ENGLAND batsmen Alastair Cook and Jonathan Trott have been short-listed for the International Cricket Council’s LG player-of-the-year award.
The duo have also been nominated in the Test player list alongside paceman James Anderson, while five England players have been included in the ICC’s Test team of the year which was announced yesterday. Cook, Trott and Anderson have also been named in the Test team of the year alongside all-rounder Stuart Broad and spinner Graeme Swann,
Despite providing almost half the Test team’s players, there was surprise in some quarters that Ian Bell did not feature, given that in the qualifying period between August 11, 2010 until August 3 this year he scored four centuries and averaged 89.50.
“While selecting the squad, the selectors didn’t rely only on statistics, but took into account all other factors like the opposition, pitch conditions, match situation etc,” Clive Lloyd, the chairman of the ICC’s awards panel, explained.
“But when you have only 12 places to fill from a big group of world-class players, there will always be a few who will miss out. In the panel’s expert opinion, it has selected the best team based on performances over the past 12 months.”
Cook struck 1 302 runs from 12 games at an average of 76.58 with six centuries and four half-centuries. Trott meanwhile accumulated 1 042 runs from 12 Tests at an average of 65.12 with four centuries and three half-centuries.
The year also saw Anderson grow into one of the world’s most menacing quick bowlers, taking 50 wickets at an average of 25.48 in 11 Tests .
Tim Bresnan is also in contention for the Twenty20 international performance-of-the-year prize along with New Zealand’s Tim Southee, Australian Shane Watson and South Africa’s JP Duminy.
Cook and Trott have been key in England’s ascent to the top of the ICC Test rankings and have been nominated alongside Indian great Sachin Tendulkar and South Africa’s Hashim Amla for the top player prize, which will be presented at a gala event in London on September 12.
Cook and Trott are joined by Anderson on the list for the Test player-of-the-year alongside Jacques Kallis of South Africa.
England have no nominees on the one-day international player award short list, though, where Amla is nominated along with Sri Lanka’s Kumar Sangakkara, Watson and Indian batsman Gautam Gambhir.
Short-lists
Cricketer-of-the-Year: Hashim Amla, Alastair Cook, Sachin Tendulkar, Jonathan Trott
Test Player-of-the-Year: James Anderson, Alastair Cook, Jacques Kallis, Jonathan Trott
ODI Player-of-the-Year: Hashim Amla, Gautam Gambhir, Kumar Sangakkara, Shane Watson
Emerging Player-of-the-Year: Azhar Ali, Devendra Bishoo, Darren Bravo, Wahab Riaz
ICC Test Team-of-the-Year: Alastair Cook, Hashim Amla, Jonathan Trott, Sachin Tendulkar, Kumar Sangakkara (capt., wkp.), AB de Villiers, Jacques Kallis, Stuart Broad, Graeme Swann, Dale Steyn, James Anderson – 12th man Zaheer Khan. (PA Sport)