The selection of Wisden’s Five Cricketers of the Year has always been difficult for the day. Perhaps he gets a little help from his friends. But the process has always been rather secretive, even mystical, and the choice personal, sometimes downright eccentric.
The system works and, over the years, has come up with more interesting and less predictable names than a committee might have done. But once the decision was taken for Wisden to choose Five Cricketers of the 20th Century, it seemed inadequate. There was a precedent. When the centenary was published in 1963, Sir Neville was asked to name Six Giants of the Wisden Century. He went for Sydney Barnes, Sir Donald Bradman, W. G. Grace, Sir Jack Hobbs, Tom Richardson, and Victor Trumper.
But the cricketing 20th century was a much more global one than Wisden’s first century. No list to cover the years 1900 to 1999 could reasonably include only white males: four Englishman and two Australians. And no one person’s perception could properly cover the entire sweep of the game as it is now played. So it seemed right that, for the age of democracy, the choice should be made differently.
These cricketers are known as the 5 top ranking players of the century.
1-Sir Donald Bradman
2-Sir Garfield Sobers
3- Sir Jacob Hobbs
4- S. K. Warne
5- Sir Vivian Richards
