Shai Hope among shortlist for ICC ODI Player of the Year

West Indies wicketkeeper-batsman Shai Hope is among an impressive list of four players on the shortlist for the ICC Men’s One-Day International Player-of-the-Year 2022 award. The others are Pakistan captain Babar Azam, Australia leg-spinner Adam Zampa, and Zimbabwe all-rounder Sikandar Raza.

Hope made his ODI debut in six years ago and since 2017, he has finished every year as the highest run-scorer in ODIs for the West Indies. This year was no different, and the 29-year-old was once again the team’s leading batter. He did not get off to the greatest of starts this year, but he started to grind out runs in typical fashion in the later stages of the year, and finished with 709 runs at an average of 35.45 that included three hundreds and two half-centuries.

His first century was 119 not out off 130 balls against the Netherlands which earned him the Player-of-the-Match award in the first ODI of three in a series between May and June. A week later he made 127 against Pakistan in Multan which came off 134 balls and included 15 fours and a six. His most accomplished knock came against India in Trinidad when he made 115 off 135 balls with eight fours and three sixes in his 100th ODI appearance.

Babar, the ODI Player-of-the-Year for 2021 and the No. 1 ranked ODI batsman in the world, is in the running to do a repeat in 2022 after he again showed his prowess in the 50 overs-a-side format. In nine matches he had eight scores of more than 50, three of which he converted into hundreds, and he finished the year with 679 runs at a stunning average of 84.87.

Raza, 36, marked the resurgence of Zimbabwe on the international scene with 645 runs at an average of 49.61 and strike rate of 87.16, including three hundreds, all of which came while chasing, with two resulting in victories and another almost taking Zimbabwe across the line against India. With the ball in hand, Raza was reliable, scalping eight wickets while giving away a little more than five runs an over.

Zampa continued to show why he has been a vital cog in the Australian white-ball set-up, finishing the year by matching his tally of 30 wickets from his debut year in 2016.

ICC Awards 2022 – shortlists:

Sir Garfield Sobers Trophy for ICC Men’s Cricketer of the Year; Babar Azam (PAK), Sikandar Raza (ZIM), Tim Southee (NZ), Ben Stokes (ENG)

Rachael Heyhoe Flint Trophy for ICC Women’s Cricketer of the Year; Amelia Kerr (NZ), Smriti Mandhana (IND), Beth Mooney (AUS), Nat Sciver (ENG)

ICC Men’s Test Cricketer of the Year; Jonny Bairstow (ENG), Usman Khawaja (AUS), Kagiso Rabada (SA), Ben Stokes (ENG)

ICC Men’s ODI Cricketer of the Year; Babar Azam (PAK), Shai Hope (WI), Sikandar Raza (ZIM), Adam Zampa (AUS)

ICC Women’s ODI Cricketer of the Year; Alyssa Healy (AUS), Shabnim Ismail (SA), Amelia Kerr (NZ), Nat Sciver (ENG)

ICC Men’s T20I Cricketer of the Year; Sam Curran (ENG), Sikandar Raza (ZIM), Mohammad Rizwan (PAK), Suryakumar Yadav (IND)

ICC Women’s T20I Cricketer of the Year; Nida Dar (PAK), Sophie Devine (NZ), Smriti Mandhana (IND), Tahlia McGrath (AUS)

ICC Emerging Men’s Cricketer of the Year; Finn Allen (NZ), Marco Jansen (SA), Arshdeep Singh (IND), Ibrahim Zadran (AFG)

ICC Emerging Women’s Cricketer of the Year; Yastika Bhatia (IND), Darcie Brown (AUS), Alice Capsey (ENG), Renuka Singh (IND)

Shortlists for these categories were determined by a specialist panel of cricket writers and broadcasters, identifying the nominees based on statistics and overall achievements in international cricket through the calendar year.

ICC Men’s and Women’s Associate Cricketers of the Year will also be announced from the action in 2022. These categories will not feature shortlists and will be determined solely by the ICC Voting Academy.

The final categories that comprise the ICC Awards 2022 are the ICC Spirit of Cricket Award, and the ICC Umpire of the Year Award.

The ICC Spirit of Cricket Award acknowledges an action, moment, gesture, or decision on the field of play in international cricket during the year which best reflects the Spirit of Cricket, with the winning entry selected by the ICC.

The ICC Umpire of the Year Award celebrates the outstanding umpire from the calendar year, and is determined by votes collected from the Emirates Elite Panel of Match Referees, as well as playing captains from ICC Full Member nations.