CMS CRICKET AWARDS 2016

[Arthur Crabtree]

Welcome back, and on with the presentations.

We move onto Test cricket, the primary, most arcane and esoteric form of the game, seldom fully understood even by it's staunchest supporters, and currently most vulnerable to those whose role it is to preserve it.

Test cricket is said to be weighed too heavily in favour of the home side, so perhaps most credit over the year should go to England in South Africa, Australia in New Zealand and South Africa in Australia for their away wins. The winners of the best batting and bowling displays came in away wins. It is unusual that three sides have been ranked first in the last year: Australia, Pakistan and India. We entered 2016 without a clear idea of the best side in the world, but now it seems likely that Virat Kohli's resurgent India are set to dominate for the next few years.

Perhaps the greatest source of hope and gratification in 2016 has been the emergence of Bangladesh, culminating in their heartwarming defeat of England in October.

[Arthur Crabtree]

Five Test Players of the Year.

Sixteen players were nominated, but Steve Smith and Azhar Ali were the only ones with a substantial vote to miss out.

JONNY BAIRSTOW made a spectacular breakthrough in Test cricket last year, starting to repair England's top order collapses with the confidence and reliability that he has so often employed for Yorkshire. He broke the record for the most runs by a keeper in a calendar year (formerly Andy Flower, 2000). He accumulated the third most runs by an England batter in any year. And, remarkably, he took the annual record for the most fielding dismissals (from Ian Healy, 1993).

The best bowling record in a series this year was RANGANA HERATH'S 28 wickets in three home Tests against Australia. A wicket every 31 balls. The 38 year old has been attracting valedictory accolades for many years now, but at home at least, he's still not far off his peak. Home and away, his strike rate was the best for any spinner. Scored a few valuable runs too. (Level on votes with Bairstow).

The leading wicket taker among pace bowlers in 2016 was MITCHELL STARC, the last Mitch standing for Australia. He attracted most attention for his 24 wickets in Sri Lanka; he was a different class from the other pace bowlers in the series. Last year was a poor one for Australia, but Starc actually enhanced his reputation and is probably now the best pace bowler around. Made a fifty against South Africa and took 84 off Pakistan too.

RAVI ASHWIN confirmed his status as the world's leading all rounder in 2016. He scored two hundreds in the West Indies and three fifties against England and looked a plausible and elegant number six. But as a bowler he has been a wrecking ball. At home he made the New Zealand and England batters look as confused as an Orc in a shoe shop. And against New Zealand in Kanpur he became the second fastest ever to 200 wickets (37 Tests to the Kiwi Clarrie Grimmett's 36). He has the best career strike rate of any spinner to take 150 Test wickets. A serious bowler.

Level on votes was the India captain VIRAT KOHLI, who led his team to three series wins in 2016 with no defeats. In that hugely successful run, he was his side's leading run scorer and the world player with the leading average. No one scored more than his four hundreds, and three of these were turned into doubles. The biggest of these, his 235 at the Wankhede Stadium was one of the great knocks of 2016. Only Steve Smith offers serious competition to Kohli as the world's current best bat.

[Making_Splinters]

There's no doubt that Kohli has been the stand out player across all formats this year. The real question is can he maintain his form for the next 24 months, especially when India get overseas against quality opposition.

[Arthur Crabtree]

Best Test Innings of the Year.

BEN STOKES has been voted by CMS as having played the best Test innings for the second year in a row. In 2015, it was for his 92/101 against New Zealand at Lord's. In 2016, it was his 258 off 198 balls in the New Year Test at Newlands in Cape Town. As against the Kiwis, Stokes turned around a distinctly sticky situation to a massive advantage. He walked to the middle on a hat-trick at 167-4 on the first day, and departed run out at 622-6, having added 399 runs with Jonny Bairstow for the sixth wicket. It was the second fastest double ton in tests. It was the highest score by an England player against South Africa. It was bloody brutal, with 11 sixes (only Wasim Akram has hit-one- more), particularly memorable when struck straight back over the bowler's head. It was a good pitch and the match was a draw, but Stokes' chanceless hitting was unprecedented by an England bat.

http://www.espncricinfo.com/south-afric ... 00463.html


Best Test Bowling of the Year.

In the next Test England took an unbeatable 2-0 lead in the series with a seven wicket win at the Wanderers, Johannesburg. And STUART BROAD conjured another of his irresistible spells of wicket taking to seize from South Africa a game that had been dead even to that point. England edged a lead of ten from the first innings. Broad took the first wicket on 23 with Dean Elgar caught behind. When he bowled Temba Bavuma, South Africa were 35-5, and Broad had wicket to wicket figures of 5-4-1-5! The one run came off a near-catch. It was his seventh five or more wicket spell. How often does often does Broad have one of these winning streaks with the series to be won? The tall pace bowler came back for the last wicket of F. du Plessis, to post innings figures of 12-6-17-6 and leave the batters 74 to win.


http://www.espncricinfo.com/south-afric ... 00465.html

[rich1uk]

just noticed there was a site record 71 users online yesterday, must have been for the awards show


i didn't vote as i am getting too old to remember who did what but great job AC

[Arthur Crabtree]

I wouldn't like my typos to go out to too big an audience.

[Arthur Crabtree]

To complete the Test match section of the awards.

Test Match of the Year.

This was a closely contested category with the third Test between Pakistan and West Indies in Sharjah very close in second, memorable most indelibly for Kraigg Brathwaite's batting heroics.

http://www.espncricinfo.com/ci/engine/m ... 50233.html

The best Test of 2016 is BANGLADESH'S VICTORY OVER ENGLAND IN DHAKA by 108 runs. I doubt too many England supporters will rue this landmark victory by the home side. Perhaps the most undeservedly overlooked batting of the year was by Tamim Iqbal in this series as he continued his dominance of England bowlers (6 Tests, 3 hundreds, average 61.3). He was the top scorer over the two Tests on either side with 231 runs, way ahead of Imran Kayes' 143. It's a shame that he has no opportunity to have a Test career commensurate with his talents. His 104 out of 220 in the second Test was a huge contribution and he was the only batter on either side to get near a ton.

The Bangladeshi spinners were the match winners, taking all twenty wickets. Mehedi Hasan (12-159 at 18!), Shakib al Hasan (5-90) and Taijul Islam (3-72) strangled the England batters with a grip their bowlers couldn't replicate. England were damn relieved to win in Chittagong and Bangladesh drawing level in Dhaka was more than merited. It was easy to wish their fans well, at the ground and around the world, for this first really significant Test win. But for me the touching moment was watching Mehedi Hasan walk off the field in victory; a little shy and uncertain, looking to his older team mates for a clue of how to behave, when they hardly knew themselves.

So a satisfying, even harmlessly sentimental, moment to remember from the last year. And that's pretty much what it should be all about. If cricket can't be an opportunity to stimulate our sporting qualities, participant or spectator, then what is it for? Well done Bangladesh!

http://www.espncricinfo.com/ci/engine/m ... 29827.html



Overall Player of the Year.

No one voted for anyone other than VIRAT KOHLI!

So no arguments!


Thanks for all the votes. It was a very good turnout and I appreciate it.

[Making_Splinters]

I think claims of Bangladesh's improvement have been been put on hold following their thus far terrible performance in New Zealand. It seems as if a single test win against England has made people forget that the only Test series they've won in the last 6 years was against Zimbabwe. One test does not make a summer.

[Arthur Crabtree]

No true. But before that they weren't winning at home. So it was a leap forward. And it was coming based on home performances. Winning away is another level. There were only four away series wins by anyone last year (ignoring Zimbabwe). BD still have to play the Tests in NZ. No doubt they'll lose, but it won't take away the significance of having beaten England.

[Dr Cricket]

Bit odd still attacking bangladesh for Away test when India, England, Australia, pakistan, WI, South Africa etc are losing regularly away from home.

[Dr Cricket]

There's no doubt that Kohli has been the stand out player across all formats this year. The real question is can he maintain his form for the next 24 months, especially when India get overseas against quality opposition.

Looks like someone hasn't seen kohli bat in SA or Australia yet then or even looked at his away record.

[Durhamfootman]

Congratulations Arthur and thank you

(I saw what you did, btw)

[Durhamfootman]

thoroughly good read

Tolkien-esque

talk about putting the pressure on BN ......

[Making_Splinters]

Bit odd still attacking bangladesh for Away test when India, England, Australia, pakistan, WI, South Africa etc are losing regularly away from home.

Bangladesh have only won one series in the last 6 years, against Zimbabwe, that includes at home or away. So, no. Merely commenting that the euphoria about their improvement has been put decidedly in context especially given the fact that they've been playing in their stronger formats thus far in New Zealand.

As for Kohli, note it's a comment about maintaining form.

Devil's in the detail, as always. Oh wait, forgot again. To save everyone time, absolutely, Bangladesh are the best team after India and Kohli is the best batsman since Tendulkar at his peak. Phew, that could have been ugly, luckily I have my signature to remind me in these situations.

[Arthur Crabtree]

I did press the pedal down on their win, given the context of this thread. But even so, I don't think their win was one that demands a great deal of qualification, otherwise you just unnecessarily lose the joy of the event. There's no point standing on the terraces watching an epochal victory, shouting that they'll lose next time. Even though they will. You're right, but also maybe, arguably, missing the point a little. No one's suggesting they're comparable to the top sides.