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Williamson, Root crunched between Pakistan’s Rizwan and Shaheen for ICC Player of the Year 2021 award

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The International Cricket Council (ICC), after having announced the nominees for T20I and ODI players of the year in the Men’s category, announced the nominees for the Player of the Year award, the biggest honour in the year ending award shows that the ICC hosts every calendar year. 

The player which wins the award is presented with the Sir Garfield Sobers Trophy. The nominees include four players who had a superb year in all three formats and if not all three then, at least in one format to supersede performances of others in even all three formats of the game. 

England’s Test skipper Joe Root, who scored a record 17808 Test runs, most for any English batter in a calendar year and third-highest for any batter in the world ever. In total though, the 31-year-old scored 1855 runs in 18 international matches at an average of 58.37 with 6 centuries, two of which were double hundreds in challenging conditions such as India and Sri Lanka. 

Thanks to the solid performances, the Englishman even reached the summit of the MRF Tyres ICC Test Player Rankings for batting, 

Next on the list is Pakistan quick Shaheen Afridi. The 22-year-old was a revelation in world cricket this year. He took a total of 78 wickets in only 36 international matches at an average of 22.20. 

His most fulfilling performances came in the shortest format though as he scalped 23 wickets in 21 matches and shone brightly in Pakistan’s historic win over India in the T20 World Cup. In Tests too, the left-hander was able to get the ball move on his wishes as he took 7 wickets in only 9 matches at a staggering average of 17.06.

New Zealand skipper Kane Williamson will also present his strong case for the award, not mainly as a player, but as a leader. Though he also has 693 runs in 16 internationals at an average of 43.31 with one century to boast of for a batter, it is mainly his leadership skills that put him up on the pedestal with the rest of the best players. 

He led New Zealand to its first-ever world title in cricket as the Kiwis own the World Test Championship 2021 by beating India in the final. He then carried that momentum and also saw his side claim the number one spot in Test rankings. It could have been icing on the cake had the Blackcaps managed to beat the Trans-Tasman rivals in the T20 World Cup final. 

Williamson tried his level best with a 43-ball 85 to propel his side to set up the highest total to chase in a World Cup final. But it wasn’t enough. But even the fact that his team was able to make the two world event finals in the same calendar year speaks volumes about his leadership skills. 

Last on the list is the Pakistan run machine for the year 2021, Mohammad Rizwan. The batter scored 1915 runs in 44 internationals at an average of 56.32 with 2 centuries to his name. He also had to his credit 56 dismissals as a wicketkeeper. 

His best however was shown in the t20iS where he scored staggering 1326 runs in only 29 matches at an average of 73.66 and a strike rate of 134.89. His fighting spirit was also on display during the T20 World Cup where he took to the field in the semi-final even after having undergone severe treatment just days before the big game.

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Quinton de Kock retires from Test cricket with immediate effect

In a shocking move right after the completion of the first Test of the series against India, wicketkeeper-batsman Quinton de Kock has announced retirement from Test cricket. He has announced his departure from the format with immediate effect but said that to reach the decision took him a lot of time. However, he maintained that his international career for South Africa is not over and reiterated his commitment to play the other two formats of the game. He was all set to miss the remainder of the Test series against India but he has chosen to walk a completely different with the purpose of spending more time, which he said is the most precious thing in his life, with his young family. “This is not a decision that I have come to very easily. I have taken a lot of time to think about what my future looks like and what needs to take priority in my life now that Sasha and I are about to welcome our first child into this world and look to grow our family beyond that. My family is everything to me and I want to have the time and space to be able to be with them during this new and exciting chapter of our lives. “I love Test cricket and I love representing my country and all that it comes with. I’ve enjoyed the ups and the downs, the celebrations and even the disappointments, but now I’ve found something that I love even more. In life, you can buy almost everything except for time, and right now, it’s time to do right by the people that mean the most to me.” “I would like to take this opportunity to thank everyone who has been a part of my Test cricket journey from the very beginning. To my coaches, teammates, the various management teams and my family and friends – I couldn’t have shown up as I did without your support. “This is not the end of my career as a Protea, I’m fully committed to white ball cricket and representing my country to the best of my ability for the foreseeable future.” “All the best to my teammates for the remainder of this Test series against India.” He made good start to his innings in the first innings of the Centurion Test before getting out while in the seocnd innings he struggled throughout to time the ball before playing on his stumps for 21.

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Ross Taylor forgoes South Africa Tests to end career playing his favourite format against Australia

Ross Taylor, who announced his retirement from all forms of cricket on Thursday, December 30th, 2021 said that he chose to play ODI cricket against Australia away from home as supposed Tests against South Africa at home because ODI is his favourite format and Australia one of his favourite places to play cricket. "The Australian series is really close and with quarantine and coming back, it's probably going to be one side that goes to Australia and the Test side will stay behind. That's what made the decision a lot easier. It would have been nice to play against South Africa, but Australia's a place I've always enjoyed ... and finishing my career playing one-day cricket which is probably my best format,” he was quoted as saying by Cricbuzz. Talking about the timing of his retirement so close to the ODI World Cup in 2023, Taylor said, "It's the right time for me and my family. At the same time, I've still got some cricket to play. In an ideal world, I would have played and then [announced] it at the end, but at this level, you can't do that." "It's something that I've thought about for a long time, it's not a decision I've made in the last couple of weeks. It's nice to have a bit of clarity and finish on your own terms. I think it's just the right time for me and my family," he added. Taylor, who became the first player in the world to play more than 100 games in all three formats, said that he was never sure about his Test cricket, but is very proud that he was able to mould his game and went on to represent his country in more than 100 Tests. "After my first Test series I thought that was me done, so I've done alright since then. I always thought I could play one-day cricket, I wasn't [100 per cent] on whether I'd be a good Test player or not, but I worked hard at that and I think that's probably my greatest achievement. I could have just smacked it and averaged 30-odd but I changed my game for the team, I don't think many people would have been able to move their game in that direction and I'm happy I made that decision,” he said. Taylor, who made his debut in March 2006 would bid goodbye to the game in April 2022 at the end of the New Zealand summer with three ODIs against a touring Netherlands side. In between then and now, he would play two Tests against Bangladesh and three ODIs against Australia.