Marlon Samuels named West Indies Cricketer of the Year

Veteran West Indies all-rounder Marlon Samuels was adjudged as the ODI Player of the Year and the Cricketer of the Year at the West Indies Cricket Board’s (WICB) annual awards function, held in Antigua on Tuesday. The 35-year-old has scored 859 runs in 22 ODIs since 2015 with three ODI hundreds. In the recently-concluded Tri Series, involving Australia and South Africa, the Caribbean cricketer finished as the second highest run-getter, only behind the Australian captain, Steve Smith, with 258 runs at 36.85. Also, in the not so distant past, Samuels was the hero of West Indies’ title-clinching victory at the ICC World T20 2016, wherein he scored a match-defining 85 to help his side hunt down the target of 156 set by England in the final. The performance had also fetched him his second Man of the Match award in a World T20 final.

Amongst other awards, Stefanie Taylor, who led the West Indies women to the title victory at the ICC Women’s World T20 2016, was named as the Women’s T20 Player of the Year and ODI Player of the Year. Taylor was the leading run-scorer of the tournament, with 246 runs to her name from six matches, that included the knock of 59 against Australia in the final. Overall, her ODI form since the beginning of the year 2015 has also been exemplary, as she has amassed 491 runs from 10 games at 70.14.

Darren Bravo was chosen as the Test player of the year, while his brother, Dwayne Bravo, was chosen as the Caribbean T20 Player of the Year. Chris Gayle, the man who has redefined the art of T20 batsmanship in many ways, was deservingly named as the T20 Player of the Year.

Jomel Warrican, the left-arm spinner, who had an impressive Test debut, as he picked up six wickets against Sri Lanka in October 2015 was named as the Emerging Player of the Year, while Shimron Hetmyer, who led the West Indies U-19 to the title victory in the ICC Under 19 Cricket World Cup held in Bangladesh earlier this year, was named as the Under 19 Player of the Year.

Meanwhile, the West Indies Test side is gearing up for an upcoming challenge in the form of a four-Test series against the visiting Indian Cricket Team, with the first Test set to begin at the Sir Vivian Richards Stadium, Antigua, on July 21.