The women's cricketer of the year award is named after former England international Rachael Heyhoe Flint
England's Nat Sciver-Brunt has once again been honored as the International Cricket Council's Women's Cricketer of the Year, making it her second consecutive win.
"It feels pretty special. I wasn't expecting it," Sciver-Brunt expressed, humbled by the recognition.
In the male category, Pat Cummins emerged victorious, thanks to Australia's triumph in the World Cup, Test Championship, and successful retention of the Ashes.
As the captain, Cummins played an instrumental role, claiming 18 wickets during the dramatic 2-2 Ashes draw, and an additional 15 wickets in India, securing their sixth 50-over title.
"It's a huge honor," exclaimed Cummins. "It has been a big year with lots of team success, and to receive this individual accolade is truly remarkable."
Sciver-Brunt's remarkable performance included scoring three centuries in just five one-day international matches in 2023, with two of them achieved against rivals Australia.
"I am really pleased and proud," Sciver-Brunt shared. "To compete against your teammates and the rest of the international teams in order to win this prestigious award is an incredible achievement."
Sciver-Brunt faced tough competition for the prize, overcoming Sri Lanka's Chamari Athapaththu, as well as Australian players Ash Gardner and Beth Mooney. Adding to her accolades, Sciver-Brunt also delivered impressive performances in two Tests during 2023, scoring 78 against Australia and 59 in a match against India in December.
Sciver-Brunt joins the ranks of Ellyse Perry from Australia and Smriti Mandhana from India as the only women cricketers to win the prestigious award twice before. However, she is the first to achieve this feat in consecutive years.
Despite Sciver-Brunt's individual success, the England team was unable to reclaim the Ashes in the multi-format series, which ended in an 8-8 draw. Additionally, they fell short in the T20 World Cup, exiting in the semifinals.
Sciver-Brunt's outstanding performance did not go unnoticed, as she also earned her place in the ICC's ODI and T20 teams of the year. Her teammate, Sophie Ecclestone, was also included in the T20 lineup.
In the men's category, Joe Root and Stuart Broad featured in the Test team of 2023, while Phil Salt represented England in the T20 XI. Australia's Usman Khawaja was awarded the prestigious title of men's Test player of the year, and India's Virat Kohli claimed the men's ODI award after surpassing former teammate Sachin Tendulkar's century record.
Here is the complete list of award winners:
Award Winners
- Men's Cricketer of the Year: Pat Cummins (Australia)
- Women's Cricketer of the Year: Nat Sciver-Brunt (England)
- Men's Test Cricketer of the Year: Usman Khawaja (Australia)
- Women's ODI Cricketer of the Year: Chamari Athapaththu (Sri Lanka)
- Men's ODI Cricketer of the Year: Virat Kohli (India)
- Men's T20 Cricketer of the Year: Suryakumar Yadav (India)
- Women's T20 Cricketer of the Year: Hayley Matthews (West Indies)
- Men's Associate Cricketer of the Year: Bas de Leede (Netherlands)
- Women's Associate Cricketer of the Year: Queentor Abel (Kenya)
- Men's Emerging Cricketer of the Year: Rachin Ravindra (New Zealand)
- Women's Emerging Cricketer of the Year: Phoebe Litchfield (Australia)
The ICC also announced the teams of the year for each format:
Men's Test Team of the Year: Usman Khawaja, Dimuth Karunaratne, Kane Williamson, Joe Root, Travis Head, Ravindra Jadeja, Alex Carey (wk), Pat Cummins (capt), Ravichandran Ashwin, Mitchell Starc, Stuart Broad
Women's ODI Team of the Year: Phoebe Litchfield, Chamari Athapaththu (capt), Ellyse Perry, Amelia Kerr, Beth Mooney (wk), Nat Sciver-Brunt, Ash Gardner, Annabel Sutherland, Nadine de Klerk, Lea Tahuhu, Nahida Akter
Men's ODI Team of the Year: Rohit Sharma (capt), Shubman Gill, Travis Head, Virat Kohli, Daryl Mitchell, Heinrich Klaasen (wk), Marco Jansen, Adam Zampa, Mohammed Siraj, Kuldeep Yadav, Mohammed Shami
Women's T20 Team of the Year: Chamari Athapaththu (capt), Beth Mooney (wk), Laura Wolvaardt, Hayley Matthews, Nat Sciver-Brunt, Amelia Kerr, Ellyse Perry, Ash Gardner, Deepti Sharma, Sophie Ecclestone, Megan Schutt
Men's T20 Team of the Year: Yashasvi Jaiswal, Phil Salt, Nicholas Pooran (wk), Suryakumar Yadav (capt), Mark Chapman, Sikandar Raza, Alpesh Ramjani, Mark Adair, Ravi Bishnoi, Richard Ngarava
With these awards, the ICC recognizes the outstanding contributions made by players from around the world and celebrates their achievements in international cricket. Congratulations to all the winners!
