The coveted awards, which began in 1889, are a central feature of the annual Wisden Cricketers’ Almanack, the 153rd edition of which will be published on Thursday.
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Bairstow, 26, scored 1,108 runs in Yorkshire’s County Championship victory and also helped England win the Ashes.
Wicket keeper batsman Jonny Bairstow also played the role of the crisis man. His heroic 74 in the match – defining partnership with Joe Root at Trent Bridge during the Ashes previous year earned him the name of an Ashes hero.
“His replacement as New Zealand captain, Kane Williamson, showed his class with a superb century in the Lord’s Test. Smith reigned in London last summer as the standout Australia player in a losing series”.
In Tests, Williamson made five centuries and scored 1172 runs – more than any New Zealander has ever scored in a calendar year. Williamson was picked as the leading cricketer in the world by Wisden, having “confirmed himself as one of the talents of his generation” for hitting an impressive 2,692 worldwide runs in 2015.
Editor Lawrence Booth says the “the choice of Williamson in an era of highly gifted young batsmen reflects the measured brilliance he brings to every format of the game”.
New Zealand’s Brendon McCullum and Kane Williamson, as well as Australia captain Steven Smith, have been chosen among the Wisden Almanack’s Five Cricketers of the Year announced on Wednesday.
Since then, Bairstow has gone on to score his maiden century at Test level, against South Africa in Cape Town.
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Suzie Bates spent 2015 consolidating her status as one of the power hitters of the women’s game, not least when scoring 258 during the 5-0 one-day whitewash of Sri Lanka.
