Australian duo Steve Smith and Ellyse Perry were presented with Cricketer of the Decade Awards at the ICC, with Smith being named as a Test player of the decade, and Perry being awarded as the best female player of the decade.
Perry’s incredible recognition came as she also claimed to have won the ODI and T20I Cricket Player of the Year award for the decade.
Virat Kohli – Male Cricketer Of The Decade
While Smith was named the Men’s Test Cricketer of the Decade, he was edged out by Indian captain Virat Kohli as the Male Cricketer of the Decade, with Kohli taking out the Sir Garfield Sobers Award.
Kohli was also named Men’s ODI Cricketer of the Decade, while Rashid Khan of Afghanistan was named Men’s T20I Cricketer of the Decade.
Smith took the Test award from a competent and competitive pool of seven nominees which included James Anderson of England and Joe Root, Kohli, Rangana Herath, Yasir Shah and New Zealand captain Kane Williamson.
The Australian superstar scored 7042 best runs with a score of 64.60 in the qualifying season, beating 26 centuries. Kohli was the only player to score more Test centuries than Smith in the decade, with the Indian skipper notching 27 Test tons.
Perry has released teammates Meg Lanning, Suzie Bates from New Zealand, Sarah Taylor from England, Mithali Raj from India and Stefanie Taylor from the West Indies have been named as women’s cricket players for the past ten years.
The Aussie star’s ten-year career spans for centuries in both Test and ODI formats, with a Test average of 114.60 and an ODI rating of 68.97.
Other Winners
Sir Garfield Sobers Award for ICC Male Cricketer of the Decade: Virat Kohli (India)
Rachael Heyhoe Flint Award for ICC Female Cricketer of the Decade: Ellyse Perry (Australia)
ICC Men’s Test Cricketer of the Decade: Steve Smith (Australia)
ICC Women’s ODI Cricketer of the Decade: Ellyse Perry (Australia)
ICC Men’s ODI Cricketer of the Decade: Virat Kohli (India)
ICC Women’s T20I Cricketer of the Decade: Ellyse Perry (Australia)
ICC Men’s T20I Cricketer of the Decade: Rashid Khan (Afghanistan)
ICC Men’s Associate Cricketer of the Decade: Kyle Coetzer (Scotland)
ICC Women’s Associate Cricketer of the Decade: Kathryn Bryce (Scotland)
ICC Spirit of Cricket Award of the Decade: MS Dhoni (India)
