Ponting is player of the year

Ricky Ponting - just desserts for a fantastic year © Getty

At a glittering function at the National Centre for Performing Arts in Mumbai, Ricky Ponting was named the Electrolux Wisden International Cricketer of the Year. Under the glare of spotlights, with the cream of international cricket standing and applauding, Ponting rose to the very top. As the waves of applause settled down, the gravity of the moment sunk in - the evening was a celebration of a year of exciting cricket.

But it was not an evening to cherish for Ponting alone. Michael Vaughan won the award for the best batting performance in Tests, Shane Warne for the best bowling performance in Tests, Andy Bichel for the best one-day performance and Graeme Smith for being the best young cricketer of the year.

Ponting had fought off strong contenders in Ramnaresh Sarwan and Vaughan, apart from the darling of the crowds, Sachin Tendulkar. But no one can grudge Ponting the award. He has had a year that most cricketers can only dream about. In 36 one-dayers he racked up 1150 runs at almost 48, and in 13 Tests 1351 runs boomed off the bat, with 7 hundreds, scored at an average of just over 75. Oh, and he also led Australia to victory at the World Cup. Sarwan almost singlehandedly helped restore West Indian pride, while Vaughan established himself as one of the finest cricketers in the world. But Ponting stood out.

If they do feel hard done by - and there's no reason to - they will take comfort from the fact that it was not the result of some heartless algorithm devised by statisticians. The cricketers were judged by a jury that included Richie Benaud, Michael Holding, Ravi Shastri, Barry Richards, Ian Smith, Rameez Raja and Ranjan Madugalle. Two of Wisden's own - Steven Lynch, the editor of Wisden Cricinfo, and Sambit Bal, the editor of Wisden Asia Cricket magazine - joined the jury.

The jury of 10 followed a simple system, picking three contenders in each category. While Wisden provided them with extensive research material, there was no attempt to restrict the choices open to the jury. They were free to pick any player or performance that was eligible. The number one pick got four points, number two two points and number three one point. This weighted system ensured that no one took first place by simply being rated second-best by many jurors.

Every Test batting and bowling performance demands recognition in its own right, and there were many performances that caught the attention. Ramnaresh Sarwan's epic 105 against Australia at Antigua was the backbone of the record-breaking chase when West Indies scored 418 in the last innings to win. And what of Fleming's 274 not out in trying conditions in Colombo, against the spin of Muttiah Muralitharan and Co.? None were good enough to displace the sublime 183 Michael Vaughan scored with class at Sydney to give England a rare win against Australia, the old enemy. The jury looked closely at Sarwan's innings, but in the end, they simply had to give Vaughan's innings the award for the Test batting performance of the year.

That was England's sole moment of glory in the evening. Warne, the man who has destroyed England so many times, walked away with the award for the Test bowling performance of the year. He may be serving out a ban for testing positive for a banned substance, but that takes nothing away from the 7 for 94 he took to bowl Australia to victory over Pakistan in sweltering heat at Colombo. He was single-handedly responsible for the 41-run victory Australia registered and showed all the guile and skill that cause opponents to rate him the best spin bowler in recent memory. Andrew Caddick (also 7 for 94, against Australia at Sydney) and Shaun Pollock (6 for 39, against England at Trent Bridge) were the other contenders.

The one-day performance of the year brought to the fore appreciation of a tremendous allround performance. After scything through England's batting line-up with 7 for 20 in the 2003 World Cup, Bichel provided solidity in the batting, holding fort with Michael Bevan in a 73-run eighth-wicket partnership that took Australia home with two wickets and as many balls to spare. This left Sachin Tendulkar's 95 against Pakistan in the shade, and even Ponting's own magnificent 140 in the final could not match up. Bichel's performance was all the more stunning since, compared to it, Andrew Symonds's blistering 143 against Pakistan and Stephen Fleming's grandiose 134 were mere gems.

Smith, chosen the young cricketer of the year for his dream run, won by an overwhelming margin, leaving Jimmy Anderson and Omari Banks, worthy competitors, far behind. The popular choice award, selected by the people, went to Rahul Dravid.