PLAYER OF THE SEASON ANGUS FRASER

1	Angus Fraser	207
2	John Crawley	195
3	Mike Atherton	106
4	Alec Stewart	103
5	Courtney Walsh	64
6	Jonty Rhodes	56
7	Muttiah Muralitharan	38
8	Mal Loye	37
9	Allan Donald	29
10	Andy Caddick	26

 IN THE past, our premier awards has been clear-cut. This time it was a nailbiter. There were counts, recounts, and re-recounts, as England's leading bowler in the Test series, Angus Fraser, tussled with the outstanding batsman on the county circuit, John Crawley. Only when all 1326 poll forms had come in did our Player of the Season emerge: Fraser, by just 16 votes. (The figures above have been adjusted to be out of 1000.)

It may have helped that our October issue contained Frank Keating's fond account of Fraser's switchback career. But the old warhorse is a worthy winner by any standards. He began the year as a surprise member of England's tour party to West Indies, allegedly picked partly as a bowling coach. Once it was clear that Darren Gough would not make it to the check-in desk, the only coaching Fraser did was by example, giving all the other seamers an object lesson in how to bowl on a greentop. In two Trinidad Tests, back to aching back, he captured 20 wickets. Some even thought they saw him smile.

It took so much out of him that it began to resemble a last hurrah. In the next six Tests, from Georgetown to Old Trafford, Fraser took only 13 wickets. Then he made a famous 0 not out, avoided the chop he had been fearing, broke the habit of a lifetime by agreeing to try a few variations, and came storming back with another famous double – 10 wickets at Trent Bridge and eight at Headingley. He was pipped to England's Man of the Series award by his friend and verbal sparring partner Mike Atherton, but Fraser, as this award confirms, was England's man of the year.

 Crawley, meanwhile, was the outstanding individual for the team of the season, Lancashire. It wasn't just the volume of his runs – 1851 in the first-class game, a full 400 more than the next man – but the way he made them. Returning home from a forlorn tour, he resolved to assert himself more, and played with added aggression without losing his ability to build a big innings. Picked for England in only one Test, he made 156 against Sri Lanka, about 140 of them with only the tail for company, and put on 89 for the last wicket with … Angus Fraser.

There was another near-tie for third, between the old firm, Atherton and Stewart, both of whom averaged 50 against South Africa; voters didn't seem to mind that they had little energy left for their counties. Courtney Walsh secured fifth place by propelling Gloucestershire to fourth in the Championship, and by still showing not the slightest concession to age.

It must have been a good season all round if Jonty Rhodes and Allan Donald could finish only sixth and ninth respectively. Both were exceptional tourists, compellingly watchable and (unless you were Atherton in that furious half-hour) thoroughly likeable. Andy Caddick, too, may feel hard done-by, after bowling more overs than anyone and collecting 105 wickets; but that appears to be the poor man's natural state these days.

Bubbling under were Vince Wells, Hansie Cronje, Wasim Akram, Mark Butcher and Graeme Hick. Wells was the highest Leicestershire player, as if to confirm that theirs was a team effort.

We changed the name of this category from Man of the Season so as to make it clear that women were not excluded. Three voters made use of this – two for Jan Brittin and one for Charlotte Edwards. Brittin found herself level with Sanath Jayasuriya, Dominic Cork, Darren Lehmann, Graeme Swann et al ( Alan Mullally, that is). Edwards shared the bottom of the table with 17 others, including Martin Bicknell, Arvainda de Silva, Paul Franks, Shaun Pollock, Robin Smith, Ben Spendlove and Sachin Tendulkar.

 1997 1 Steve James 2 Mark Taylor 3 Glenn McGrath

 1996 1 Phil Simmons 2 Stewart 3 Graham Gooch

BOWLER OF THE SEASON ANGUS FRASER

 IF FRASER is Player of the Season, it follows that he will be Bowler of the Season as well – or does it? This, too, was neck-and-neck all the way, with Courtney Walsh, an even older warhorse, characteristically refusing to be written off. Rare is the bowler who can take 100 wickets and not win this category. But Walsh did it, and so did Andy Caddick, who finished third and attracted more votes than the winners in some other categories.

 Muttiah Muralitharan did spectacularly well for a man who bowled in only six first-class innings (taking five wickets in five of them). And Allan Donald, again, made a fairly distinguished also-ran. Last year he took 60 Championship wickets, and received 98 votes; this time he took 33 England wickets, and got only 80 votes. Funny game, etc etc.

The dominance of the three beanpoles meant that votes were not spread far and wide. Sixth was Saqlain Mushtaq, who was Spinner of the Season by a huge margin; the next-highest slow man was Aravinda de Silva, for reasons that remain mysterious.

 Alan Mullally was seventh and Darren Gough eighth – perhaps a little on the low side for the man who sealed the Test series with 6 for 42 at Headingley, but then Fraser fans could point to a few times in the past, such as Sydney'94–95, when Gough scooped most of the credit.

Ninth was Ed Giddins, who took 100 wickets in all competitions and somehow failed to catch the England selectors' eye, and tenth was Kevin Dean. Only 21 other bowlers received any votes at all. Among them were a battery of promising seamers, including Ben Hollioake of England, Mel Betts and Steve Harmison of Durham and England `A', Paul Franks of England Under-19, and James Kirtley of Sussex, as well as the more seasoned Paul Taylor and Martin Bicknell.

Also in there, with one vote apiece, were two world-class players whose best bowling days are far behind them – Steve Waugh and the inevitable Mike Atherton, who did not turn his arm over all season for either England or Lancashire but nonetheless becomes one of only two English spinners to receive a vote. The other was Kent's Matthew Walker, with his occasional off-breaks. He didn't take a wicket either.

 1997 1 Glenn McGrath 2 Caddick 3 Donald

 1996 1 Mushtaq Ahmed 2 Walsh 3 Phil Tufnell

A chat with Angus Fraser

PN: Wisden Cricket Monthly have asked me to tell you that you've topped their poll as Player of the Season.

Fraser: Really? That's nice. Who decided that?

The readers. It was close, but you were the clear winner.

Well, that makes it even better. You want a quote? Just say how honoured I am to have been recognised by the cricket watchers of England after a personally hugely satisfying summer.

You received two votes as Batsman of the Season too – the same as Mike Gatting.

(loud guffaw) I'd better not make any comment about that – Gatt's a selector! I'll have to tell the lads, though. On the fight here they showed a video which included Allan Donald's last over to me at Old Trafford. It was the most animated the team were on the entire trip. They couldn't stop laughing at my technique.

It gets better. You received eight votes in the Allrounder category – more than Ben Hollioake.

(another loud guffaw) I'd better not say anything funny about that one either. The Aussie press are amazing. They pick up on anything and use it against us, they're so supportive of their team. As soon as I got here I was confronted with what I was supposed to have said about Phil Tufnell not being picked [Fraser insists his words were misquoted]. Then Dennis Lillee picked up on Athers' piece in the Sunday Telegraph about McGrath, saying that `the former England captain is having nightmares already about the opposition'. If I have a pop at Ben they'll use that too! Just mention that one of the leading allrounders in world cricket still hasn't got a bat sponsor …

You haven't sorted that out? After all that's happened this year?

I talked to Slazenger, but they barely offered anything. Never mind. I broke my bat last year, but I've got a new one for this tour, with a picture by the same artist who did my last one on the back.

Another picture of you?

No, it's a lion on top of a kangaroo! I've got a few ideas about messages for the back too.

Such as?

You'll have to wait and see!

 HOW THE POLL WORKED

In all, 1326 poll forms were received. Each one was read with interest in the WCM office before being forwarded to our data inputters, who made a random selection of 1000 for analysis (the other 326 forms were used as a tiebreaker for Player of the Season). Readers were not obliged to answer every question, so most of the figures given here show the actual numbers of votes out of just under 1000. Data input by Specialist Knowledge Services of Frome, Somerset (01373 451777)

BATSMAN OF THE SEASON JOHN CRAWLEY

 NOT MUCH argument here. After just missing out on the big prize, John Crawley strolled to victory as our Batsman of the Year. `It's a great honour,' Crawley said as he rushed around at home, packing for Australia. `I'd like to thank the readers very much.'

For the third time running, the award went to the most prolific man of the county circuit. Crawley, unlike Steve James in 1997 and Graham Gooch in 1996, did play in a Test during the summer, and made a high-class hundred; but the fact that he got three or four times as many votes as Mike Atherton confirms that voters regard this category as county territory.

Mal Loye was a clear, if unexpected third: maybe some voters found it in their hearts to take into account the AXA League, in which he was the country's leading scorer. Loye had a fine Championship season, and rose above Northants' troubles to join the increasingly popular 300 club, but Ben Smith and Aftab Habib turned in similar averages and could be said to have had rather more influence on the Championship. Smith tied for 10th place with Alec Stewart, who made only one first-class hundred in the season, but did it at a very important moment.

Just above those two were Justin Langer, Mark Butcher (another man who may feel the punters were a little ungrateful) and South Africa's most obdurate batsman, Hansie Cronje.

 Steve James got six votes, in slight contrast to last year's 609. Matthew Wood of Yorkshire came from nowhere to get six too. Jan Brittin was unchallenged as Batswoman of the Season with three votes.

 Angus Fraser got two, presumably on the strength of his 0 not out at Old Trafford: for the first and last time, his batting was ranked on a par with Mike Gatting's. Batsmen picking up one vote included Carl Amos of Norfolk, Kim Barnett, Andy Flintoff, Jacques Kallis, Matt Windows and Waqar Younis, who made 39 runs in the summer.

 1997 1 Steve James 2 Graham Thorpe 3 Matt Elliott

 1996 1 Graham Gooch 2 Alec Stewart 3 Nick Knight

Strolling: John Crawley

FAVOURITE CURRENT PLAYER MIKE ATHERTON

 NOW HE really has seen it all. Earlier this year Mike Atherton resigned as England captain, after leading the team for a record number of Tests and yet never winning a major series. The opener who led by supreme example in his early years in charge had averaged only 21 in his last 12 Tests. He was dropped from the one-day team, and there was talk of leaving him out of the Test side too. Alec Stewart, happily, would hear none of it, and on the first day of the series against South Africa Atherton was Atherton again, making an undefeated hundred on a treacherous pitch. He was never comfortable with all the many facets of modern captaincy. But being an ex-captain suits him down to the ground. And, as this award shows, he retains the cricket public's affection as well as their respect.

The top five are the same as last year, in different order. Last year's winner, Graham Thorpe, slips to fifth after missing most of the summer through injury. Graeme Hick is again the bridesmaid, and the only man here who is not an England regular. Bubbling under are Angus Fraser, Mark Ramprakash, John Crawley and Jonty Rhodes, who pips Sanath Jayasuriya as most popular overseas player. (Memo to all 18 counties: why on earth haven't you signed either of them?)

As before, it's a great leveller, this game. Brian Lara is level with Ian Austin in 26th place. Andrew Flintoff (36th equal) rubs burly shoulders with Mark Taylor and Hansie Cronje; Ismail Dawood joined his fellow keeper Ian Healy on one vote, level with Adam Hollioake, Chris Lewis and Robin Martin-Jenkins. In all, 127 players caught at least one reader's fancy.

 1997 1 Thorpe 2 Hick

3 Stewart

1996 no award

A chat with Mike Atherton

TdL: Congratulations. You've been voted Favourite Current Player in the Readers' Poll.

Atherton: (pause, followed by ruminative chuckle) People are fickle. But it's nice to be appreciated at the moment.

You've also got six votes for Favourite Player of the Past.

(bemused silence) Well I'm not quite past it yet.

In Player of the Season, you've come third, behind Fraser and Crawley. Who would you have voted for?

In international terms, Angus is a good choice. He's had a fantastic – not only summer but the whole year.

You're in the World XI, opening with Jayasuriya.

My God. Fireworks at one end then.

And 39 people think you should be captain of the World XI.

Is that a lot?

Well it's more than most, but Steve Waugh was top.

I see. You can tell your readers I have no captaincy ambitions. Just the odd benefit match.

You got one vote for Bowler of the Season.

(stunned intake of breath) Bowler?

And by our reckoning you didn't actually bowl this summer.

No.

Do you expect to bowl again?

No.

Because of your back?

Yes. And because I'm no good.

Now – Fielder of the Season. You got a vote there too.

Good God. (pause for thought) Just wondering who I would have voted for … Jonty Rhodes. Outstanding.

You're also firmly in the readers' England one-day team. Only four players got more votes.

Well I've plenty of one-day ambitions. I was pleased to get back in the team at the end of the season [the Emirates Triangular final], and pleased with the way it went [he made 64, and put on 132 with Nick Knight]. I'm really keen to play in the World Cup.

Do you expect to be in the one-day squad in Australia?

I'm hopeful, I want to play.

But you and the other leading Test players are going to pretty knackered by Jan 6.

You're never too knackered to play for your country.

FAVOURITE PLAYER OF THE PAST IAN BOTHAM

 HE MAY not be many people's favourite commentator (he got 13 votes), but Ian Botham is still top of the pops as far as ex-players go. The majority of WCM readers are aged 25-44, and when they were growing up, there was only one colossus in the England team. Last year Botham received 213 votes, 119 ahead of the next man; this time his lead has ballooned to 181. At 43 this month, Botham remains a winner.

 David Gower retains second place, a silver medal to match his hair and his tongue. Viv Richards comes from behind (fifth equal last year) to pip Graham Gooch, just as he did in the epic Caribbean series of 1989–90. Geoff Boycott, after a difficult summer, slides from third to sixth, just behind Sir Garry, and ahead of Sir Donald; our data inputters got a little carried away and anointed him Sir Geoff. Eighth was Denis Compton, ninth Barry Richards (not bad for a man who never played a Test in this country), and tenth Sir Richard Hadlee.

The flavour of the category is best conveyed by the group that tried for 24th place: Tony Greig, his successor as England captain Mike Brearley, one of his successors Keith Fletcher, plus Sir Jack Hobbs, Brian Statham, Allan Border and Imran Khan. Just below them were Cyril Washbrook, Javed Miandad, Basil D'Oliveira, Sunil Gavaskar, and, last but not least, Harry Pilling.

 1997 1 Botham 2 Gower 3 Geoff Boycott

1996 no award

ASHES PREDICTION

Two of a kind? Atherton and Botham

ALLROUNDER OF THE SEASON VINCE WELLS

More than chipper: Vince Wells

1	Vince Wells	150
2	Alec Stewart	90
3	Gavin Hamilton	88
4	Jacques Kallis	80
5	Wasim Akram	76

 JUST WHEN it looked as if the county champions were going to be empty-handed, one Leicestershire man made it to the top of the pile: the former Kent reject Vince Wells.

As an opening batsman, Wells had a mixed time, like his partner Darren Maddy. The big hundreds he specialises in were interspersed with a lot of low scores, and he ended up fifth in the county averages, with 35. As a support seamer, however, he was special, chipping in with so many wickets that `chipping in' seems a bit beneath him. He finished with 36 at an average of under 15, and thus triumphantly passed the litmus test for an allrounder – averaging more with the bat than the ball. Only Muralitharan stopped Wells going all the way to the top of the bowling averages, from 108th last year.

It could be argued that he didn't have a great deal of competition. South Africa brought four allrounders, but one of them was bafflingly ignored ( McMillan), another broke down ( Klusener), and a third was out of luck ( Pollock), leaving only Jacques Kallis in contention for honours here.

 Alec Stewart was an interesting lateral choice, evidently made by people who did not see him playing for Surrey– he kept wicket only once, and to no avail, in the big title decider against Leicestershire.

 Gavin Hamilton came from nowhere, or rather Scotland, to have a wonderful second half of the season for Yorkshire. He averaged 33 with the bat and 20 with the ball, opted to become an Englishman in the process, and would have played for England in the Super Max Eights if the Super Max Eights had been played.

An unwritten rule in this department states that all the names on the leaderboard should be different from previous years. The 1997 winner, Mark Ealham, scraped only five votes – three fewer than Angus Fraser. Mark Alleyne slid from second to sixth, while Dougie Brown, Adam Hollioake and Matthew Fleming, champions all in Sharjah a year ago, collected just one vote each, and finished level with Kevin Curran – whose citation, somewhat cruelly, read `useless at batting, bowling, fielding and captaincy'.

 1997 1 Mark Ealham 2 Graham Rose 3= Mark Alleyne & Dougie Brown

 1996 1 Phil Simmons 2 Adam Hollioake 3 Ronnie Irani

WICKETKEEPER OF THE SEASON WARREN HEGG

 WHEN IT came to picking a reserve keeper for the Ashes tour, the England selectors surprised a few people by preferring Warren Hegg to Paul Nixon– and so have our readers. Hegg, the epitome of the keeper as bustling hub of a fielding side, also averaged 36 with the bat, although, oddly, he finished as low as 14th in the list of wicketkeepers' dismissals.

Second is Mark Boucher, the 21-year-old South African with a knack of dropping the ones that haven't been edged and holding the ones that have ( Nasser Hussain apart). Third is Alec Stewart, who had a fine, gravity-defying season behind the stumps for England; his slight uncertainty against spin became less and less relevant, and if he dropped anything standing back, it slips the memory.

 Adrian Aymes had the season of his life for Robin Smith's rejuvenated Hampshire. Jack Russell found his way back into England colours in Bangladesh, but the readers seem to have joined the selectors in writing him off at Test level: he finished sixth, with 21 votes. Chris Read of Notts and England `A' was just behind him with 18. Richard Blakey of Yorkshire, a Test player for five minutes six years ago, got 17 votes, David Ripley 13. Jane Cassar of England received one vote, the same as the new world-record holder, Ian Healy.

1997 1 Ian Healy 2 Jack Russell 3 Steve Marsh

1996 1 Russell 2 Hegg 3 Karl Krikken

Incredible grabs: Warren Hegg

FIELDER OF THE SEASON GUESS WHO?

 A POLL winner is doing very well if he gets 600 votes. Eight hundred is phenomenal, unprecedented. But then Jonty Rhodesis phenomenal and maybe unprecedented. Two readers didn't even use Rhodes's name – they just wrote `Guess who?'

Our top three mirrors the Catch of the Season contest held by the BBC (remember them?). The clear winner was Rhodes's to dismiss Robert Croft, which brought a whole new geometry to the Triangular Tournament.

Not far behind was Mark Ramprakash's catch to dismiss Jacques Kallis in the firth Test – a miracle of both reflexes and calculation, as he shot to his right, saw the ball curling away, and somehow fitted in an extra step before diving. Not far behind him was Nick Knight, who swallowed a swirling skyer in front of the Lord's Grand Stand (building of the season?) in the Triangular final.

Last year's runner-up, Nasser Hussain, loses 95 percent of his votes, but descends only one place. The counties are represented by two slippers, Chris Adams, top of the catches table with 30, and Martyn Ball, who was not quite Gloucestershire's leading catcher – he had 22 to Mark Alleyne's 24.

1997 1 Trevor Penney 2 Nasser Hussain 3 Greg Blewett

1996 1 Knight 2 Hussain 3 Penney

Not just slides, but landslides: Jonty Rhodes

COACH OF THE SEASON DAV WHATMORE

Whatmore (far right) and Lancashire, who won the NatWest and the AXA League, and finished second in the Championship

1	Dav Whatmore	321
2	Jack Birkenshaw	256
3	David Lloyd	147
4	Bob Woolmer	32
5	Dave Gilbert	31

 NOT EVEN Lancashire's rich and cosmopolitan history contains many fair-dinkum Sri Lankan-Australians. But they hired one as coach 18 months ago in Dav Whatmore, born in Colombo, brought up in the Sheffield Shield, and best known for steering Sri Lanka to the World Cup in 1996.

At first, as so often, Lancashire's achievement was less than the talent at their disposal. Then they put all their players on year-long contracts, and replaced Mike Watkinson as captain with Wasim Akram. The upshot was that they added a cutting edge to their game, and not only won the NatWest, as they had so often, but also ran off with the AXA League, and finished runners-up in the Championship, for only the second time since 1960.

The air of anonymity hanging around Grace Road was demonstrated by Whatmore's nearest rival. Jack Birkenshaw did deservedly well, but five of those who voted for him didn't know his name, and wrote `Leics coach'. There was also one vote for James Whitaker.

 David Lloyd, another Lancashire man, would surely have collected more than 15 per cent of the poll if he had not let slip those unguarded remarks about a Lancastrian-to-be – Muttiah Muralitharan. The top five is completed by two men who are dragging cricket into the world of modern management, Bob Woolmer of South Africa and Dave Gilbert of Sussex, who is not strictly a coach any more, but still had a galvanic effect on his players.

His successor at The Oval, Keith Medlycott, polled only seven votes, perhaps because Surrey are not many people's second-favourite county. There were some thoughtful answers: three voters acknowledged what John Abrahams has done with the England age-group teams, and three more, possibly members of the ever-present Mike Atherton fan club, plumped for Graham Gooch. Don Wilson got a vote for his work with Yorkshire's crop of young stars. John Emburey and Alan Ormrod, both out of a job as we go to press, at least have the consolation of one vote apiece.

 1971 1 John Wright 2 Duncan Fletcher 3 Gilbert

1996 No award

A chat with Dav Whatmore

Whatmore: I don't know what to say! It's very flattering, especially as there's a number of good coaches around.

This was your second season at Old Trafford. What did you do differently from your first year?

Ah no, don't get into that. The players are the ones that did it.

How much difference has it made putting them on year-round contracts?

Put it this way, I don't think it hurt. We firmly believe that it's the way ahead for county cricket – it's the future.

 Lancashire have also won Team of the Season.

I think it's a fair reflection. We played very well. Certain games we could have done things a bit differently, but you can always say that.

It was between you and Leicestershire.

Well, probably the best team won the Championship.

And Wicketkeeper of the Season is Warren Hegg.

He had a wonderful year. Consistent right throughout. Technically he's very sound, and he's taken some incredible grabs wide of the body on both sides. But it's not just what he does with the gloves. It's the team spirit that he engenders.

The readers' Favourite Current Player is Mike Atherton.

I thought you were going to say Ian Austin! Atherton, well, he's been around so long and he's done so much for his country. He averaged what was it against South Africa–

Over 50.

– no mean feat. His fighting spirit has been shown again and again. And more and more people are aware of his condition, his arthritis, which means that it's a superhuman effort just to get on the field sometimes.

TEAM OF THE SEASON LANCASHIRE

 THIS IS becoming a Lancashire stitch-up. But then they did have a memorable season, winning two trophies and missing a third only by dint of that excellent partnership between Ben Smith and Aftab Habib as the autumn leaves began to fall at The Oval. In the WCM prizemoney table (Nov, page 23), which is an objective yardstick of allround achievement, Lancashire were top with £172,990, surpassing Leicestershire by about £3000, and beating Surrey by a factor of four.

 England were rather forgotten as they lost the one-off Test against Sri Lanka– with, it has to be said, three of their regular top six missing, in Atherton, Hussain and Thorpe. Sri Lanka polled strongly by winning that match and recovering from a poor start to land the Triangular Tournament too. In all, 18 teams received at least one vote, including England women, Australia and Pakistan. Essex got four votes and Middlesex and Northants one each, which means there are at least six cricket fans in the country who can never be accused of being fair-weather types.

 1997 1 Glamorgan 2 Kent 3 Australia

 1996 1 Leicestershire 2 Lancashire 3 Surrey

PERFORMANCE OF THE SEASON MUTTIAH MURALITHARAN

 MEMO TO anyone who would like to win this gong next year: reserve your best for The Oval Test. Phil Tufnell did it last year with 11 wickets; Muttiah Muralitharan went five better, and polled five times as many votes as anyone else.

His performance was remembered by one reader as `Murali's 19 wickets at The Oval', and it certainly was Laker-ian. Like Tufnell, though for obviously different reasons, Murali was playing his only Test of the summer. But his display was most reminiscent of Shane Warne, combining great stamina and control with extravagant turn. Not the least of his feats was to bowl a record number of overs (113.5) for a Test at The Oval, the oldest venue outside Australia.

The next three places all went to England. First among them was Mike Atherton's courage under fire at Trent Bridge, which levelled the Test series; no-one seemed to mind too much that he was clearly out, caught behind off the glove (it's one thing to get some luck, and another to have the skill to ride it), although one reader nominated Allan Donald, for `running all the way from fine leg to console/reassure Boucher' after he had dropped Hussain.

Fourth and fifth places tell us a bit about ourselves. We wait 12 years for an England victory in a major series, and then we decide that the Performance of the Season was actually saving a Test, not winning one. That sound you can hear in the distance in a few million Australians muttering something along the lines of'Only a Pom …' Yet it makes sense. The whole Test series hinged on that apparently hopeless Sunday and Monday at Old Trafford, when first Atherton and Stewart, then Ramprakash and Croft, then Croft and Gough, and finally Croft and Fraser kept out just about everything that Donald and co. threw at them. Draws don't come more glorious.

 1997 1 Phil Tufnell, 6th Test

2 Steve Waugh, 3rd Test

3 Nasser Hussain, 1st Test

 1996 1 Glen Chapple, NatWest final

2 Mushtaq Ahmed, Lord's & Oval Tests

3 Dean Headley, trio of hat-tricks

Warne-like: Muttiah Muralitharan in action at The Oval

UMPIRE OF THE SEASON DAVID SHEPHERD

Hopping back to the top: David Shepherd

1	David Shepherd	456
2	Dickie Bird	155
3	Peter Willey	137
4	Javed Akhtar	44
5	Ray Julian	32

 IT WASN'T exactly the season of the umpire. But we still have a worthy Umpire of the Season. After losing his crown last year to Peter Willey, David Shepherd comes storming back with three times as many votes as the next man. The next man is the other corner of the eternal triangle – HD Bird. And as the Barnsley bestseller has now retired, it looks as if this is the one award he will never be able to put on that crowded mantelpiece.

Shep is an excellent umpire of the less visible sort, except when the score is 111 or a multiple thereof. In winter, when not standing in Dhaka or Durban, he can be found in Devon, in his sub-post office. In summer, he maintains control at all times, without appearing in the least officious.

The top umpire from overseas is Javed Akhtar, which means that we now know exactly how many WCM readers have an unstoppable sense of irony: 4.4 per cent. The county circuit is represented by the very sociable figure of Ray Julian, who stood in his first Lord's final when the Benson & Hedges Cup came to an end in July.

 1997 1 Willey 2 Shepherd 3 Bird

 1996 1 Shepherd 2 Bird 3 Willey

COMMENTATOR OF THE SEASON RICHIE BENAUD

 HE IS 68, and one or two sages (notably John Woodcock) have lately questioned whether his commentary is all it is cracked up to be. But Richie Benaud remains the people's favourite commentator – in fact, this year, as he completes the first WCM Readers' Poll hat-trick, he has extended his lead, from 78 votes to 186. Even those who feel that his remarks sometimes verge on the bland would have to acknowledge that he is a master at letting the pictures speak for themselves. When Simon & Garfunkel did that song `The Sound of Silence', they must have been thinking of Richie.

Embarrassment of Richies: Benaud takes a hat-trick

Aggers is again by far the leading radio commentator, and he is still only 38: for a TMS team member, this is the equivalent of being 18 in any other profession. Geoff Boycott loses half his votes, for reasons of alleged misconduct or mere absence from our screens. Blowers rises like hot air from seventh to join David Gower in fourth place. Mark Nicholas increases his vote from 44 to 49, but slips from fifth to sixth, possibly as a punishment for saying `I can assure you' once too often.

 1997 1 Benaud 2 Agnew 3 Boycott

 1996 1 Benaud 2 Agnew 3 Boycott

CRICKET WRITER OF THE SEASON CHRISTOPHER MARTIN-JENKINS

 OUR SECOND hat-trick goes to the well-known former Surrey 2nd XI batsman, after-dinner speaker, broadcaster, author, and, oh yes, Daily Telegraph cricket correspondent, CMJ, seen above hurling himself towards another deadline in Sharjah. Two years ago he tied with his rival on The Times, Alan Lee; last year there were 29 votes between them; this year, even though The Times has turned Lee into the hardest-working man in journalism, CMJ has widened the gap to 104 votes. As a writer, he is a great reader of the game, tireless, enthusiastic, knowledgable, and always sensible, except when concocting labyrinthine schemes for the structure of domestic cricket.

Close behind are all four of WCM's star columnists, although this time Mark Nicholas bobs up to push Jonathan Agnew down to sixth place. Seventh is Simon Hughes, author of our book of the year in 1977, followed by Viv Marks, Mike Selvey (or Bob Selvey as one fan called him), Martin Johnson, Frank Keating and Derek Pringle. When a writer as talented as David Hopps finishes outside the top 20, the much-maligned press cannot be doing too badly.

 1997 1 Martin-Jenkins 2 Lee 3 Engel

 1996 1= Margin-Jenkins & Lee 3= Engel & Berry

© Wisden CricInfo Ltd