New Zealand Cricket Awards: Trent Boult named T20I player of the year

Trent Boult and Sophie Devine bag massive honours on Day 1 of the New Zealand Cricket Awards owing to the special show in national colours. The former was named Men’s T20I player of the year due to his stellar show in the T20 World Cup last year, which took place in UAE. Boult took 13 wickets in the tournament and played a crucial role in taking his side to the finals.

He even recorded figures of 2/18 in the final clash against Australia, which saw the Men in Yellow chase down 173 in 18.5 overs. Meanwhile, White Ferns captain Sophie Devine was conferred with the corresponding women’s award. Since September 2021, the dasher scored 118 runs in four outings at 29.50, with a strike-rate of 113.46 and a top-score of 50 against England.

Meanwhile, these awards are distributed digitally over three days. While Melie Kerr and Michael Bracewell were named the Super Smash players of the year, Ross Taylor’s final wicket in his last test against Bangladesh was voted the fan moment of the summer.

T20 is a format I really enjoy: Trent Boult

Meanwhile, Boult, who’s currently plying his trade for Rajasthan Royals in the ongoing Indian Premier League (IPL) 2022, expressed his delight after bagging the massive honour. “It means a lot,” the left-arm pacer said in a video shared by New Zealand Cricket’s official page on social media.

“T20 is a format I really enjoy and one I’m constantly trying to adapt my game to in order to become a better bowler. It’s something very special to win this award and I feel really grateful to receive it,” He added.

Meanwhile, Day 2 of the event, which takes place on Wednesday (April 13), sees players bagging honours for their special show in the First-Class and domestic circuit. The men’s and women’s ODI players of the year, and the umpire of the year award will also be announced. The event will be concluded on Thursday, where men’s and women’s domestic players of the year and the Test player of the year will be named.

Meanwhile, let’s look at the awards distributed on Day 1:

ANZ International Women’s T20 Player of the Year: Sophie Devine (Wellington Blaze)

ANZ International Men’s T20 Player of the Year: Trent Boult (Northern Brave)

Women’s Dream11 Super Smash Player of the Year: Melie Kerr (Wellington Blaze)

Men’s Dream11 Super Smash Player of the Year: Michael Bracewell (Wellington Firebirds)

ANZ Fan Moment of the Summer: Ross Taylor’s final wicket in his last test

Community Awards:

Gillette Venus Young Player of the Year: Fran Jonas (Auckland Cricket)

Gillette Young Player of the Year: Jacob Cummings (Otago Cricket)

Club of the Year: Pleasant Point Cricket Club (South Canterbury)

Volunteer of the Year: Jeremy Dean (Eastern Suburbs & Wellington Wanders)

Community Cricket Activator of the Year: Frances Stewart (Cricket Wellington)

Official of the Year: Brendon Davies (Northern Districts)

Best Female Engagement Initiative: Young Leaders (Cricket Wellington)

Outstanding Contribution and Services to Coaching: Maria Lankeshwar (nee Fahey) (Sydenham Cricket Club)

Outstanding Contribution to Cricket: Anthony de Joux (Celtic Cricket Club)

Best Diversity and Inclusion Initiative: Counties Manukau Premier League (Counties Manukau)

Community Cricket Collaboration Initiative of the Year: Canterbury Cricket

Sir Jack Newman: Gerard Finnie (Otago Cricket)