Sophie Ecclestone up for ICC T20 player of the year award

England spinner Sophie Ecclestone has been shortlisted for women’s T20 player of the year in the International Cricket Council’s 2023 awards.

The left-armer, the world’s number one ranked bowler in both white-ball formats, claimed 23 wickets in 11 games last year at an average of 10.60 despite spending four months out with a dislocated shoulder.

The 24-year-old was the top wicket-taker at the T20 World Cup in February with 11, but could not inspire England beyond the semi-final stage.

She is up against three high-class all-rounders, with Australia’s Ellyse Perry, West Indian Hayley Mathews and Sri Lanka’s Chamari Athapaththu also nominated.

Ecclestone’s team-mate Lauren Bell is also up for an award after making the cut for women’s emerging player of the year. The tall seamer established herself as a first-choice across all three forms, picking up a total of 22 wickets.

She goes up against Scotland’s Darcey Carter, who made 224 runs and took 13 T20 wickets in her first six months as a full international, Australia’s Phoebe Litchfield and Bangladesh’s Marufa Akter.

The men’s T20 shortlist included 2022 winner Suryakumar Yadav of India, New Zealand’s Mark Chapman, Zimbabwe’s Sikandar Raza and Uganda’s Alpesh Ramjani – who helped his side qualify for their first ever World Cup.

Gerald Coetzee (South Africa), Yashasvi Jaiswal (India), Dilshan Madushanka (Sri Lanka) and Rachin Ravindra (New Zealand) compete for the men’s emerging player. Nominees for Test and ODI awards will be released later this week.