“I’m incredibly honoured to receive these awards”
Image courtesy of: ESPNcricinfo
Australia captain Steven Smith claimed the top International Cricket Council (ICC) awards as he was named Cricketer of the Year and Test Cricketer of the Year.
Smith is only the seventh player after Rahul Dravid (2004), Jacques Kallis (2005), Ricky Ponting (2006), Kumar Sangakkara (2012), Michael Clarke (2013) and Mitchell Johnson (2014) to win both awards in the same year.
However, while Smith was “thrilled” to bag both awards, he admitted that he had “mixed feelings” about how 2015 had gone for him and the Australian team as a whole.
“Given that there are so many great players around the world, I’m incredibly honoured to receive these awards,” he said. “While team success is always my number one motivation, awards like this are very special. I’m thrilled and very proud to receive them.
“I will look back on 2015 with mixed feelings. Winning the ICC Cricket World Cup at home was a career highlight, and being appointed captain is a great honour, but the disappointment of losing the Ashes remains.
“To be the best team that we can be, we have to become better at winning away from home, and that remains our motivation heading into 2016.”
Meanwhile, South Africa ODI captain AB de Villiers was named ODI Cricketer of the Year for the second year in a row, while his compatriot Faf du Plessis claimed the T20 Performance of the Year award for scoring 119 runs off 56 balls against the West Indies in January.
Australia pace bowler Josh Hazlewood scooped up the Emerging Cricketer of the Year award, while ex-United Arab Emirates captain Khurram Khan was named Associate and Affiliate Cricketer of the Year. Richard Kettleborough received the Umpire of the Year award for the third consecutive year.
In regards to the women’s awards, Australia skipper Meg Lanning clinched the ODI Cricketer of the Year award, while West Indies all-rounder Stefanie Taylor won the T20I Cricketer of the year award.
New Zealand captain Brendon McCullum meanwhile got the Spirit of Cricket award.
Awards list
ICC Cricketer of the Year (Sir Garfield Sobers Trophy) – Steven Smith
Test Cricketer of the Year – Steven Smith
ODI Cricketer of the Year – AB de Villiers
Women’s ODI Cricketer of the Year – Meg Lanning
Women’s T20I Cricketer of the Year – Stafanie Taylor
T20I Performance of the Year – Faf du Plessis
Emerging Cricketer of the Year – Josh Hazlewood
Associate/Affiliate Cricketer of the Year – Khurram Khan
Spirit of Cricket Award – Brendon McCullum
Umpire of the Year (David Shepherd Trophy) – Richard Kettleborough