JOIN USRising Test batsman Cheteshwar Pujara bagged the ‘Emerging Cricketer of the Year’ trophy as India had to be content with just two winners in the ICC Annual awards announced on Friday in which Australian captain Michael Clarke clinched the top honours.
“Australia captain Michael Clarke was today announced as the winner of the Sir Garfield Sobers trophy for ICC Cricketer of the Year and was also named as the ICC Test Cricketer of the Year,” the ICC said in a statement.
The announcement was made ahead of the broadcast of the Awards TV show which premieres on Saturday in most countries across the globe.
“The show is hosted by former Australia captain Ricky Ponting who won the Sir Garfield Sobers Trophy in 2006 and 2007, ICC Test Cricketer of the Year in 2006 and was appointed captain of ICC’s ODI Team of the Year in 2007, 2008 and 2010,” the ICC stated.
Clarke was earlier named in the ICC Test and ODI Teams of the Year in Mumbai on December 3. In the same event, India captain Mahendra Singh Dhoni was revealed as the LG People’s Choice award winner.
Clarke has been joined on the winners’ list by Sri Lanka’s Kumar Sangakkara, who was named ICC ODI Cricketer of the Year, and Pujara, who claimed his first-ever ICC award.
Pujara became the second fastest Indian to get to 1,000 Test runs, during the course of his double hundred against Australia in March at Hyderabad, where he put on a 370-run record second wicket partnership with Murali Vijay.
The 25-year-old Pujara has 1,310 runs in 15 Tests at an average of 65.50.
England’s Sarah Taylor clinched the ICC Women’s T20I Cricketer of the Year award for the second year in a row, while Sri Lanka’s Mahela Jayawardena won his second ICC Spirit of Cricket award, this time for walking without waiting for an umpire’s decision when batting on 91 against New Zealand in Galle in November 2012. In total there are 11 individual awards, as well as the two ICC Teams of the Year -- for Tests and ODIs.
List of winners: Cricketer of the Year (Sir Garfield Sobers Trophy): Michael Clarke (Australia); Test Cricketer of the Year: Michael Clarke (Australia); Women’s ODI Cricketer of the Year: Suzie Bates (New Zealand); ODI Cricketer of the Year: Kumar Sangakkara (Sri Lanka); Emerging Cricketer of the Year: Cheteshwar Pujara (India); ICC Associate and Affiliate Cricketer of the Year: Kevin O’Brien (Ireland); Twenty20 International Performance of the Year: Umar Gul (Pakistan); T20I Women’s Cricketer of the Year: Sarah Taylor (England); Spirit of Cricket Award: Mahela Jayawardena (Sri Lanka); Umpire of the Year (David Shepherd Trophy): Richard Kettleborough. LG People’s Choice: MS Dhoni.