When the World Test Championship final came to an end this week, one thing was conspicuous by its absence: an awarding of an official ICC Player of the Tournament. With no such gong dished out, five Wisden writers make their case for five candidates, if there had been a prize for the best player.

Marnus Labuschagne

Matches: 13, 1675 runs @ 72.82, 5 100s, HS: 215

As picked by: Yas Rana, Wisden.com head of content

I nearly picked one of the players whose contributions made the biggest difference at the business end of the competition, but when going through the whole WTC cycle there was one name that stood out.

Marnus Labuschagne was the tournament’s leading hundred-maker and run-scorer. Across his four WTC series he was imperious, averaging north of 50 in all four contests. His consistency was absurd, crossing 50 14 times in 23 innings; he out-Smithed Smith.

In a crunch series against eventual winners New Zealand, he scored two hundreds (including a double) and three half-centuries from six innings. Against Pakistan, he hit 347 runs from two innings. Australia’s failure to reach the final was certainly not down to the form of Labuschagne.

Rishabh Pant

Matches: 12, 707 runs @ 39.27, 1 100, HS: 101

As picked by: Aadya Sharma, Wisden India editor

If you want to give the Player of the Tournament silverware to someone, hand it over to a 23-year-old, who, in the space of six months, has virtually changed the definition of an Indian Test wicketkeeper, and possibly laid the path for a new India. No wicketkeeper scored at a faster rate in the WTC than Pant or crossed 80 more times than him – Pant’s disregard for milestones means we have to lower the cut-off slightly.

Numbers aside, there have been few transformations in the WTC cycle as drastic and soul-stirring as Pant’s coming of age as a Test cricketer. If it wasn’t for his lionhearted blinders in Australia, India would have been struggling to make their way to the top of the Championship table, and the three blockbuster knocks in the home series against England played a huge role in making India table-toppers. With him in the side, India can hope for a miracle even from the trickiest of situations, and his fearless batting perfectly typifies this Indian unit’s hunger to win.

Kyle Jamieson

Matches: 7, 43 wickets @ 12.35, 5 five-fors, BBI: 6-48; 247 runs @ 49.40, HS: 51*

As picked by: Rohit Sankar, Wisden India staff writer

It was a close call between Kyle Jamieson and Ravichandran Ashwin for me. Jamieson wasn’t even in New Zealand’s Test side at the start of the cycle, but has since stormed onto the international scene, clocking some incredible numbers along the way. In seven WTC matches, he took 43 wickets at a mind-blowing average of 12.53.

Both Ashwin and Jamieson had their moments with ball and bat, but what really tips the scale in Jamieson’s favour is the impact he had on the finals. To come as first-change behind Tim Southee and Trent Boult and deliver a high-quality spell against one of the best batting line-ups in the world is a daunting task. He toppled India’s batting giant, their skipper, in both innings and barely gave anything away all game, a performance that should find its way into cricketing folklore.

That Jamieson, all of eight Tests old, made all of this look easy is symbolic of the greatness that beckons for this six foot eight inch monster.

Ravichandran Ashwin

14 matches, 71 wickets @ 20.33, 4 five-fors, BBI: 7-145; 324 runs @ 20.25, 1 100, HS: 106

As picked by: Sarah Waris, Wisden India staff writer

Kyle Jamieson is the people’s champion in this discussion, but most of the arguments in his favour can be equally applied to R Ashwin. Ashwin has worked hard on his game of late, bowling well in Australia before injury ruled him out of the decider. He could even pip Ravindra Jadeja for a spot in the XI during the England series — which only shows how impressive he has been.

Sure, most of Ashwin’s 71 wickets came at home, but so did Jamieson’s, and while the Kiwi’s efforts were phenomenal, he played only eight games. Ashwin’s consistency over a longer duration surely needs to be appreciated.

Ben Stokes

17 matches, 1334 runs @ 46.00, 4 100s, HS: 176; 34 wickets @ 26.26, BBI: 4-49

As picked by: Ben Gardner, Wisden.com managing editor

While his campaign fizzled out after making 82 in a rousing win at Chennai, and extenuating circumstances kept him out of four games before that, Ben Stokes did more than enough in England’s first four series to earn any theoretical Player of the Tournament award. For once, given his impact so often goes beyond his average, the raw numbers do tell some of the tale.

Even setting aside the undisputed innings of the competition, against Australia at Headingley, Ben Stokes did plenty. There were his Cape Town heroics to wrestle a series that had been slipping away from England back their way, and then a century in the next game to back it up. Against West Indies, he showed he could bat time, setting up another come-from-behind series win. And even against Pakistan, when he only featured in the first game, a two-wicket burst on the third evening proved pivotal. He’s the best cricketer in the world, and during the World Test Championship, he showed it again and again.