Chamari Athapaththu - The Best Cricketer of the Week

 

Well here we are again...and what a busy one it is. 14 players have played already this year with 1331 points accrued; that is 806 than Week 1 of 2024.

Top 5 after Week 1

1. Chamari Athapaththu - 261 - Led the way for 17 weeks of 2024 and, just like last year, opens her tally with a Weekly high courtesy of dominating the Women's Super Smash in New Zealand. Her late addition to the competition cost her last year's top prize; she was just 41 points behind Vince.

2. Babar Azam - 189 - Desperate to put some of the negativity of 2024 behind him, Azam has started 2025 brightly...albeit you cannot say the same for his team. 139 runs across the two innings in their Test loss to South Africa is enough to see him second place.

3. Wanindu Hasaranga - 186 - Our highest scoring debutant on the List for 2025 is one of our new Sri Lankans. Having said that, the allrounder played one T20 and two ODIs so 186 ( 62 points per game) does seem a little on the disappointing side.

4. Rishabh Pant - 181 - Returns to the List after a year today and takes 4th place courtesy of his best performance in the Border-Gavaskar Trophy. It was too little too late for India but could it be the start of a big year for Pant?

5. Adam Zampa - 123 - A good start to his time on the List for the enigmatic spinner. Having only got 3 wickets in the BBL to date he added a further 5 in the 3 games he has played since the start of the year. A rapid turnaround in form.

Top Players By Format

Red Ball - Babar Azam - 189
One Day - Wanindu Hasaranga - 146
Short Form - Chamari Athapaththu - 261

Top Players by Discipline

Runs - Babar Azam - 139
Batting Bonus - Babar Azam - 40
Strike Rate - Chamari Athapaththu - 40

Wickets - Chamari Athapaththu & Adam Zampa - 100
Wicket Bonus - Chamari Athapaththu & Adam Zampa - 20
Economy - Wanindu Hasaranga - 40

Fielding - Yashasvi Jaiswal - 40

List In Full

Chamari Athapaththu 261
Babar Azam 189
Wanindu Hasaranga 186
Rishabh Pant 181
Adam Zampa 123
Jasprit Bumrah 112
Yashavi Jaiwal 72
Ravindra Jadeja 49
Travis Head 48
Pathum Nissanka 44
Liam Dawson 26
Suryakumar Yadav 10
Nat Sciver-Brunt 10
Saim Ayub 0

Heinrich Klaasen dnp
Kane Williamson dnp
Jamie Smith dnp
Liam Livingstone dnp
Sam Curran dnp
Jos Buttler dnp
Annabel Sutherland dnp
Phil Salt dnp
Harry Brook dnp
Nicholas Pooran dnp

The Cricket List for 2025

 

Retained 

Chamari Athapaththu was the first female contributor to our game last year and certainly held her own spending the most amount of time on top position before being usurped in the very final week. 

Babar Azam was a disappointment last year....although was towards the top of the table once more. This is his 6th successive year in the list for the winner of Cricketer of the Year 2020. 

Harry Brook couldn't not be included this year could he? One of the most exciting talents in World Cricket returns for his third successive year.

Jos Buttler was the Cricketer of the Year for 2023 but was injury ravaged last year. We all know when he's back to his best hes a world beater. 

Sam Curran did very well in fits and burst and just finished outside the Top 5. Left out of the 50 over side for the Champions Trophy, 2025 will be make a break year for the Surrey player. 

Travis Head was the breakaway star of 2024. Was it a flash in the pan or do we have a true superstar on our hands? 

Ravindra Jadeja finished in the Top 5 in 2023 and within the Top 10 last year. Which version of the enigmatic spinner will we see next year? 

Yashasvi Jaiswal was the break out star of Test cricket in 2024....however this did not necessarily translate into points on our List. He was comfortably top ten, however, and is certainly worth a berth in 2025. 

Phil Salt was fairly anonymous for large portions of 2024 but had a great last quarter of the year to catapult him into the Top 5. That sort of form could see him become the heir apparent to Buttler.

Returning 

Jasprit Bumrah only featured for us in one year. In 2021 he ended the year in 12th place, 69 points above Peter Handscomb. You feel he will be much higher next year. 

Rishabh Pant's return to the Lists after a year away is a fantastic achievement for a player who finishes bottom in 2022 after sustaining a life threatening accident. At his best is one of the best. 

Suryakumar Yadav won Cricketer of the Week three times in 2023 but only finished 3306. Increasingly important to India's T20 team as well as his IPL framchise so you would expect he would get more. 

Kane Williamson is always a very interesting prospect on these Lists. A fantastic batter but always fails to impress when it comes to points. Let's see what happens in his fifth year on the List. 

New Players 

Saim Ayub is one of the most exciting young talents in World Cricket....however that doesn't necessarily mean big points. 

Liam Dawson has long been a consistent performer for Hampshire and has been playing his trade increasingly more in some of the more obscure T20 competitions. Another one that could play all year round. 

Wanindu Hasaranga has turned from a bowler who could bat a bit to a genuine allrounder in recent years. Seems to be turning his back on red ball stuff so may very well turn up all over the world. 

Heinrich Klassen has quietly become a very important figure as South Africa have quietly become a very competent white ball team. Should keep the Strike Rate points busy. 

Liam Livingstone has long been a heavy hitter in World cricket and has long been overdue his place on this list. He is starting to work the franchise circuit slightly more mercenerially too so could be very active in 2025. 

Pathum Nissanka has burst onto the scene over 2024 and is an all format threat for Sri Lanka. Can he rival last year's second place Sri Lankan Chamari Athapaththu. 

Nicholas Pooran comes back to our List after an 8th placed finish in 2021 but is arguably one of the biggest hitters in the T20 circuit so should be there or there abouts in 2025. 

Nat Sciver-Brunt is the mainstay of an England team looking to rebuild in 2025. She will play as many games as she can and can contribute with both bat and ball...but will she play enough? 

Jamie Smith needs to decide what he is this year. Locked in to the Test side but is also part of the Champions Trophy side. Will he become an all format player or just focus on red ball? 

Annabel Sutherland is increasingly becoming a significant figure in women's World Cricket; with her hard hitting batting and her medium pace bowling she could be a real threat. 

Adam Zampa has long been a player I thought would fit well on this List and 2025 this year. Will he do better than the Aussies on our almost this year who all found themselves at the foot of the table throughout. 

Released 

2025 sees the end of an era for Simon Harmer. A mainstay of the List since we started in 2018 and two time winner of Cricketer of the List....but the bell has told for the Essex man. 

Other multi year evictees this year are Marnus Labuschagne (2021 winner), Glenn Maxwell (2019 winner), Moeen Ali, Glenn Maxwell, Shubman Gill, Virat Kohli, Mitchell Marsh, Steve Smith and Usman Khawaja. 

The most surprising non selection this year is James Vince, last year's winner. He is joined by Daryl Mitchell and Aaron Hardie as players who are one and done.

The Cricket list 2024 Final Standings

 

Weekly Top 5

 

1.     1. James Vince – 214 – Ends his year in style, largely thanks to a record breaking score of 101 against the Melbourne Stars. Always dependable in a T20 competition.

 

2.      2. Steve Smith – 213 – Has been rooted to the bottom of the table for most of the year but ends it with a reminder of what once was after belting 140 in the fourth Test against Australia.

 

3.      3. Yashasvi Jaiswal – 206 – Finished the year with two near identical scores of 82 and 84. Was the most consistent performer for India across both digs and has been rewarded accordingly.

 

4.      4. Marnus Labuschagne – 182 – Put his poor form behind him for two anchoring knocks of 72 and 70 to start Australia’s innings well in the Fourth Test.

 

5.      5. Ravindra Jadeja – 179 – Has failed to perform at his All Round bet of late and either oscillates between a decent bowling performance or a decent batting one. This week he did well with ball in hand, bagging 4 wickets.

 

Final Rankings

 

1.      1. James Vince - 4728

Cricketers of the Week – 4

Most common position on list over the year – 23 weeks in 2^nd place

By some distance out least glamorous winner of Cricketer of the Year but you have to admire the hard graft from Vince. From Sydney to Hampshire via Abu Dhabi, he’s played everywhere and delivered in each continent.

Key Stat – No player played as many active weeks of cricket as Vince did….and it wasn’t even particularly close. Vince’s 39 active weeks is 6 more than Travis Head in second and over double the 16 weeks Usman Khawaja managed.

 

2.    2.  Chamari Athapaththu – 4681

Cricketers of the Week – 7

Most common position on list over the year – 18 weeks in 1^st.  

Just like last year, the cricketer who spent the most weeks in 1^st over the year ends up in 2^nd overall. Pipped just at the very end due to an inactive month of December.  

Key Stat – With 7 Cricketers of the Week, Athapaththu claims the most for the year and also the joint third COTW in a calendar year.

 

3.     3. Travis Head - 4216

 

Cricketers of the Week – 3

Most common position on list over the year – 15 weeks in 3^rd. 

Has been marooned in third pace for so long, his bronze medal finish has been inevitable since the end of October. Been a revelation in all formats for Australia and Hyderabad.

Key Stat – For many a long moon it has been Babar Azam to lead the way on Batting Bonus points, however Head’s 470 is 50 more than Harry Brook in second. Azam is in 4^th with Vince in 3^rd.

 

4.   4.    Babar Azam – 3646

 

Cricketers of the Week – 4

Most common position on list over the year – 22 weeks in 1st. 

Such has been the rhetoric with Azam this year, that you would be forgiven thinking that he should be outside the Top 10 let alone the Top 5 but here he is. Might not be on the up and up as he once was….but certainly isn’t down and out.

Key Stat – Has been a Jekyll and Hyde year for Azam, he spent 22 weeks in 1^st position, the longest that anyone spent in any position on our Lists….but then fell off over the middle third….before seeking back into decent form in the South Africa series.  

 

5.      5. Phil Salt – 3569

 

Cricketers of the Week – 2

Most common position on list over the year – 9 weeks in 8th. 

Purists will not admire his route into the Top 5 in his inaugural year in our Lists. Did not even get into the Top Ten until Week 20 and only made the Top Five after a spell in the Abi Dhabi T10. All points count though and here he is.  

Key Stat – Before December, Salt averaged 241.18 points per calendar month. In the last month of the year he almost quadrupled that with 892 representing England and Team Abu Dhabi.

 

6.      Marnus Labuschagne - 3496

 

Cricketers of the Week – 3

Most common position on list over the year – 11 weeks in 6^th.

 

6^th seems high for a player whose form has noticeably dipped in 2024…but the points don’t lie and he has moved back into his most common place for the final reckoning.

Key Stat – Marnus was emphatically third in the list of the best fielders in the competition. There were 13 more catches between him and Salt and 15 between him and first placed Vince. That being said he had 6 more catches than Brook in fourth. 

 

7.      Yashasvi Jaiswal

Cricketers of the Week – 1

 

Most common position on list over the year – 11 weeks in 3^rd.

 

Was flying high in the first third of the year, disappeared a bit in the middle third and then pulled it back with some decent showings in the Border-Gavaskar Trophy.

 

Key Stat – Jaiswal was one of the key batters in World Cricket this year. With 2295 there were only two batters with more runs on the board in 2024. He also had the joint second highest Batting Bonus points – tied with Harry Brook.

 

8.      Sam Curran - 3460

 

Cricketers of the Week – 3

Most common position on list over the year – 10 weeks in 8th. 

An interesting year for Curran. Used to be a white ball lock and a potential for Test inclusion….but now appears to be rather in the wilderness. 8th best out of 22 isn’t to be sniffed at though.  

Key Stat – In a lean year for our bowling contingent, Curran finished third for most wickets. It is surprising to see him just one wicket behind Jadeja.

 

9.      Ravindra Jadeja – 3408

Cricketers of the Week – 1

Most common position on list over the year = 8 weeks in 5^th.

Spent 33 weeks in the Top 5 last year and 14 weeks there this week but fell away…mainly due to lack of Cricket played. When he played, he played well but this is his lowest position on the List to date.

Key Stat – Has been in and amongst the highest averages all year. He ends up trailing Chamari Athapaththu (161.18 per active week) and Jos Buttler (140.05) with 131.08.

 

10.   Harry Brook – 3389

Cricketers of the Week – 4

10^th seems low for a player that has been something of a revelation in 2024 – perhaps he has been happened by his break from cricket due to bereavement. Will be a big point scorer for many years to come?

 

Key Stat – Was just pipped as the highest Red Ball point scorer by Ravindra Jadeja in the last two Tests of the Border-Gavaskar Trophy. Plenty more in store next year for England’s captain in waiting.

 

Rest of the List.

 

11	Rachin Ravindra	2962
12	Moeen Ali	2893
13	Simon Harmer	2808
14	Jos Buttler	2801
15	Glenn Maxwell	2537
16	Shubman Gill	2511
17	Virat Kohli	2366
18	Daryl Mitchell	2362
19	Mitchell Marsh	1977
20	Steve Smith	1930
21	Aaron Hardie	1776
22	Usman Khawaja	1179

 

Full List of Average Points Per Active Week

 

Chamari Athapaththu	161.18
Jos Buttler	140.05
Ravindra Jadeja	131.08
Babar Azam	125.72
Travis Head	124
James Vince	121.23
Harry Brook	121.04
Marnus Labuschagne	120.55
Sam Curran	115.33
Simon Harmer	112.32
Yashasvi Jaiswal	108.59
Phil Salt	108.15
Moeen Ali	96.43
Rachin Ravindra	95.55
Shubman Gill	93
Steve Smith	91.9
Daryl Mitchell	90.85
Virat Kohli	87.63
Glenn Maxwell	84.57
Mitchell Marsh  Aaron Haride	76.04 74
Usman Khawaja	69.35

 

Top Three Players in Each Format

Long Form

Ravindra Jadeja	2534
Harry Brook	2268
Simon Harmer	2235

 

One Day

 

Chamari Athapaththu	946
Babar Azam	658
Marnus Labuschagne	606

 

Shortest Form

Chamari Athapaththu	3735
James Vince	3252
Phil Salt	3220

 

Top Three Players in each discipline

Runs

James Vince	2768
Travis Head	2356
Yashasvi Jaiswal	2295

 

Batting Bonus

 

Travis Head	470
Yashasvi Jaiswal	420
Harry Brook	420

 

Strike Rate

James Vince	930
Phil Salt	860
Travis Head	820

 

Wickets

Chamari Athapaththu	1200
Simon Harmer	1200
Ravindra Jadeja	1140

 

Wicket Bonus

Ravindra Jadeja	270
Simon Harmer	240
Chamari Athapaththu	120

 

Economy

Simon Harmer	680
Ravindra Jadeja	660
Chamari Athapaththu	470

 

Fielding

James Vince	570
Phil Salt	550
Marnus Labuschagne	420

 

Fielding Bonus

James Vince	50
Daryl Mitchell	40
Phil Salt	30
Marnus Labuschagne	30