is a huge gulf between himself and fifth, the largest anywhere on the List.

5. Harry Brook - 764 - A disappointing week does not see Brook lose his fifth placed position. 42 points sperate him from Saim Ayub in 6th.

Highest Weekly Average


1. Vaibhav Sooryavanshi = 260.4
2.Ravindra Jadeja = 181.33
3. Nat Sciver-Brunt = 177.75

Good Week for Pathum Nissanka; up 24.9 points to 102.57. Bad week for Harry Brook; down 17.87 to 127.33.

Highest Average Points per Game

Red Ball- Simon Harmer = 248.5
One Day - Vaibhav Sooryavanshi = 108.5
Short Form - Nat Sciver-Brunt = 101.57

Highest Points by Format

* =New Name

Red Ball- Simon Harmer = 248.5
One Day - Vaibhav Sooryavanshi - 1302
Short Form - Quinton De Kock = 1085

Highest Points by Discipline

Runs - Vaibhav Sooryavanshi - 742
Batting Bonus - Vaibhav Sooryavanshi- 170
Strike Rate - Vaibhav Sooryavanshi - 280

Wickets - Marco Jansen = 360
Wicket Bonus = Sam Curran = 60
Economy - Simon Harmer= 100

Fielding - Quinton de Kock = 190
Fielding Bonus - Marco Jansen, Harry Brook, Quinton de Kock + Michael Bracewell = 10

Weekly List In Full

Pathum Nissanka 282
Aiden Markram 214
Sam Curran 213
Travis Head 168
Rachin Ravindra 142
Saim Ayub 140
Marco Jansen 100
Quinton de Kock 74
Phil Salt 70
Liam Dawson 50
Harry Brook 38
Jos Buttler 36

Overall List In Full

Vaibhav Sooryavanshi 1302
Quinton de Kock 1085
Sam Curran 1057
Aiden Markram 1041
Harry Brook 764
Saim Ayub 722
Pathum Nissanka 718
Nat Sciver-Brunt 711
Marco Jansen 676
Jos Buttler 625
Ravindra Jadeja 544
Travis Head 510
Simon Harmer 497
Rachin Ravindra 449
Liam Dawson 397
Phil Salt 291
Shubman Gill 240
Sophie Ecclestone 226
Mehidy Hasan Miraz 218
Nicholas Pooran 192
Michael Bracewell 184

Simon Harmer - The Best Cricketer of the Week

 

Weekly Top 5

1. Simon Harmer- 201 - Here is a sight we haven't seen for a while! Simon Harmer claims his 46th Cricketer of the Week award after a year away from the List. Again, wasn't one of his vintage hauls but sees him. What money his 50th this year?

2. Quinton De Kock - 174 - Averaging a very pleasing 77.77 points per T20 game. Coming back off the SA20 and straight into dominating the World Cup. If you are playing South Africa you need to get him away ASAP or risk the game.

3. Aiden Markram - 134 - One decent performance against Canada and a less impressive one in that super-sized game against Afghanistan. Third straight week in the Top 5 though.

4. Saim Ayub - 133 - Not hit a great knock with the bat yet but has had some impactful cameos and also bagged two streaky wickets against the Netherlands. One of those deceptive weeks where you sneak into the Top 5 unknown.

5. Harry Brook - 120 - Is playing well even if his captaincy is leaving quite a bit to be desired. Has featured in the Weekly Top 5 for 3 of the 5 weeks he has played.

Overall Top 5

1.Vabhav Sooryavanshi - 1302 - After his Under 19 World Cup success, the young man has gone back to school to earn grades rather than points. His lead is 291 points off second.

2. Quinton De Kock - 1011 - His third successive week in second and with a decent week could overleap into the Gold position. Still a truckload of games to come.

3. Sam Curran - 844 - One of the better performing players in an under-performing England team. Finished the week with 95 points and managed to secure 3rd for a second week.

4. Aiden Markram- 827 - In spectacular form this year and moves back up into the fourth place spot that he lost last week.

5. Harry Brook - 726 - Despite the maelstrom of negativity that swirls around him, Brook makes his Top 5 debut. Never before has he flown so high, nor been so maligned.

Highest Weekly Average


1. Vaibhav Sooryavanshi = 260.4
2.Ravindra Jadeja = 181.33
3. Nat Sciver-Brunt = 177.75

Good Week for Simon Harmer; up 25.4 points to 99.4. Bad week for Travis Head down 20.83 to 85.5.

Highest Average Points per Game

Red Ball- Simon Harmer = 248.5
One Day - Vaibhav Sooryavanshi = 108.5
Short Form - Nat Sciver-Brunt = 101.57

Highest Points by Format

* =New Name

Red Ball- *Simon Harmer = 248.5
One Day - Vaibhav Sooryavanshi - 1302
Short Form - Quinton De Kock = 837

Highest Points by Discipline

* = New Name

Runs - Vaibhav Sooryavanshi - 742
Batting Bonus - Vaibhav Sooryavanshi- 170
Strike Rate - Vaibhav Sooryavanshi - 280

Wickets - Marco Jansen = 220
Wicket Bonus = Sam Curran & *Simon Harmer - 40
Economy - Simon Harmer= 100

Fielding - Quinton de Kock = 140
Fielding Bonus - *Marco Jansen, Harry Brook, Quinton de Kock + Michael Bracewell = 10

Weekly List In Full

Simon Harmer 201
Quinton de Kock 174
Aiden Markram 134
Saim Ayub 133
Harry Brook 120
Jos Buttler 117
Marco Jansen 116
Sam Curran 95
Phil Salt 91
Pathum Nissanka 67
Liam Dawson 51
Travis Head 23
Rachin Ravindra 20
Mehidy Hasan Miraz 0

Paul Walter dnp
Ravindra Jadeja dnp
Shubman Gill dnp
Nicholas Pooran dnp
Vaibhav Sooryavanshi dnp
Sophie Ecclestone dnp
Nat Sciver-Brunt dnp
Michael Bracewell dnp

Overall List in Full

Vaibhav Sooryavanshi 1302
Quinton de Kock 1011
Sam Curran 844
Aiden Markram 827
Harry Brook 726
Nat Sciver-Brunt 711
Jos Buttler 589
Saim Ayub 582
Marco Jansen 576
Ravindra Jadeja 544
Simon Harmer 497
Pathum Nissanka 436
Liam Dawson 347
Travis Head 342
Rachin Ravindra 307
Shubman Gill 240
Sophie Ecclestone 226
Phil Salt 221
Mehidy Hasan Miraz 218
Nicholas Pooran 192
Michael Bracewell 184

The Cricket List 2026 Reveal

And with 2025 done and dusted....let's start revealing the names of the 2026 participants of The Cricket List starting with the retained players.

Retained 

Saim Ayub - Had his year disrupted by that severe injury on January 1st last year. Managed to drag himself up to 13th but fully fit and firing on all cylinders he could be in for a big year in 2026.

Harry Brook - Back for his fourth consecutive year on The Cricket List despite having a less than impressive 2025. For the man who is the poster boy for the future of English cricket 2026 will be a big year.

Jos Buttler - The Cricketer of the Year from 2024 back for his 6th year overall. Is he able to finish in the Top 5 for the third year in the row?

Sam Curran - Our Cricketer of the Year for 2025 was a gimme to return in 2026. Can he be the first Cricketer to do it back to back since Simon Harmer?

Liam Dawson - A bit of a surprise package in 2025.....mainly because he played so much cricket that I wouldn't have been overly surprised if he was playing in my garden one given evening.

Travis Head - Not the best of year's for Head who finished 17th in 2025 - a far cry from his third place finish in 2024. Which version of him will be served up in 2026?

Ravindra Jadeja - Won't play as much as some of the others on our List but when he does he will score big. Can he finish in the Top 5 in successive years?

Pathum Nissanka - Got knocked out of the Top Ten on the very last day of the year but is a huge huge talent that may only get huger as he has managed to pick himself an IPL deal for 2026.

Nicholas Pooran - Finished just outside the Top 5 this year and plays in every T20 franchise going. Can he breach the Top 5 this year?

Phil Salt - Back for his third consecutive year in The Cricket List. Finished in the Top Ten both years but without ever really threatening anything bigger. Maybe this year?

Nat Sciver-Brunt - A good year domestically for NSB where she was instrumental in both the WIPL and WBBL....less impressive internationally but some development to come.

Returning 

Quinton De Kock - Last seen in these parts in 2022 where he finished 8th. T20 gun for hire and now back in the Proteas green too so should be scoring big.

Shubman Gill - Finished 2024 in 16th place....you feel if he was selected this year he would have finished rather higher than that.

Simon Harmer - The All Time highest Cricketer of the Week winner returns. Not only is he a County Championship stalwart but now a genuine Test spinning threat.

Marco Jansen - Was on our List in 2023 but lacked consistency. Is he now a finished enough product to mount an assault on the Top 5?

Rachin Ravindra - Had quite a poor season in his inaugural season in 2024. Can he force his agenda a little more in 2026?

New Selections

Michael Bracewell - Always need a Kiwi in our List and this year's offering is well thought of Michael Bracewell. Question marks will arise around the amount of cricket he will fit in but he is undoubtably a quality player.

Sophie Ecclestone - Our fourth female Cricketer of all time and joining her international teammate on The List for 2026. Put aside some question marks over her fitness to one side and looks set to be a key feature in 2026.

Aiden Markram - Has long been on the longlist for these Lists but has never quite made it to the final 22...until this year. With his national team in the ascendancy it would be churlish to not include him.

Mehidy Hassan Miraz - Had a quietly very competent year this week. We have had two previous Bangladesh players; the hugely successful Shakib Al Hasan and the very unsuccessful Abdur Razzak. Which will MHM emulate?

Vaibhav Suryavanshi - Probably the most enigmatic pick of our 9 years doing this. There is A LOT of pressure on this 14 year old but it seems that he shrugs that off with aplomb. Will be fascinating to see where he ends up

Paul Walter - Simon Harmer's Essex team mate is coming in this year as a James Vince-alike. Unlikely to finish top like Vince did might push his county brethren hard.

Discarded

The most notable rejected player this year is Babar Azam who has featured in every version of these lists for the last 8 years and won it in 2020. Chamari Athapaththu is also let go after a very successful 2024. She was the first female player in our game. Annabel Sutherland is also let go - the highest ranked player to be unselected for 2026 after having finished 8th this year.

The other players who we are letting go this year include relative veteran Kane Williamson who is being kicked out for the third time. Two other players to have failed at their second time of asking are Jasprit Bumrah and Rishabh Pant who finished in the bottom 3 whilst Jaisal ends his two year spell. Other one hit wonders from this year are: Wanindu Hasaranga, Heinrich Klassen, Liam Livingstone, Jamie Smith, Suryakumar Yadav and Adam Zampa.