Smith wins test award despite cheating scandal
Star Australian batsman Steve Smith has been named the men’s test cricketer of the decade despite the infamous ball-tampering scandal in Cape Town in 2018.
India captain Virat Kohli won the supreme gong in the men’s game, the Sir Garfield Sobers Award for male cricketer of the decade, and Australian all-rounder Ellyse Perry was the big winner among the International Cricket Council (ICC) awards.
Kohli was also named the men’s ODI cricketer of the decade to claim two awards but Perry finished with three, taking out the
Rachael Heyhoe-Flint Award for the female cricketer of the decade, as well as the best women’s ODI and Twenty20 cricketer.
No New Zealanders won any prizes but there were nominations for White Ferns Suzie Bates and Sophie Devine, ex-Black Caps
Daniel Vettori and Brendon McCullum were up for the Spirit of Cricket Award won by Indian great MS Dhoni. Black Caps captain Kane Williamson was a nominee in three categories.
Dhoni won the spirit award after calling back former England batsman Ian Bell after a contentious run out in 2011.
Williamson was up for the top men’s award won by Kohli and the test cricketer prize collected by Smith, the former Australia test captain.
In the last decade, Smith has scored 7040 runs in 69 tests at an average of 65.79 with 26 centuries. However, he was stripped of the captaincy after the cheating scandal in the Cape Town test on Australia’s tour to South Africa in 2018.
Smith and vice-captain David Warner were both banned for one year for their roles in the scandal, but they returned in time to play in last year’s Cricket World Cup and the Ashes.
Bates and Williamson were selected in some of the ICC’s teams of the decade earlier this week.