Published: Dec 23, 2015, 12:19 PM (IST)
Edited: Dec 23, 2015, 12:19 PM (IST)
South Africa’s One-Day International (ODI) skipper AB de Villiers was named ICC ODI Cricketer of the Year at the ICC Cricket Awards 2015. The belligerent right-handed batsman has been phenomenal this year, averaging in the high 70s with a strike rate of over 130. He led his side with distinction as well, as South Africa won their first-ever World Cup knockout match when they beat Sri Lanka in the quarter-final of ICC Cricket World Cup 2015. South Africa also went on to beat India 3-2, thereby winning their first ever ODI series in India. In fact de Villiers, who had previously won the award in 2010 as well, was also named as captain of ICC’s ODI team of the year.
According to a news release by ICC, de Villiers said, “It is an honour to be named as the ICC ODI Cricketer of the Year for 2015. It’s certainly been a memorable year with many highlights but a lot of disappointments as well. If I was to look back, the century I scored against the West Indies at the Wanderers will probably go down as the most memorable knocks of the year. In saying that, centuries count for nothing if the team isn’t winning, so hopefully in the future I can contribute to many more Proteas wins.”
Full list of ICC Awards 2015 winners:
ICC Cricketer of the Year (Sir Garfield Sobers Trophy): Steve Smith (Australia)
ICC Test Cricketer of the Year: Steve Smith (Australia)
ICC ODI Cricketer of the Year: AB de Villiers (South Africa)
ICC Women’s ODI Cricketer of the Year: Meg Lanning (Australia)
ICC Women’s T20I Cricketer of the Year: Stafanie Taylor (West Indies)
ICC T20I Performance of the Year: Faf du Plessis (South Africa) for his innings of 119 off 56 balls, 2nd T20I vs West Indies at Johannesburg
ICC Emerging Cricketer of the Year: Josh Hazlewood (Australia)
ICC Associate/Affiliate Cricketer of the Year: Khurram Khan (UAE)
ICC Spirit of Cricket Award: Brendon McCullum (New Zealand)
ICC Umpire of the Year (David Shepherd Trophy) – Richard Kettleborough
