91Èȱ¬

England pair Alastair Cook and Tim Bresnan have been named among Wisden's five cricketers of the year.

Cook averaged 84 and Bresnan took 21 wickets in 2011 as England reached the top of the world Test rankings.

Sri Lanka batsman Kumar Sangakkara becomes the first man to be leading cricketer in the world and make the list in the same year.

Lancashire captain Glen Chapple and Worcestershire seamer Alan Richardson complete the list.

The Five Cricketers of the Year are chosen by the editor of Wisden since 1889 to reflect an impact on English cricket, and no-one can be chosen more than once.

Cook scored 927 Test runs as England won 10 Test matches out of 10 and replaced India as the world's best side - including a career best 294 at Edgbaston. Having inherited the one-day captaincy from Andrew Strauss, Cook led by example in series victories over Sri Lanka and India.

Bresnan hit a powerful 90 against India at Trent Bridge in that series, taking 16 wickets at 16 runs along the way.

The Yorkshire all-rounder said: "It's a very select membership and I'm over the moon to receive such a prestigious honour."

Sri Lanka batsman Sangakkara compiled 2,267 international runs last year with five centuries and 13 fifties, including a century in probably his last Test on English soil at Hampshire.

"I had always wanted a Test hundred at Lord's but, if that was not to be, then anywhere in England," Sangakkara told David Hopps in the Almanack.

"The Rose Bowl felt as if it might be my last opportunity."

Chapple, 38, was Lancashire's talisman as they won a first outright County Championship in 77 years, taking 55 wickets and bowling through injury on the final day as they clinched the title with victory at Somerset.

He told 91Èȱ¬ Radio Lancashire: "Personally I had a good season but that wouldn't, in itself, be enough normally to win this award.

"The credit has to go to the players for the way they performed last year.

"It was a fantastic year for Lancashire and all the lads who played so well have obviously played a big part in me receiving this award."

Richardson was the leading wicket taker in county cricket last summer, taking 73 for Worcestershire in Division One.

Richardson told "To be recognised along world-class cricketers such as Alastair Cook, Tim Bresnan, Glen Chapple and Kumar Sangakkara is a real honour, to have my name up against some of the greats of the game."