Sportskeeda's Cricketer of the Year 2015 - counting down from No. 5 to No. 1

The year 2015 has seen world cricket rise to a whole new level thanks to several sparkling individual and team performances. Records have tumbled like dominoes, and the entertainment quotient has reached astounding heights.Another positive trend this year has been the breakthroughs of talented youngsters into the international arena, and this is always a great sign for the future of the sport. On the whole, a few cricketers shone brighter than the rest, consistent as they were throughout the year with their performances.These players have been vital to the success of their teams. Here’s a look at the Top 5 Cricketers of 2015, culminating in the crowning of Sportskeeda's Cricketer of the Year.

#5 Steven Smith - Australia

Steven Smith is the leading run scorer in Tests in 2015

Having started his Test career as a leg-spinner batting at No.8, Steven Smith currently stands at No.1 in the ICC Test Rankings, and 2015 couldn’t have possibly gone better for the Australian Test captain.

This calendar year has been an extended purple patch for Smith, whose superb performances have won him the Allan Border Medal, the Australian Test Player of the Year, the Australian One-Day International Player of the Year, the ICC Player of the Year, the ICC Test Player of the Year, each a prestigious award in its own right. Smith’s composure and ability to score in unusual areas are reflected in his statistics:

T20Is: 1 innings, 90 runs, average: 90, strike rate: 169.81

ODIs: 17 innings, 805 runs, average: 53.66, strike rate: 86.09

Tests: 24 innings, 1474 runs, average: 73.70

#4 Mitchell Starc Australia

The trademark of Mitchell Starc’s cricket is his aggressiveness with the ball and his words

A bright and fast-growing prospect among Australia’s upcoming crop of exciting fast bowlers, Mitchell Starc has been a potent wicket-taking option for the Aussies in his short career so far and isn’t too bad with the willow in hand either. The lanky left-armer minces no words with his opponents, and often rattles batsmen with his sharp pace, bounce and the ability to move the ball back into the right-hander.

Starc has performed quite impressively with the ball across all formats and has held his own when batting at the tail on quite a few occasions. Starc’s bowling figures for 2015 reflect his stellar consistency:

T20Is: 1 innings, 1 wicket, economy: 8.00

ODIs: 18 innings, 41 wickets, economy: 4.61

Tests: 20 innings, 46 wickets, economy: 3.35

#3 Ravichandran Ashwin India

Ashwin’s presence of mind and timely variations has helped him come a long way

The lanky off-spinner from Chennai is among the world’s best spinners at present, without a doubt. Having started his cricketing career as an opening batsman, Ashwin took inspiration from Ajantha Mendis’ briefly unplayable carrom ball, and made his own variation to it, naming it the “sodukku ball”, or a finger-flicked leg-break.

Ashwin chips in as a handy lower order batsman in Tests aside from serving as India’s frontline spinner. The 29-year-old currently holds the No.2 spot in the ICC Test All-rounder Rankings and his stats for 2015 are remarkable. Although he didn’t play too many T20Is, his record in the other two forms of the game are simply sublime.

T20Is: 2 innings, 4 wickets, economy: 6.25

ODIs: 13 innings, 21 wickets, economy: 4.27

Tests:

Bowling: 17 innings, 62 wickets, economy: 2.83

Batting: 14 innings, 248 runs, average: 20.66

#2 AB de Villiers South Africa

AB de Villiers’ name has become a cliché of sorts, in recent listings of top cricketers, and hence his inclusion in this one is no surprise. Mr.360 had a record-smashing 2015, setting records for the fastest ODI 50(16 balls), 100(31 balls) and 150(64 balls), all in one match. He also became the fastest player to reach 8000 ODI runs.

He is currently ranked No.1 in the ICC ODI Batsmen Ratings and No.3 in the ICC Test Batsmen Ratings. Here are the phenomenal stats of the ‘Superman’ from South Africa, which justify his inclusion into this list:

T20Is: 6 innings, 160 runs, average – 26.66, strike rate: 130.08

ODIs: 18 innings, 1193 runs, average: 79.53, strike rate: 137.91

Tests: 10 innings, 492 runs, average: 54.66

#1 Kane Williamson - New Zealand

Williamson has shown that old is still gold

Kane Williamson has already been touted by many, as the best cricketing talent New Zealand has ever produced. The young New Zealander has been a stronghold of the Kiwi top order across all formats since his debut in 2010. He has not allowed the T20 format to alter his playing style and he continues to play straight from the batting manual.

The 25-year-old is also an excellent fielder and can contribute with a few overs of off-break bowling as well. Williamson has flourished in 2015 and the numbers prove it, as he finished with over 2,500 runs in all formats in the calendar year:

T20Is: 4 innings, 144 runs, average – 36.00, strike rate: 165.51

ODIs: 25 innings, 1317 runs, average: 57.26, strike rate: 90.32

Tests: 16 innings, 1172 runs, average: 90.15

For his all-round excellence and unstoppable run of form, Williamson has been selected as Sportskeeda's Cricketer of the Year 2015. Take a bow, Kane!