Wisden Cricketers’ Almanack named two Pakistanis and three Englishmen as its Cricketers of the Year at the launch of its 2017 edition on Wednesday‚ while Virat Kohli was crowned Leading Cricketer in the World. India’s captain‚ who is evidently not short on self-regard‚ may wonder what took Wisden so long. If so‚ here’s hoping he is placated by having his photograph on the cover and by the editor‚ Lawrence Booth‚ lauding him as the "spiritual successor to Sachin Tendulkar". But South Africans will wonder something else: why their players have disappeared from the pages of the august publication. The last of them so honoured was Dale Steyn‚ who was the Leading Cricketer in the World in 2014. That was the year after he‚ Hashim Amla and Jacques Kallis were among the Cricketers of the Year. In fact‚ four of the five were born in SA: England’s Nick Compton is from Durban. They joined 10 South Africans — 11 if we count Kevin Pietersen — who have made it to the list of cricket’s elite playe...
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