New Delhi: Indian skipper Mahendra Singh Dhoni has won the Spirit of the Cricket award at the ICC Annual Awards 2011 for calling back England batsman Ian Bell in the Trent Bridge Test.
Despite being wrapped up in an intense and difficult Test series in England, the India captain showed the right spirit in agreeing to allow Bell to continue batting when he was run out in controversial circumstances during the second Test at Trent Bridge last month.
On what was the last ball before tea on the third day, Bell hit the ball towards the boundary. He mistakenly thought it had gone for four, left his crease and headed towards the pavilion assuming the session was over and the ball dead. Meanwhile the ball, which had not reached the rope and therefore was still in play, was returned to the middle, the bails removed and Bell was correctly given run out.
Upon reflection during the tea interval and following a request from the England team, Dhoni withdrew the appeal and recalled Bell thus turning boos into cheers from the appreciative Nottingham crowd.
"While the initial appeal and umpire decision were correct to the letter of the law, the decision by Mahendra and his team to withdraw the appeal shows great maturity. To see players and officials uphold the Great Spirit of cricket, which has underpinned the game for more than a century, is very special," ICC CEO Haroon Lorgat said in a statement.
West Indies leg-spinner Devendra Bishoo has won the ICC Emerging player of the year, while Holland's Ryan Ten Doeschate has been named the Associate player of the year.
Previous winners of this award include Irfan Pathan (2004), Kevin Pietersen (2005), Ian Bell (2006). Shaun Tait (2007), Ajantha Mendis (2008), Peter Siddle (2009) and Steven Finn (2010).
The 25-year-old, who played in five Test matches in the voting period and took 21 wickets with an average of 35.42, has made an impact within the West Indies side with his attacking approach that yields considerable turn and bounce. He also played in 11 ODIs, bagging 19 wickets at an average of 21.57.
New Zealand fast bowler Tim Southee has won the ICC Twenty20 International Performance of the Year in recognition of his five wickets for 18 runs against Pakistan in New Zealand.
Pakistan's Aleem Dar has won the David Shepherd Trophy for ICC Umpire of the Year 2011 for the for the third time. Dar, who is 43 and from Pakistan, was voted to this award by the 10 Full Member captains as well as the eight-man Emirates Elite Panel of ICC Match Referees, based on his decision statistics and officiating skills over the past 12 months.
Sri Lanka's former skipper Kumar Sangakkara won the People's Choice Award. He was also chosen as the ODI Player of the Year ahead of India opener Gautam Gambhir, Australian all-rounder Shane Watson and South Africa's Hashim Amla.
During the performance period, he played 25 ODIs and compiled 1,049 runs at an average of 55.21, including one century and seven half-centuries. As wicketkeeper, he also took 36 victims comprising 26 catches and 10 stumpings. Despite that busy workload, he still managed to lead his country to the ICC Cricket World Cup final in Mumbai where they lost narrowly to home team India.
England's Alastair Cook, however, was named the Test Player of the Year for his prolific show with the bat in the last season. During the performance period, he played 12 Tests and in 18 innings, he compiled 1,302 runs at an average of 51.74, including six centuries and four half-centuries. His highest score of 235 not out against Australia at Brisbane helped his team towards series victory as it won the Ashes away from home for the first time since the 1986-87 season.
Cook received his trophy from West Indies ICC Cricket Hall of Famer Curtly Ambrose and said: "I think the highlight of year was when we won in Sydney, to beat Australia and Chris Tremlett to take that final wicket it was truly a great year. This award is about the rest of the team not just me."
Cook's teammate Jonathan Trott was chosen as the ICC Player of the Year. In 12 Tests, he compiled 1,042 runs at an average of 65.12, including four centuries and three half-centuries. In addition, he played 24 ODIs, hitting 1,064 runs at an average of 48.36 with two centuries and nine 50s. In that time he has helped his team retain the Ashes in Australia, reach the quarter-final of the ICC Cricket World Cup 2011 and also register other Test series victories against Sri Lanka, India and Pakistan.
West Indies' Stephanie Taylor was awarded as the Woman Cricketer of the Year. Taylor played 10 ODIs for the West Indies scoring 610 runs at the top of the order at an average of 76.25, while the off-spinner also claimed 15 wickets. She also scored 49 runs and took five wickets in Twenty20 Internationals in the period.
LIST OF WINNERS
1. Spirit of Cricket: MS Dhoni (India)
2. Emerging player of the year: Devendra Bishoo (West Indies)
3. Twenty20 International Performance of the Year: Tim Southee (New Zealand)
4. Umpire of the Year 2011: Tim Southee (New Zealand)
5. People's Choice Award: Kumar Sangakkara (Sri Lanka)
6. ODI Player of the Year: Kumar Sangakkara (Sri Lanka)
7. Test Player of the Year: Alastair Cook (England)
8. Woman Cricketer of the Year: Stephanie Taylor (West Indies)
9. ICC Player of the Year: Jonathan Trott
