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Wisden editor Scyld Berry's decision to drop one name from the list of Cricketers of the Year of the 2011 edition of the Wisden Cricketers' Almanack has made waves across the cricket world. But the big news here is the flight that Tamim Iqbal has taken, becoming the first Bangladeshi to be part of this vaunted selection.
The dropping of the fifth player is certainly a break with ancient tradition but it has been the reflection of an English summer in which allegations of corruption during Pakistan's tour of England left a stain on the sport's reputation.
Apart from Tamim, Wisden picked Jonathan Trott, Chris Read and Eoin Morgan.
"There was no question about Jonathan Trott's selection, as England's great stock-piler of Test and one-day runs. Nor about Tamim Iqbal, the first Bangladeshi to be a Wisden Cricketer of the Year. Not once in Australia were England's Test bowlers crashed and trashed as they were by Tamim in his two hundreds at Lord's and Old Trafford," wrote Berry in his Daily Telegraph column yesterday.
The truncated list will feature in the Almanack's 148th edition, which is officially unveiled on Wednesday. The tradition, which dates back to 1889, is the oldest individual honour in cricket, and though the format has occasionally varied, with six great bowlers being chosen for the original award, Wisden has chosen five names in every year since 1926, barring a hiatus during the Second World War.
Though Wisden chose not to name the omitted player, it was the performance of Amir - then 18 - which really captured the public imagination during Pakistan's tour. Bowling at genuine pace with deadly late swing from a left-arm line, he claimed 19 wickets at 18.36 in four Tests against England, and a further 11 in the two-match series against Australia, including seven in the second Test at Headingley, when Australia were bowled out for 88 on the first morning.
"If [the player in question] were exonerated, then it would be possible to reconsider the position," explained Berry. "That's why I didn't pick anyone else instead. But as things stand, we don't feel we can choose him. It's all very sad."
Morgan also became the first Irishman to be selected in this list. His innovative strokeplay helped propel England to the World Twenty20 in the Caribbean, as well as secure a home ODI series wins over Australia and Pakistan.
The dropping of the fifth player is certainly a break with ancient tradition but it has been the reflection of an English summer in which allegations of corruption during Pakistan's tour of England left a stain on the sport's reputation.
Apart from Tamim, Wisden picked Jonathan Trott, Chris Read and Eoin Morgan.
"There was no question about Jonathan Trott's selection, as England's great stock-piler of Test and one-day runs. Nor about Tamim Iqbal, the first Bangladeshi to be a Wisden Cricketer of the Year. Not once in Australia were England's Test bowlers crashed and trashed as they were by Tamim in his two hundreds at Lord's and Old Trafford," wrote Berry in his Daily Telegraph column yesterday.
The truncated list will feature in the Almanack's 148th edition, which is officially unveiled on Wednesday. The tradition, which dates back to 1889, is the oldest individual honour in cricket, and though the format has occasionally varied, with six great bowlers being chosen for the original award, Wisden has chosen five names in every year since 1926, barring a hiatus during the Second World War.
Though Wisden chose not to name the omitted player, it was the performance of Amir - then 18 - which really captured the public imagination during Pakistan's tour. Bowling at genuine pace with deadly late swing from a left-arm line, he claimed 19 wickets at 18.36 in four Tests against England, and a further 11 in the two-match series against Australia, including seven in the second Test at Headingley, when Australia were bowled out for 88 on the first morning.
"If [the player in question] were exonerated, then it would be possible to reconsider the position," explained Berry. "That's why I didn't pick anyone else instead. But as things stand, we don't feel we can choose him. It's all very sad."
Morgan also became the first Irishman to be selected in this list. His innovative strokeplay helped propel England to the World Twenty20 in the Caribbean, as well as secure a home ODI series wins over Australia and Pakistan.
