The most awaited awards in the field of cricket have been announced. The ICC Awards for 2019 were announced recently and there was an interesting lineup of winners.
England all-rounder Ben Stokes won the prestigious Sir Garfield Sobers Trophy for the Best Cricketer of the Year. Stokes has had an outstanding year: apart from several other memorable performances, he played a pivotal role in England winning the ICC Cricket World Cup 2019.
A World Cup winner and scorer of one of the greatest Test innings of all time, Ben Stokes is the winner of the Sir Garfield Sobers Trophy for the world player of the year.#ICCAwards pic.twitter.com/5stP1fqSAP
— ICC (@ICC) January 15, 2020
After winning the award, Stokes said, “It is quite flattering to win the Sir Garfield Sobers Trophy for the ICC Men’s Cricketer of the Year. The past 12 months have been incredible for England cricket and to lift the ICC Men’s Cricket World Cup for the first time was our greatest achievement.”
“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.
Meanwhile, fast bowler Pat Cummins from Australia was awarded the best Test Cricketer of the Year while batsman Rohit Sharma from India was awarded the best ODI Cricketer of the Year.
Indian captain Virat Kohli won the Spirit of Cricket Award for stopping the fans at the Oval from booing Steve Smith and rather encouraging them to support the Australian cricketer, who had returned after an year of suspension for tampering with the ball.
Who remembers this gesture from Virat Kohli during #CWC19?
The Indian captain is the winner of the 2019 Spirit of Cricket Award 🙌 #ICCAwards pic.twitter.com/Z4rVSH8X7x
— ICC (@ICC) January 15, 2020
Post the award, Kohli said, “I’m surprised that I have got it, after many years of being under the scanner for the wrong things. It is part of camaraderie that sportsmen must have with each other. That moment was purely understanding an individual’s situation. I don’t think a guy who is coming out of a situation like that needs to be taken advantage of. You can sledge, can have have banter on the field, you say things to the opposition in wanting to beat them. But booing someone is not in the spirit of any sport, I don’t endorse it.”
Kohli had won the Player of the Year, ODI Player of the Year, and Test Player of the Year last year at the awards.
Here is a list of the 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 v 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
Many congratulations to all the deserving winners from Team Newsum!
