Sri Lanka captain Angelo Mathews leads a quintet of players nominated for the People’s Choice Award including England women’s captain Charlotte Edwards, Australia fast bowler Mitchell Johnson, India fast bowler Bhuvneshwar Kumar and South Africa fast bowler Dale Steyn.
Angelo Mathews has had an exceptional past 12 months which has defined his career and captaincy. He has amassed 1292 runs in Tests at a staggering average of 92.28 and 965 ODI runs at 53.61. In Tests Mathews has scored 946 runs since being appointed as captain at an average of 78.83. His 160 at Headingley changed the complexion of the 2nd Test in the recent England tour. Prior to the victorious T20 World Cup campaign he averaged a ridiculous 196 in the Asia Cup.
The short-list was nominated by an elite panel of cricket experts, which is headed by ICC Cricket Committee Chairman and former India captain Anil Kumble. Other members of the panel are Jonathan Agnew, a former England international and now a respected broadcaster/journalist, ex-Sri Lanka opener Russel Arnold, former New Zealand captain Stephen Fleming, and Betty Timmer, former Chair of the ICC Women’s Committee.
The five players were selected by the panel using the criteria set out by LG and the ICC, which required that the nominees have displayed attributes regarded by LG as being in line with its corporate qualities, such as innovation, dynamism, strength in decision-making, performing well under pressure and executing a plan to distinction.
ICC Chief Executive David Richardson said: “The support of the fans is vital for the game and particularly valued by the players – hence, the significance of the LG People’s Choice award. The overwhelming number of cricket fans who participate to select the winner of this award has made it one of the most prestigious awards in the ICC calendar.
“None of the deserving nominees have won this award before and this year’s fan favourite will join the exclusive company of previous winners, Sachin Tendulkar (2010), Kumar Sangakkara (2011 and 2012) and Mahendra Singh Dhoni (2013).”
Fans will have the opportunity to decide the winner by voting for their favourite player either via www.lgiccawards.com via Twitter using the hashtag #lgiccawards.
Voting for the LG People’s Choice Award is now open and will close at midnight (UAE time) on Thursday, 30 October. The winner, as well as the ICC Test and ODI Teams of the Year and the short-list for the remaining LG ICC Awards 2014 will be announced on Wednesday 5 November 2014 at a press conference at the ICC Headquarters in Dubai. ICC Chief Executive David Richardson and ICC Cricket Committee Chairman Anil Kumble will attend the press conference, which will start at 1030.
ThePapare.com implores Sri Lanka to vote in numbers for our Captain Marvel.
