Joe Root named on shortlist for ICC cricketer of the decade

LONDON: England Test captain Joe Root has been named on a seven-man shortlist for the ICC Male Cricketer of the Decade, while compatriot Sarah Taylor has been nominated for the female award.

Root is in contention for the Sir Garfield Sobers Award alongside India pair Ravichandran Ashwin and Virat Kohli, Australian batsman Steve Smith, New Zealand skipper Kane Williamson, AB De Villiers of South Africa, and Sri Lanka’s Kumar Sangakkara.

Batsman Taylor is included among six contenders for the Rachael Heyhoe Flint Award. Australians Meg Lanning and Ellyse Perry, New Zealand’s Suzie Bates, Stafanie Taylor of the West Indies, and India’s Mithali Raj make up the shortlist.

The awards recognise the best overall performers across all formats of international cricket between January 1, 2011 and October 7, 2020.

A fan vote, which runs from November 25 until December 16, will make up 10 per of the voting, with votes from an expert panel contributing 90 per cent.

Root is also up for Test Cricketer of the Decade, along with England team-mate James Anderson, while Anya Shrubsole has been shortlisted for the ICC Women’s T20I Cricketer of the Decade.

Meanwhile, Scotland trio Richie Berrington, Kyle Coetzer and Calum MacLeod have been nominated for the Men’s Associate Cricketer of the Decade , while compatriots Kathryn Bryce and Sarah Bryce are up for the female equivalent.