9 June 2008

England bowler James Anderson has been named as the Cricket World® Player Of The Week following career-best performances with both bat and ball during England's innings victory over New Zealand.

Following up a stroke-filled knock of 28 which enabled Stuart Broad to score a maiden Test half-century, Anderson picked up career-best figures of seven for 43, memorably knocking back the off stumps of Aaron Redmond and Brendon McCullum in a devastating opening spell.

With New Zealand bowled out for 123, they were asked to follow on and although fellow seamer Ryan Sidebottom grabbed five wickets, Anderson chipped in with two himself, including the final wicket to fall as the Black Caps were bowled out for 232, nine runs short of making England bat again.

Anderson admitted after the match that he had been fairly branded as inconsistent in the past, and England fans will be hoping that this game can be a watershed for the Lancashire man.

He was named man of the match and for the way in which he swung the match with his batting and bowling he was a unanimous choice for this week's award.

Other players in contention included his team-mates Sidebottom, Kevin Pietersen and Tim Ambrose while Pakistanis Mohammad Yousuf and Salman Butt were also considered for their half-centuries against Bangladesh.

The Cricket World ® Player Of The Week is judged by the www.cricketworld.com Editorial Team, which takes into consideration matches played in the preceding week with the final decision made on Monday morning.

Users are welcome to discuss the award and put forward contenders for each week's award on our forum, to do so, click here.

© Cricket World 2008