White Ferns captain Suzie Bates has been named ICC ICC Women’s ODI Cricketer of the Year after scoring 521 runs at almost 58, taking eight wickets and leading her side with distinction.
Bates was also nominated for ICC Women’s T20I Cricketer of the Year at the LG ICC cricket awards, which were presented on 14 December 2013 in a special TV event. It caps off a year in which she was named Player Of The Tournament in the ICC Woman's World Cup in India.
There could be further awards ahead, as Bates was also unveiled as a nominee for High Performance Sport New Zealand Sportswoman of the Year in the Halberg Awards. She is up against a strong field for the award including swimmer Lauren Boyle, golfer Lydia Ko and shot-putter Valerie Adams.
Other New Zealanders among the LF ICC honour-ees include Martin Guptill and Brendon McCullum for Twenty20 International Performance of the year, along side Sri Lanka’s Ajantha Mendis and Pakistan’s Umar Gul. Guptill is nominated for his 101no v South Africa in East London in December 2012, and McCullum for his 123 v Bangladesh in Pallekele in October 2012.
Pace bowler Trent Boult has also been nominated for ICC Emerging Cricketer of the Year, along with Cheteshwar Pujara, Joe Root and Mitchell Starc.
Mitchell McClenghan has been named 12th man for the ICC World ODI Team Of The Year, on the back of his strong performances against South Africa, England and in the ICC Champions Trophy. McClenaghan promised in a tweet to make the starting XI next year.
Finally, Ross Taylor's best patch of form since his Under 17 and 19 year old tournaments (as he deadpanned in a Basin Reserve media conference) has seen him move to seventh place in the ICC Test Batsman player ratings, his ever ever placing. The latest list was released before the second ANZ Test at the Basin where he scored 129 in the first innings, so he may be set to rise even higher.
