Dubai, Jan 26: Australia’s World Cup-winning captain Pat Cummins clinched the Sir Garfield Sobers Trophy for the ICC Men’s Cricketer of the Year 2023. For Cummins, 2023 was nothing short of a fairytale story, a year that saw him lift the ICC World Test Championship trophy, retain the Ashes, and a record-extending sixth World Cup title.The Australian skipper overcame tough competition from his teammate Travis Head, ODI cricketer of the year Virat Kohli and India’s star all-rounder Ravindra Jadeja. Cummins finished the year with 422 runs and 59 wickets in 24 matches.
He spearheaded Australia’s pace attack against England in the first Test and provided a handy contribution of 38 runs to reduce the hosts’ lead to just 10 runs.
In the second innings, he claimed a four-wicket haul to ensure Australia required less than 300 runs to clinch victory. When Australia found themselves at 192/6, Cummins played a valiant knock to guide his team to a remarkable victory.
Cummins signed off 2023 with his second 10-wicket haul in Test cricket. His efforts with the ball helped Australia win the Test series against Pakistan.
However, the 30-year-old stood out with his captaincy skills in the final of the ODI World Cup. After winning the toss, he put India to bat and introduced part-time spinner Glenn Maxwell to remove Rohit Sharma who was on a destructive path.
Cummins capitalized on the opportunity and removed Shreyas Iyer to put Australia in firm control and restrict India to a score of 240. In reply, Travis Head’s 137 guided Australia to yet another World Cup triumph.