In the latest ICC awards on Tuesday, the young Indian wicket-keeper, Rishabh Pant has been named as the ICC Emerging Player of the Year, Scotland’s Calum MacLeod crowned the ICC Associate Player of the Year, Kane Williamson won the ICC Spirit of Cricket award and Kumar Dharmasena named as the ICC Umpire of the Year 2018, as he has won the coveted David Shepherd Trophy.
Finch, who has been leading Australia in limited-overs cricket, was an easy winner of the T20I award after breaking the world record for the highest score for the second time in his career. He broke his own record with his 76-ball knock to eclipse his own record of 156 against England in Southampton, which had won him the same award for the year 2013-14. The knock in Harare was the second highest in all T20 cricket and his 26 boundary hits the most in T20I innings.
7⃣6⃣ balls
1⃣6⃣ fours
1⃣0⃣ sixes
1⃣7⃣2⃣ runs!@AaronFinch5's record-breaking innings against Zimbabwe in Harare is the ICC Men's T20I Performance of the Year 2018! 🇦🇺➡️ https://t.co/DjxiXotQSq#ICCAwards 🏆 pic.twitter.com/ezdH8xoLDV
— ICC (@ICC) January 22, 2019
Remembering the knock, Finch said: “It was just one of those days that things seemed to go my way, so it was nice to break my own record and get a 172. After I got a hundred and I started to middle consistently, that is when I knew it was going to be a big one. It all happened pretty quick.”
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Pant produced some memorable knocks during the voting period and getting off the mark in Test cricket with a six only highlighted his potential. He amassed 537 runs with a century and two half-centuries in eight Test matches during the voting period with 40 catches and two stumpings. In three ODIs, he scored 41 runs and took three catches and in eight T20Is scored 114 runs and pouched two catches.
Congratulations to @RishabPant777, the ICC Men’s Emerging Cricketer of the Year 2018! 🇮🇳
He became the first Indian wicket-keeper to score a Test century in England, and equalled the record for the most catches taken in a Test, with 11 in Adelaide in December.#ICCAwards 🏆 pic.twitter.com/s5yQBuwWlv
— ICC (@ICC) January 22, 2019
In 2018, Associate cricket belonged to Scotland whose stunning six-wicket win over England in June registered the biggest win in their history. Other highlights also included a very impressive campaign at the ICC Cricket World Cup Qualifier (CWCQ), narrowly missing out on qualification as well as winning the Euro T20 series against Netherlands and Ireland without losing a match.
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Talking about the award, Macleod said, “It is a huge honor to win the ICC Associate Player of the Year award “It is a huge honor to win the ICC Associate Player of the Year award.”
His two ODI centuries of 2018 fired @CricketScotland to victory against Afghanistan at #CWCQ and a famous win against England at The Grange in June.@calummacleod640 is the ICC Associate Cricketer of the Year 2018! 🏴
➡️ https://t.co/DjxiXotQSq#ICCAwards 🏆 pic.twitter.com/ePq1kBoNTT
— ICC (@ICC) January 22, 2019
MacLeod’s memorable knock of 157* against Afghanistan at Bulawayo at the CWCQ and his match-winning 140* against England were two of international cricket’s most impressive batting displays of the year. The ICC Voting Academy clearly agreed with MacLeod receiving the second highest number of votes across all the individual awards. The Scottish cricketer said, “It is a huge honor to win the ICC Associate Player of the Year award. It has been a really special year for me personally. I thank the ICC, Cricket Scotland, my team-mates and all the fans to making it a year I won’t forget.”
The Spirit of Cricket Award is nominated for by ICC Match Officials with the ICC CEO selecting the winner. Williamson was nominated for his continued commitment to playing the game in the right spirit and as a role model to the whole sport.
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After receiving the award, Williamson said: “We are all ambassadors of this game, so playing in the right spirit, those sorts of characteristics are really important even at the highest level. It is a nice award. It is important for us as a group that we keep looking to do better in all areas, and one of those areas is to continue playing the game in the right way, as of how we see it being right.”
The ICC Spirit of Cricket Award 2018 goes to Kane Williamson, for continuing to be a shining role model of how our game should be played, his behaviour setting an outstanding example on and off the field 🙌
➡️ https://t.co/DjxiXotQSq#SpiritofCricket #ICCAwards 🏆 pic.twitter.com/sB5VpweYhI
— ICC (@ICC) January 22, 2019
Dharmasena was voted as Umpire of the Year by international captains and ICC Match Referees, winning the David Shepherd Trophy for the second time.
After receiving the award, the veteran umpire hoped this award would inspire other Sri Lanka officials. He said: “It has been a very satisfying year for me and this award from the ICC is a great honor and privilege. This comes six years after I was first named for the award and will inspire me to keep doing the job I love so much. I have always been passionate about cricket, both as a player and an umpire and look forward to keeping working hard and challenging myself in order to meet the demands of this great game. I take this opportunity to thank all my fellow colleagues for all the encouragement and support over the years, without which this would not have been possible.”
With 48% of the vote, India's triumph in New Zealand to claim their fourth #U19CWC title was voted by you as the ICC Fans' Moment of the Year 2018! 🇮🇳
➡️ https://t.co/DjxiXotQSq#ICCAwards 🏆 pic.twitter.com/ocdH9KrdhT
— ICC (@ICC) January 22, 2019
Meanwhile, India winning the ICC U19 World Cup in New Zealand has been voted as the Fans’ Moment of the Year with 48 percent of the votes. Afghanistan’s miracle comeback at the ICC Cricket World Cup Qualifier came in second with 36 percent votes.
