The Wisden Leading Cricketer in the World award was introduced in 2004 to complement the long-standing Wisden Cricketer of the Year awards, which are still given to five players each year.
The accolade is awarded by Wisden Cricketers' Almanack to the player who has made the most dominant performances in the year before the publication of each year's almanack (roughly early in the calendar year preceding publication to early in the calendar year of publication). Unlike the Wisden Cricketer of the Year awards, the distinction of Leading Cricketer of the World can be given to the same player more than once.
For the 2007 edition, a panel of experts was employed to select the leading cricketer for each year from 1900 to 2002, with the exception of the years of the two World Wars.
Bradman won the award in ten years and Sobers in eight. No other player has won it more than three times. Note that the year given is the year for which the player won the award rather than the edition of Wisden in which it was announced. For instance, Sehwag's award for 2008 was announced in the 2009 edition.
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