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Warne in Wisden's top five of the century

England cricket legend Ian Botham has been surprisingly overlooked from Wisden's five leading players of the last century following a specially-commissioned poll of 100 former cricketers and journalists.

The former England captain, widely regarded as one of the great players of the modern era, finished a disappointing 16th in the survey to mark the 137th edition of the famous yellow book, which is being published on Thursday.

Botham received just nine votes, falling well behind predictable winner Sir Donald Bradman, whose name featured on 100 voting slips - an almost identical figure to his end of career Test average of 99.94.

West Indian all-rounder Sir Garfield Sobers finished 10 short of Bradman, while Sir Jack Hobbs - the only Englishman in the leading five - fell a further 60 votes short in third place.

Australian leg-spinner Shane Warne is the only contemporary cricketer in the list, a tribute to the incredible interest he has developed in the game throughout the world since first setting international cricket alight with the so-called "ball of the century" to Mike Gatting at Old Trafford in 1993.

Sir Vivian Richards, the "master-blaster" from Antigua, completes the top five in the poll.

Editor Matthew Engel, who is stepping down after seven years in charge, to be replaced by predecessor Graeme Wright, claimed the choice was so tough that not one of the 100 judges correctly voted for the eventual top five, which were announced on Wednesday on the Wisden website, www.wisden.com.

"Not one of our hundred voted for all the final five, yet I don't believe anyone will argue that we have got it terribly wrong," he revealed.