Daryl Mitchell of New Zealand has been named the ICC Spirit of Cricket Award winner for his gesture in the 2021 ICC Men’s T20 World Cup semi-final against England in Abu Dhabi.
THE FULL LIST OF THE 2021 ICC AWARDS WINNERS
Mitchell becomes the fourth New Zealand player to win the award, following the footsteps of Daniel Vettori, Brendon McCullum and Kane Williamson. Mitchell wins the award for refusing to take a single in the high-pressure T20 World Cup semi-final against England in Abu Dhabi on November 10, 2021.
“It’s an honour to be honoured with the ICC Spirit of Cricket Award,” Mitchell said. “Being a part of the T20 World Cup in the UAE was an incredible experience, and receiving an award like this is pretty cool.” The way we go about playing cricket, and yes, the Spirit of Cricket side, is something we take pride in as New Zealanders. Personally, I felt I got in the way, and we wanted to win on our terms, not be controversial in such a big game.
“The fact that we won the game paid off in the long run. Looking back, it all seemed to happen rather quickly.”
This spirit is described in the preamble to the cricket laws: “Cricket is a game that owes much of its unique appeal to the fact that it should be played not only according to the rules, but also according to the spirit of the game. Any action that appears to be an affront to this spirit harms the game itself.”
The preamble continues, “The spirit of the game entails respect for:
* Your adversaries
* You have your own captain and team.
* The function of the umpires
* The traditional values of the game
England and New Zealand were locked in a tight battle to reach the final of the 2021 ICC Men’s T20 World Cup at the Sheikh Zayed Stadium in Abu Dhabi. England batted first and posted a competitive 166/4 on the board thanks to Moeen Ali’s half-century.
New Zealand was on track to win the run chase, with a well-established Mitchell forming a partnership with James Neesham, who was in blistering form. The incident occurred on the first ball of Adil Rashid’s 18th over, with the score at 133/4.
