Wisden’s editorial boss has snapped back at suggestions his publication is full of “English fanboys”, pointing to Test cricket’s out-of-balance international schedule as the reason Australian players were overlooked in its team of the year. Aussie cricket fans were outraged to learn Wisden – long recognised as the “Bible of Cricket” – had picked five England players and not one Australian in its best XI of 2024 despite Pat Cummins’ men finishing the year as the top-ranked country in the world.

There was also no room for a single player from South Africa, currently ranked No.2 and set to play Australia for the World Test Championship in June. One fan accused Wisden of being “English fanboys who are loath to celebrate anything Australian”, to which veteran ABC commentator Jim Maxwell responded on social media: “They are bazbullshitted. Need to play hard cricket in Oz v this Aus team.”

Wisden’s editor-in-chief Phil Walker, talking on the Wisden Cricket podcast, countered: “What does Bazbullshitted mean? We shitted ourselves? We shitted Baz (Brendon McCullum)? I’m confused by that expression. In 2023, Australia had four names in the Wisden Test team of the year and England had three.

“The year before, Australia had four and England had three. So, Australia are comfortably winning in this game which, evidently, only serves English myopia and bias. If we are fanboys for English cricket, we need to get better ones because we are hopelessly beholden to Australian cricket even during our best efforts to snub them.”

Walker suggested angry Australian fans take their grievances to the International Cricket Council (ICC) over the disparity in Test match scheduling. Australia played just nine Tests to England’s 17 in 2024.

Walker said: “Obviously, the more you play, the more chance you have to make your mark. It’s not English cricket’s fault the game is so imbalanced and skewed. England are always up there because they play so much cricket.

“There is no skullduggery at play here…(it’s) just a bunch of goons trying their best to pick an XI that reflects the landscape. Our friends in Australian should be directing their anger and disgruntlement (at the Test schedule), not at us. Australia should be comfortable enough in their own skin, so we can all rest easy and move on.”

Wisden editor wanted Travis Head in Test team of the year

Walker revealed he had picked Travis Head in his XI and was disappointed the explosive middle order batsman missed out. But he could mount no case for Cummins despite the Aussie skipper being named in the ICC’s team of the year.

“He (Head) was in my XI and ideally would have made the final cut (and) we wouldn’t have these ugly, pathetic conversations,” Walker said. “As for Pat Cummins, he made the team in 2019, 2021, 2022, and 2023, so I reckon he can live with a year off. His numbers don’t compare to the other three quicks that made the cut – Gus Atkinson, Matt Henry and Jasprit Bumrah.”

Pat Cummins named in ICC Test team of the year

In contract to Australia’s fury at Wisden, English fans aren’t happy that Cummins was included in the ICC’s official Test team of the year at Atkinson’s expense. Cummins was named by the ICC as the captain of the Test team for the second year running, but was the only Aussie to find his way into the XI.

Yashasvi Jaiswal (India) and Ben Duckett (England) were named the openers, with Kane Williamson (New Zealand), Joe Root (England), Harry Brook (England) and Kamindu Mendis (Sri Lanka) in the middle order. Jamie Smith of England was named as the keeper batting at 7, while Ravindra Jadeja (India), Cummins (Australia), Matt Henry (New Zealand) and Jasprit Bumrah (India) make up the bowling attack.

It’s the same XI named by Wisden, except Cummins replaces Atkinson. The English bowler actually took the second-most wickets of any bowler in Test matches in 2024, with 52 from 11 matches at an average of 22.15. Bumrah finished first with 71 wickets in 13 matches (at 14.92). Cummins only took the eighth-most wickets with 37 in nine matches, but did so with an average of 24.02. As for Henry, the Kiwi bowler took 48 wickets in nine matches at the superb average of 18.58.

Atkinson will probably consider himself unlucky to miss out, but Cummins also performed brilliantly with the bat. The Aussie star made 306 runs and averaged 23.50 in 2024, and is currently ranked the fourth-best all-rounder in Test cricket. Indian star Jadeja is the World No.1 all-rounder, justifying his selection in the team of the year. So while Atkinson had a phenomenal year, there was only four bowling spots up for grabs.

The ICC justified Cummins’ selection by writing: “The Australian captain has led his team to series victories against the West Indies, New Zealand, and most notably India, claiming a 3-1 victory to clinch the Border-Gavaskar Trophy after a 10-year gap. Cummins has not only been an outstanding leader but has also made significant contributions with both bat and ball.

“His most significant achievement came in the Border-Gavaskar Trophy, where he led Australia to a remarkable 3-1 series win after they trailed 1-0 following the first Test in Perth. Cummins was Australia’s leading wicket-taker in the series, claiming 25 wickets, second only to Jasprit Bumrah in the overall tally. He also contributed with the bat, scoring 158 runs across eight innings.”

But it hasn’t gone down well with English cricket fans. Many have taken to social media to declare Atkinson was “robbed” and Cummins “lucky”.

As for the batters, some would argue Head deserved to be included in the team of the year. Head made the most runs of any Aussie batter in Tests in 2024, but on a global scale it’s a very different story.

Root (1556), Jaiswal (1478), Duckett (1149), Brook (1100), Mendis (1049) and Williamson (1013) finished as the six highest run-scorers in 2024. Head made 608 runs at 40.43, which was only 18th best worldwide.

with AAP