The International Cricket Council (ICC) today revealed the final group of outstanding performers shortlisted in three ICC Awards 2023 categories; the ICC Men’s Test Cricketer of the Year, the Rachael Heyhoe Flint Trophy for ICC Women’s Cricketer of the Year and the Sir Garfield Sobers Trophy for ICC Men’s Cricketer of the Year.
The nominees for the Sir Garfield Sobers Trophy see Australia and India share two candidates each after a year in which they met in both the ICC World Test Championship Final and the ICC Men’s Cricket World Cup Final.
Pat Cummins lifted the silverware on both of those occasions, and the Australia skipper is nominated in the top men’s category following a landmark year. Cummins, a former ICC Test Cricketer of the Year (2019), hit new heights in 2023, showcasing outstanding captaincy skills and also dazzling with ball in hand, taking 59 wickets in Tests and ODIs.
Travis Head also enjoyed a momentous year as one of the primary architects of Australia’s trophy-winning success. Head became the player for the big occasion in 2023, starring with the bat in both Finals to claim the Player of the Match award. The all-rounder amassed almost 1700 runs across formats during the year and claimed important wickets with the ball.
India icon Virat Kohli is in contention to win his third Sir Garfield Sobers Trophy after more notable run-scoring feats in 2023. Kohli eclipsed ICC Hall of Famer Sachin Tendulkar last year with a record-breaking 50th ODI century, and can also boast the Player of the Tournament award from CWC23 and 2048 international runs.
ALSO RESD: Gardner, Kerr among nominees for top women’s award
The shortlist for the Rachael Heyhoe Flint Trophy features 2022 winner Nat Sciver-Brunt, after another year of dominance across formats in women’s international cricket. The England all-rounder took nine wickets and scored 894 runs in 2023, holding an impressive batting average of 45.50 in T20Is and 131.00 in ODIs.
Chamari Athapaththu is the only player nominated in three categories in the ICC Awards 2023 while Australia’s Ashleigh Gardner took more wickets than anyone else in women’s internationals in 2023.
Her compatriot Beth Mooney also stands in contention, who registered 1040 runs in 2023, which included a match-winning 74 not out in the ICC Women’s T20 World Cup Final victory over hosts South Africa.
The ICC Men’s Test Cricketer of the Year contenders include two heroes from Australia’s World Test Championship winning campaign, Usman Khawaja, who topped the run-scoring charts in the longest format last year and Travis Head, the all-rounder recording 919 runs in the longest format at an average of 41.77.
The highlight of his Test year was undoubtedly his starring role in the WTC Final win over India hitting a memorable knock of 163 in the first innings at the Oval.
R. Ashwin ended the year as the top-ranked Test bowler in the MRF Tyres ICC Men’s Bowler Rankings, taking 41 wickets at a striking average of 17.02 and recording the most five-wicket hauls of anyone in Tests in 2023 with four.
Fan voting results will be combined with selections made by the ICC Voting Academy to identify the winner in each of the shortlisted categories. Winners of the ICC Awards 2023 will be announced later in January 2024.
Comments
SHARE