After bagging the Sir Garfield Sobers Trophy for the ICC Player of the Year, England all-rounder Ben Stokes said the 'last 12 months have been the best" in his career.
"The last 12 months have been the best in my career, and I believe what we attained will be the catalyst to achieve further success over the next few years," International Cricket Council (ICC) quoted Stokes as saying.
Stokes played a decisive role in England's dramatic victory at the ICC Men's Cricket World Cup 2019. He amassed 719 runs and bagged 12 wickets in 20 ODIs during the voting period.
Reflecting on the award, Stokes said: "It is quite flattering to win the Sir Garfield Sobers Trophy for the ICC Men's Cricketer of the Year. The past 12 months have been incredible for England cricket and to lift the ICC Men's Cricket World Cup for the first time was our greatest achievement."
"This award is testament to my teammates and the support staff that have been there every step of the way. Fundamentally, without the support of these individuals, we would have never achieved our objective of lifting a major trophy," he added.
Also, Indian opening batsman Rohit Sharma won the '2019 ODI Cricketer of the Year' award.
Sharma was at his devastating best at the ICC Men's Cricket World Cup and he was the highest run-getter in the tournament. He amassed 648 runs from nine games in the premier tournament.
"I would like to thank the ICC for giving me this award and the BCCI for giving me the opportunity to represent the country. It is great to be recognised in this fashion. We are very happy with the way we performed as a team in 2019. We could have done better but we have a lot of positives and a lot to look forward to in 2020," Sharma said.
The cricket governing body conferred India skipper Virat Kohli with the ICC's '2019 Spirit of Cricket' award. He bagged the prize for his gesture during the Cricket World Cup match between India and Australia.
"I'm surprised that I have got it, after many years of being under the scanner for the wrong things. It is part of camaraderie that sportsmen must have with each other. That moment was purely understanding an individual's situation. I don't think a guy who is coming out of a situation like that needs to be taken advantage of. You can sledge, can have banter on the field, you say things to the opposition in wanting to beat them. But booing someone is not in the spirit of any sport, I don't endorse it," Kohli said.
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