Blackwash
 |
|
| Administrator | ECB and WICB |
|---|---|
| Format | Test |
| First tournament | 1963 |
| Tournament format | series |
| Number of teams |
 England and  West Indies
|
| Current trophy holder |
England
|
| Most successful |
West Indies (13 titles) |
| Most runs |
Brian Lara (2,983) |
| Most wickets |
Curtly Ambrose (164) |
The Wisden Trophy is awarded to the winner of the Test cricket series played between England and the West Indies. It was first awarded in 1963 to commemorate the hundredth edition of Wisden Cricketers' Almanack. Series are played in accordance with the International Cricket Council's future tours programme, with varying lengths of time between tours. If a series is drawn then the country holding the Wisden Trophy retains it.
The trophy is named after the famous cricketing publisher Wisden and was presented by John Wisden & Co after gaining the approval of the Marylebone Cricket Club (MCC) and the West Indies Cricket Board (WICB). The Wisden Trophy is presented to the victorious team as a symbol of its victory, but then returns to the MCC Museum at Lord's. Since the 2000 Wisden Trophy series, the Malcolm Marshall Memorial Trophy has been awarded to the leading wicket taker in the series.
England currently hold the trophy. They held the trophy for nine years, after beating the West Indies 3–1 to regain it in 2000; they successfully defended the trophy three times. West Indies regained the trophy in the most recent series in the West Indies, winning 1–0, in early 2009. It was originally planned to consist of four Test matches. However an extra match was arranged when the second Test had to be abandoned after only a few overs play because the ground was unfit. England regained the trophy in May 2009, winning a two Test series 2–0. The tour, coming uncommonly soon after England toured the West Indies, replaced the previously announced tour by Sri Lanka, which in turn was arranged to replace the originally scheduled tour by Zimbabwe.
In 1963 John Wisden & Co. Ltd, with the approval of the MCC and the WICB, presented the first Wisden Trophy, to be contested in a similar manner to the Ashes.
The trophy is around 30 centimetres high, and a similar distance across its base. At the centre is an image of John Wisden. To Wisden's left is a smaller figure of a batsman taking guard, while to Wisden's right is a bowler in his delivery stride. Directly below Wisden is a plaque, on either side of which are the emblems of the English and West Indian teams. The plaque reads:
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