England U19 all-rounder Will Bennison has been named Wisden Schools Cricketer of the Year in the 2026 edition of the Wisden Almanack.
Bennison won the prestigious award for his "composed batting and skilful leg-spin" which "showed consistency and flair". He is the second recipient of the award to have attended St Peter's School in York, with fellow alumnus Jonny Bairstow having won the inaugural award in 2008.
After making his debut for his school's first XI when he was in year nine at St Peter's, Bennison scored 3,751 runs at 59 and took 95 wickets at an average of under 18 across his five seasons in the side. He signed a two-year contract with Yorkshire this year, which limited his appearances in St Peter's first XI during the 2025 season.
Bennison made his senior county debut when he played for Yorkshire in the One Day Cup against Kent last year. He also made his England U19 debut in 2025, when he played in their one-off ODI against Ireland in September. He scored 42* off 32 balls in that game, which England U19s won by seven wickets through DLS. He was then named as an injury replacement for Isaac Mohammed in England's U19 World Cup squad earlier this year, but didn't play a game.
Bennison joins a prestigious list of previous award winners, many of whom have gone on to have distinguished international and county careers. Former England batter James Taylor won the second edition of the award in 2009, and the winner the following year was Jos Buttler, now England's most capped international cricketer. The most notable recent award winner is Jacob Bethell, who won the award in 2022 after amassing 654 runs across seven innings for Rugby School in the 2021 season, averaging 130.
Last year's winner was Aryaman Varma, who took 51 wickets for Eton across the 2024 season. He played in the Global Super League for Delhi Capitals last year, as well as playing two matches for Northants in the One Day Cup.
Full list: Wisden Schools Cricketer of the Year winners
| Year | Player | School |
| 2008 | Jonny Bairstow | St Peter's School, York |
| 2009 | James Taylor | Shrewsbury School |
| 2010 | Jos Buttler | King's College, Taunton |
| 2011 | Will Vanderspar | Eton College |
| 2012 | Daniel Bell-Drummond | Millfield |
| 2013 | Tom Abell | Taunton School |
| 2014 | Tom Kohler-Cadmore | Malvern College |
| 2015 | Dylan Budge | Woodhouse Grove School, Leeds |
| 2016 | Ben Waring | Felsted School |
| 2017 | AJ Woodland | St Edward's School, Oxford |
| 2018 | Teddie Casterton | Royal Grammar School, High Wycombe |
| 2019 | Nathan Tilley | Reed's School, Cobham |
| 2020 | Tawanda Muyeye | Eastbourne College |
| 2022 | Jacob Bethell | Rugby School |
| 2023 | Oliver Cox | Malvern College |
| 2024 | Ollie Sykes | Tonbridge School |
| 2025 | Aryaman Varma | Eton College |
| 2026 | Will Bennison | St Peter's School, York |
*No award was given in the 2021 Wisden Cricketers' Almanack due to the impact of the Covid-19 pandemic on the 2020 school cricket season
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