Big Ben rules the world of cricket
England all-rounder Ben Stokes has been voted as ICC player of the year and won the Sir Garfield Trophy for his superb 12 months in both Test matches and oneday internationals.
Stokes was instrumental in England’s nerve-wracking victory in the final of the World Cup when he smashed an unbeaten 84. He scored 719 runs and took 12 wickets in 20 ODIs during the voting period.
Stokes, the left-handed batsman who bowls right-arm medium pace, made 821 runs and bagged 22 wickets in 11 Test matches that included an unbeaten 135 to clinch a nail-biting Ashes thriller at Leeds last year.
“The last 12 months have been the best in my career, and I believe what we attained will be the catalyst to achieve further success over the next few years,” the 28-year-old Stokes said.
“There is an incredible bond between teammates and to savour our achievements, whether that’s winning the World Cup final at Lord’s or digging deep to win a Test match against Australia at Headingley. It is satisfying you can accomplish these superb highs together.”
Fast bowler Pat Cummins of Australia was named Test player of the year while Indian opening batsman Rohit Sharma won the ODI player of the year award. Sharma has been in top form with an aggregate of 1409 runs from 28 matches that featured seven hundreds.
Cummins grabbed 59 wickets in 12 Test matches and finished the year as the top-ranked bowler in the ICC Test rankings.
Indian seamer Deepak Chahar won the Twenty20 performance of the year award for his astonishing figures of six for seven runs against Bangladesh in Nagpur which included a hat trick.
“That performance was very special for me. I got an opportunity to play for India after a long time. Taking six wickets conceding only seven runs was a dream performance for me and will always remain close to my heart.”
Marnus Labuschagne was a clear favourite to win emerging player of the year award after scoring 1,104 runs in 11 Tests matches. He was ranked at 110 in the ICC batting rankings at the start of the year but leaped to fourth place by the end 2019.
India captain Virat Kohli won spirit of the cricket award for his gesture during the World Cup match against Australia. Kohli egged the crowd to support Steve Smith rather than boo the Australian batsman soon after his return to international cricket from a one-year suspension. —
Players have to step up. You know, when one of your big players is not there, they have to take responsibility.
Mikel Arteta, Arsenal manager
So, no replacement for Rishabh Pant. Bit confused. Does this mean KL Rahul is now the second keeper in white ball cricket? And what of Sanju Samson?
Harsha Bhogle @bhogleharsha