Yorkshire batsman Joe Root has been elected England Cricketer of the Year for 2014-15 by British sports journalists, the England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB) announced on Monday.
The 24-year-old has scored 1,135 Test runs at an average of nearly 95 over the past 12 months, including four scores of 149 and over, and also hit three one-day international centuries.
Root, recently appointed vice-captain of England’s Test team, overcame competition from a shortlist including James Anderson, Moeen Ali and Gary Ballance to win the award for the first time.
Charlotte Edwards was named England Women’s Cricketer of the Year for the second consecutive year and also received a silver cap to mark her 200th match as captain against New Zealand in February.
Edwards led England Women to one-day series wins over India and New Zealand and Twenty20 series successes against South Africa and New Zealand.
Lancashire’s right-arm seamer Saqib Mahmood won the England Development Programme Cricketer of the Year award, while Luke Sugg from England’s Visually Impaired team was named Disability Cricketer of the Year.
The four players were honoured during a dinner in the famous Long Room at Lord’s.
“These awards once again highlight the sheer breadth of individual talent across our different England teams and there was fierce competition for the trophies in all four categories,” said ECB chief executive Tom Harrison.
