England cricketers Gary Ballance, Katherine Brunt (both Yorkshire) and Sarah Taylor (Sussex), along with umpire Richard Kettleborough, have been congratulated by ECB Chairman, Giles Clarke, after the quartet were announced as winners of major individual honours in the annual LG ICC Awards.
Wicketkeeper-batsman Sarah Taylor has secured her third consecutive ICC Annual award, after being named as the LG ICC Women’s ODI Cricketer of the Year.
Taylor played a starring role in England women’s historic 2-0 ODI series victory against the West Indies in the Caribbean last November. After the first match was rain-abandoned, she scored an unbeaten 55 to guide England home in the second encounter, before hitting a crucial century off 108 balls in the deciding match.
Taylor has previously won the ICC Women’s T20I Cricketer of the Year award in 2012 and 2013.
After making his Test match debut in Sydney at the end of the 2013-2014 Ashes Series, batsman Gary Ballance has landed the LG ICC Emerging Cricketer of the Year Award.
The 24 year old has scored 729 runs at an average of 60.75 in his first eight Tests for England, hitting his maiden Test hundred against Sri Lanka at Lord’s in June this year.
Ballance followed this with back-to-back centuries at Lord’s and the Ageas Bowl in July during the Investec Test Series against India.
The 2014 LG ICC Spirit of Cricket Award has been won by Katherine Brunt for an incident during England women’s second NatWest T20 international against South Africa at the County Ground, Northampton on September 3.
Having completed the run-out of South Africa’s Matshipi Letsoalo at the bowler’s end, Brunt called the batsman back and told the on-field umpire that she wasn’t sure if the ball was definitely in her hand when she dislodged the bails.
Having checked the television replay, the third umpire subsequently reversed the decision and Letsoalo continued her innings.
For the second consecutive year, former Yorkshire and Middlesex batsman, Richard Kettleborough, has won the David Shepherd Trophy for ICC Umpire of the Year. Kettleborough has been a First Class Umpire since 2006 and was appointed to the Emirates Elite Panel of ICC Umpires in 2011.
ECB Chairman, Giles Clarke, said: “I would like to congratulate Gary, Katherine, Sarah and Richard on their individual awards – I am absolutely delighted that their achievements have been recognised by the ICC.
“Sarah Taylor continues to excel and excite both with the bat and behind the stumps. To win three annual ICC Awards in a row demonstrates a quite remarkable level of skill and consistency.
"She has played some incredibly entertaining and significant innings over the last 12 months, but none more impressive than her match-winning hundred to help seal a historic series victory for England women in the West Indies at the end of last year.
“Since coming into the England Test side in January this year, Gary Ballance has been exceptional.
"For a young player to make such a huge impact in his first full year in the England setup is very special, and I hope that he can now use this platform to have a long and successful career in the international game.
“I am thrilled that an England player has won the ICC Spirit of Cricket Award. Playing cricket hard but fair is a philosophy that permeates through every England team, and it is wonderful news that Katherine’s demonstration of this against South Africa during the summer has been recognised.
“It’s fantastic that Richard has once again been recognised as the world’s leading Umpire. He continues to set extremely high standards and I am sure that everyone involved with our domestic game will want to congratulate him.”