Laxman in Wisden's top 5

Ace Indian batsman V V S Laxman has been named among the top five cricketers of the year in the 139th edition of Wisden Cricketers' Almanack 2002, which will be released on Friday.

Others to find a place in the elite bunch are Australians Adam Gilchrist, batsman Damien Martyn and pace-bowler Jason Gillespie, and left-handed batsman Andy Flower of Zimbabwe.

Laxman had made a record-breaking 281 against Australia in the Kolkata Test in 2001, which is the highest ever by an Indian batsman. It spurred India to win the Test and series 2-1. In the process, the Hyderabad batsman ruined Australia's dream of winning their first Test series on Indian soil since 1959.

This edition will be of special interest to collectors and cricket lovers as it contains full coverage of the life of Sir Donald Bradman, who died in February 2001 just as the previous Almanack was going to press.

Each copy of the Almanack is accompanied by a free mini-paperback, The Best: The 40 Leading Cricketers in the World Today, a selection of pen-portraits from Wisden.com, edited by Tim de Lisle.

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