Football is obsessed by its annual award, but cricket seems less enthusiastic about crowning its own best player in the world

It’s time for the Ballon d’Or because it’s always time for the Ballon d’Or. Once the golden ball is presented at the London Palladium this month to Harry Kane/Lamine Yamal/Lionel Messi (let us know in the comments!), the debate will quickly switch to next year’s contenders, continuing football’s unhealthy relationship with an individual trophy. “How World Cup final could be pivotal in Ballon d’Or race”, read a BBC headline in July, though the real jump-the-shark moment was when Real Madrid boycotted the ceremony in 2024 because Vinícius Júnior had to settle for silver. Perversely, quite the team move.

Cricket celebrates the individual with greater range. The sport lauds hundreds, five-wicket hauls and averages, making for games within games, prompting forensic analysis of when Joe Root will overtake Sachin Tendulkar as the leading run-scorer in Test history. The International Cricket Council has its rankings for the best batters, bowlers and all-rounders in the world, across formats for men and women. My Instagram feed has recently been hijacked by: 1) AI bunnies breakdancing; 2) adverts for hair loss pills; and 3) Stuart Broad and Jos Buttler ranking the best Test batters of the century.

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