Smith found a place in both the ICC’s Test and ODI teams of the year
Image courtesy of: ESPNcricinfo
Australia captain Steven Smith and New Zealand left-arm seamer Trent Boult have been included in the International Cricket Council’s (ICC) Test and ODI teams of the year.
England skipper Alastair Cook was named the Test captain of the year, while South Africa’s AB de Villiers took the ODI honours as he scored the fastest ODI fifty and hundred during the qualification period from September 18, 2014 to September 13 2015.
Both the ICC’s Test and ODI teams of the year were chosen by a specially appointed selection panel, which was chaired by the governing body’s cricket committee chairman Anil Kumble.
Smith’s compatriots David Warner and Josh Hazlewood were also in the Test team of the year, which also included the Pakistan trio of Yasir Shah, Younis Khan and Sarfraz Ahmed. England’s Stuart Broad and Joe Root were also included in the side.
New Zealand batsman Kane Williamson made the ICC’s Test team of the year, but was surprisingly left out of the ODI team even though he was the highest run-scorer in the format during the concerned period.
Meanwhile, India spinner Ravichandran Ashwin was named the Test team’s 12th man.
Bangladesh pace bowler Mustafizur Rahman became the first player from his country to be bestowed with the honour of being named in the ICC’s ODI team of the year, while India’s Mohammed Shami and Australia’s Mitchell Starc also made the cut.
South Africa’s Imran Tahir was the lone spinner in the side, while Sri Lanka legend Kumar Sangakkara, who recently announced his retirement, was chosen as the ODI team’s wicketkeeper.
“I would like to congratulate all the players for their selection in the Test and ODI teams of the year,” Kumble said. “It is an achievement for each of them to be proud of and a recognition for their good performances in the qualifying period.
“Testament to the quality of cricket played is the calibre of players to have missed out on selection. While selecting these squads, the selectors considered various combinations and took into account several factors in overall performances. Congratulations to all of the players on their selections.”
ICC Test team of the year: David Warner, Alastair Cook (captain), Kane Williamson, Younis Khan, Steven Smith, Joe Root, Sarfraz Ahmed (wk), Stuart Broad, Trent Boult, Yasir Shah, Josh Hazlewood, R Ashwin (12th man)
ICC ODI team of the year: Tillakaratne Dilshan, Hashim Amla, Kumar Sangakkara (wk), AB de Villiers (capt), Steven Smith, Ross Taylor, Trent Boult, Mohammed Shami, Mitchell Starc, Mustafizur Rahman, Imran Tahir, Joe Root (12th man)