Caddick leads 'home' pack in hall of fame

Andrew Caddick leads the way today as English cricket extends its fightback on the field into the pages of the sport's most famous worldwide publication.

Caddick is one of three 'home' players among five Cricketers of the Year honoured in the 138th edition of Wisden Almanack.

Twice in the last four years, England failed to lodge a single representative in the yellow book's hall of fame - a state of affairs that underlined a steady decline at domestic and international levels. But Somerset seamer Caddick, ever-present while England have won four consecutive Test series in the space of 11 months, and key county performers Martin Bicknell and Mark Alleyne have now earned deserved recognition.

Caddick sparked last summer's remarkable turnaround against the West Indies at Lord's by taking five wickets for 16 runs as the visitors crashed to 54 all out.

The deeds of Bicknell and Alleyne could not be quite so dramatic, yet they helped their counties, Surrey and Gloucestershire respectively, to clean up almost as emphatically.

Bicknell, the best English bowler not to have played for his country for the past seven years, finished with 60 championship wickets (and 500 runs for good measure) as Surrey retained their title. All-rounder Alleyne captained Gloucestershire to a unique treble of NatWest Trophy, Benson and Hedges Cup and Norwich Union National League. Australian batsmen Justin Langer and Darren Lehmann, who scored stacks of runs for Middlesex and Yorkshire respectively last season, complete the year's famous five. Inevitably, Wisden's latest edition contains as much sorrow as celebration.