Predicting the winners of 2018 ICC awards

2018 has come to an end, and the year saw a lot of fine performers from players of all the teams across all three formats. While a few of the players managed to make 2018 their own, a few failed to live up to the expectations.

Every year, the International Cricket Council will acknowledge the individual performances and hand over awards to the best performers across various categories. 2018 is no different as the awards will be handed over to the best performers.

Let us take a look at who are the favourites to win each award.

Things to note:

ICC Selection committee comprises of some former players and they select the finalists for all the major awards (ICC Cricketer of the Year, ICC Test Player of the Year, ICC ODI Player of the Year, ICC Emerging Player of the Year) before the actual winner is chosen by a voting system. The committee selects the ICC Test Team of the Year and ICC ODI Team of the Year.

The voting system will have as many as 58 votes which include all the current national team captains of Test playing nations (12), ICC Elite panel umpires and match referees (18), prominent former players and cricket correspondents across the globe(28).

If the voting ends in a tie, the award will be shared.

The performances of the players from January 1, 2018, to December 31, 2018, will be taken into consideration.

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ICC Fans' Moment of the Year

Unlike the other awards which will be decided by the captains, umpires, match referees, journalists etc., this award will be decided by the fans of the game. The ICC will shortlist three moments for the fans to vote and the one that gets the maximum votes will be the Fans' Moment of the Year award.

In 2017, Pakistan beating India in the final of the 2017 ICC Champions Trophy was chosen as the Fans' Moment of the Year.

ICC Spirit of Cricket

According to ICC, this award is given to the team most notable for "upholding the 'Spirit of the Game'", involving respect for, "their opponents", "their own captain and team", "The role of the umpires", "the game's traditional values".

Over the last one year, there were a few incidents that deserve to win this award but the Indian cricket team could end up winning this, thanks to their skipper Ajinkya Rahane inviting the whole Afghanistan team to pose with the trophy after their first-ever Test match in Bengaluru.

What a brilliant gesture from #TeamIndia to ask @ACBofficials players to pose with them with the Trophy. This has been more than just another Test match #SpiritofCricket #TheHistoricFirst #INDvAFG @Paytm pic.twitter.com/TxyEGVBOU8

— BCCI (@BCCI) June 15, 2018

ICC Associate Cricketer of the Year

Callum Macleod celebrates his century against England

In spite of failing to qualify for the 2019 ICC World Cup in an unlucky fashion, 2018 will be a memorable year for Scotland as they beat the best ODI side last year, England un an ODI.

The Scottish charge this year was led by batsman Callum MacLeod as he scored 534 runs in 11 innings at an average of close to 60 and in T20Is, he scored 185 runs in six innings at over 30 with 153 runs every 100 balls.

In 2018, he was head and shoulders ahead of rest of the associate players and is the likely candidate to win the ICC Associate Cricketer of the Year award.

ICC Umpire of the Year

There were a lot of umpiring howlers in 2018 and one can safely say that the standards of umpiring has come down over the course of the last 12 months. But, there were a few Gentlemen who were up to the mark with their decisions.

Among them, England's own Ian "Gunner" Gould stood out and could win the ICC Umpire of the Year award.

ICC Women's Emerging Cricketer of the Year

Jemimah Rodrigues had a memorable 2018

Note: Players eligible for this award must be under 26 years of age at the start of the voting period and have played no more than five Tests and/or ten ODIs before that date.

18-year-old Indian sensation Jemimah Rodrigues had a memorable 2018 as she made her international debut for India and by the end of the year, she became a regular in the T20I side as she scored 461 runs in 15 innings at an average of 33 and a strike-rate of close to 130.

In ODIs, she has amassed just 45 runs in four innings at 11.25 but to be fair, she never got a proper role and an extended run in the side.

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ICC Men's Emerging Cricketer of the Year

Sam Curran was the difference between India and England in the five-match Test series between both the teams

Every year, the sport will see a lot of players coming up the ranks and this year, the case is no different in 2018. The criteria for this award remains the same as the Women's Emerging Cricketer of the Year award.

There were quite a few debutants who are eligible for this and it is very difficult to pick just one name among them. The likes of Aiden Markram, Lungi Ngidi, Imam ul Haq, Mujeeb Ur Rahman, Shimron Hetmyer etc. made a mark for themselves in 2018 and every single one of them deserves to win this.

But, thanks to his contribution to his team's wins against India, Pakistan and Sri Lanka, 20-year-old England all-rounder Sam Curran is the front-runner to win this award.

ICC Women's T20I Cricketer of the Year

Alyssa Healy receiving the 2018 T20 World Cup Player of the Tournament award from Sir Viv Richards

2018 saw the ICC hosting the sixth edition of women's ICC World Cup and Australia, as expected, went on to win the tournament that took place in the Carribean islands.

One of the main reasons why the Southern Stars went on to win their fourth T20 World Cup crown was their wicketkeeper and opening bat Alyssa Healy. The tournament saw Healy score 225 runs in five innings at an average of 56.25 and a strike-rate of 144.23 with two fifties.

Her influence in the Australian batting was very crucial as she gave her team a great start on every single occasion and in the only match Australia lost, she did not come out to bat. With some fantastic batting performances throughout the tournament, she has rightly adjudged the Player of the Tournament.

For helping her team win the World Cup, Alyssa Healy could be named the ICC Women's T20I Cricketer of the Year award ahead of the likes of Suzie Bates, Harmanpreet Kaur, Poonam Yadav etc.

ICC Women's ODI Cricketer of the Year

What a fantastic year Amelia Kerr had!

2018 saw a lot of brilliant performances from the women all over the world. Indian opener Smriti Mandhana had a great year in ODIs as she scored 669 runs, the most by anyone, in 12 innings at an average of 67 and White Ferns' Leigh Kasperek and India's Poonam Yadav were the leading wicket-takers with 20 wickets each.

But, the 2018 ICC Women's Player of the Year could be given to White Ferns' 18-year-old all-rounder Amelia Kerr. Kerr had an unforgettable year in which she scored 374 runs in just seven innings at an average of 93.5 and a strike-rate of 133 including an unbeaten 232 against Ireland.

She also picked up 13 wickets in seven matches at an average of 19.3 with her leg breaks.

ICC Women's ODI Team of the Year

Suzie Bates, one of the very best

Smriti Mandhana, Alyssa Healy (WK), Sophie Devine, Suzie Bates (C), Heather Knight, Dane Van Niekerk, Amelia Kerr, Leigh Kasperek, Sana Mir, Shabnim Ismail, Marizanne Kapp

ICC Women's T20I Team of the Year

Smriti Mandhana, Alyssa Healy (WK), Suzie Bates, Meg Lanning (C), Harmanpreet Kaur, Ashleigh Gardner, Rachel Haynes, Ellyse Perry, Megan Schutt, Rumana Ahmed, Poonam Yadav

ICC Women's Cricketer of the Year

In the women's circuit, one cannot find a more consistent player than Suzie Bates. She is the favourite to win the 2018 ICC Women's Cricketer of the Year as she had a great year that saw her score 670 runs in 16 T20I innings at an average of 51.5 and a strike-rate of 135 apart from scoring 438 runs in seven innings at an average of 73 and a strike-rate of over 102 in ODIs.

ICC Men's T20I Performance of the Year

Not often you will see teams score 172 runs in a T20I innings but Australian captain Aaron Finch managed to score those many runs in a single innings and without any doubt, his innings will be awarded the ICC Men's T20I performer of the Year.

In the T20I tri-series involving Pakistan and Zimbabwe, Finch scored 172 off just 76 balls with the help of 16 fours and 10 sixes. It is the highest score by any batsman in the format, surpassing his own record of 158 against England in 2013.

He could have recorded the highest individual score in a T20 innings but he was unfortunately dismissed hit-wicket on the penultimate ball, three runs shy of Chris Gayle's record (175).

ICC ODI player of the year

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There were as many as 128 ODIs played in the year with India and England dominating the format over the last 12 months.

With the bat, the likes of Virat Kohli, Rohit Sharma and Jonny Bairstow stamped their authority over the opposition bowlers while wrist spinners Rashid Khan and Kuldeep Yadav have been the best bowlers in the format.

But, the ICC ODI Player of the Year is likely to go to Indian skipper Virat Kohli as he has scored 1202 runs, the most by any batsman, in 14 innings at an average of 133.55 and a strike-rate of 102.55. If these numbers don't get him that award, nothing will.

ICC Test player of the year

In 2018, there were as many as 48 Tests played in the year with England dominating the format in the above-mentioned period.

With the bat, the likes of Virat Kohli is the only batsman to score over 1000 runs in the format and is head and shoulders above the rest. The likes of Nathan Lyon, Kagiso Rabada, Dilruwan Perera etc. had a memorable year with the ball with Rabada ending the year as the leading wicket-taker.

The player who could win the 2018 ICC Test Player of the Year is Indian skipper Virat Kohli as he has scored 1322 runs, the most by any batsman, in 24 innings at an average of 55.

ICC Men's Test Team of the Year

Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli with the ICC ODI Team of the Year award caps in 2018 (left); Kohli with ODI player of the year award (right)

Dimuth Karunaratne, Cheteshwar Pujara, Kane Williamson, Virat Kohli, Babar Azam, Ben Stokes, Jos Buttler (WK), Pat Cummins, Nathan Lyon, Kagiso Rabada and Jasprit Bumrah.

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ICC Men's ODI Team of the Year

Rohit Sharma, Jonny Bairstow, Virat Kohli (c), Joe Root, Ross Taylor, Jos Buttler (WK), Mohammad Nabi, Rashid Khan, Kuldeep Yadav, Mustafizur Rahman and Jasprit Bumrah.

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ICC Cricketer of the Year

The cricketer who will be winning this award is a no-brainer as Virat Kohli, by a long way, deserves to get his hands on this award for the second consecutive year, thanks to his performances across all three formats.

With 1322 runs in Tests at 55, 211 T20I runs at 30.14 and 1202 runs in ODIs at 133.55, Kohli has scored 2735 runs in the year and deserves to win this award yet again.