Indian opener Virender Sehwag [ Images ] was named Wisden Cricketer of the Year for the second time in a row.

Sehwag received the honour for a second successive year after scoring "more quickly than any specialist batsman in Tests or One-Day Internationals".

The 31-year-old Indian beat off competition from England [ Images ] captain Andrew Strauss [ Images ] and Sri Lankan Tillakaratne Dilshan [ Images ].

English wicketkeeper Matt Prior [ Images ], spinner Graeme Swann [ Images ], batsman Graham Onions [ Images ], pacer Stuart Broad [ Images ] and Australian vice-captain Michael Clarke [ Images ] were the Five Cricketers of the Year chosen by the magazine.

Sehwag averaged 70, with a strike-rate of 108.9, in the Tests he played last year. In One-Day Internationals, Sehwag had a strike-rate of 136.5 while averaging 45.

The award, which was instituted in 2004, has Australians Ricky Ponting [ Images ] and Shane Warne [ Images ] and talismanic English all-rounder Andrew Flintoff [ Images ] among its past winners.