Ben Stokes was named ICC Player of the Year on Wednesday after a red-hot 12 months during which the allrounder helped England to a maiden 50-overs World Cup crown.
Stokes smashed an unbeaten 84 in a heart-stopping World Cup final against New Zealand at Lord’s, which ended in a tie before hosts England claimed the title on boundary count back.
The 28-year-old also hit 135 not out to secure an astonishing victory for England in the third Ashes test against Australia at Headingley.
Of the award, Stokes, who is gearing up for the third Test against South Africa at St George’s Park, says: “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.”
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A post shared by Ben Stokes(@stokesy) on Dec 16, 2019 at 6:47am PST
Australia quick Pat Cummins pipped, among others, compatriots Steve Smith and Marnus Labuschagne to the Test Player of the Year award.
Cummins, who finished 2019 as top-ranked Test bowler says: “It’s a tremendous honour to be considered the best player of last year and one which was certainly unexpected."
TEST ACE: Oz's Pat Cummins. Picture: EPA
India opener Rohit Sharma was awarded ODI Player of the Year after smashing seven centuries, five of them in the World Cup, in the calendar year.
Meanwhile, there wasn’t a single South African in any of the teams of the year after a horror 12 month.
ICC ODI Team of the Year 2019:
Rohit Sharma, Shai Hope, Virat Kohli (captain), Babar Azam, Kane Williamson, Ben Stokes, Jos Buttler, Mitchell Starc, Trent Boult, Mohammed Shami, Kuldeep Yadav.
ICC Test Team of the Year 2019
: Mayank Agarwal, Tom Latham, Marnus Labuschagne, Virat Kohli (captain), Steve Smith, Ben Stokes, BJ Watling, Pat Cummins, Mitchell Starc, Neil Wagner, Nathan Lyon.
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