Stokes wins Sir Garfield Sobers Trophy

Dubai, Jan 15 (SocialNews.XYZ) England all-rounder Ben Stokes has won the Sir Garfield Sobers Trophy for the ICC Player of the Year after a fabulous 12 months that saw him play a decisive role in team's dramatic victory at the World Cup 2019 along with a host of other memorable performances.

Stokes, who kept his nerve to smash an unbeaten 84 in the final against New Zealand, aggregated 719 runs and bagged 12 wickets in 20 ODIs during the voting period. He also scored 821 runs and took 22 wickets in 11 Tests, the highlight being an unbeaten 135 to win a nail-biting Ashes thriller in Leeds.

"This award is testament to my teammates and the support staff that have been there every step of the way. Fundamentally, without the support of these individuals, we would never achieved our objective of lifting a major trophy," Stokes said in an official statement.

"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.

"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," he added.

Meanwhile, Australia fast bowler Pat Cummins was named the Test Player of the wear of the year 2019.

Cummins, who grabbed 59 wickets in 12 Test matches during the period and finished the year as the top-ranked bowler in the Test Player Rankings, won the award staving off stiff competition including from compatriots Smith and Labuschagne.

"It's a tremendous honour to be considered the best player of last year and one which was certainly unexpected. I owe much to my team, team-mates and all those involved in Australian cricket for what was a really successful year for the team. The highlight was certainly being able to retain the Ashes which was a great reward for the hard work that went into that tour," said Cummins.

Australia's Marnus Labuschagne was an easy winner of the Emerging Player award after scoring 1,104 runs in 11 Tests, which saw him zoom in the Test Rankings from 110 at the start of the year to fourth by the end of the year.

"It's been exciting, it has been a great journey and I am very humbled with this award. It has been a great summer but the challenge is when you have a summer like that is to make sure you are backing it up and keep doing it," said the 25-year-old.

"Being part of such a great team has been amazing, I have been very fortunate to be able to play in what is a great time for Australian cricket."

Also, Scotland's Kyle Coetzer was named the Associate Cricketer of the Year. Coetzer led the Associate batsmen in ODIs with 880 runs in 18 matches and also aggregating 702 runs in 22 T20Is.

Meanwhile, England umpire Richard Illingworth has become the seventh person to win the David Shepherd Trophy for Umpire of the Year. This is the first time that the 56-year-old has won the award named after the late umpire from England.

"It's an honour and a privilege to be named umpire of the year. To join the prestigious list of previous recipients of the award is very humbling.

"Although umpiring can be seen to be quite individual, there's a huge amount done as a collective. I'd like to thank all my fellow match officials, the ICC and the ECB offices who have been great sounding boards and inspirations over the years. Also, thank you to my coach Denis Burns who helps me a huge amount and puts a great perspective on tough days.

ICC Men's Cricket Awards:

Sir Garfield Sobers Trophy for Best Cricketer of the Year - Ben Stokes (England)

Test Cricketer of the Year - Pat Cummins (Australia)

ODI Cricketer of the Year - Rohit Sharma (India)

T20I Performance of the Year - Deepak Chahar (India, 6/7 vs Bangladesh)

Emerging Cricketer of the Year - Marnus Labuschagne (Australia)

Associate Cricketer of the Year - Kyle Coetzer (Scotland)

Spirit of Cricket Award - Virat Kohli stopping the fans booing Steve Smith at the Oval

David Shepherd Trophy for Umpire of the Year - Richard Illingworth

Source: IANS