ICC announces winner of the Spirit of Cricket Award 2021; See who wins it

The International Cricket Council (ICC) has given New Zealand batter Daryl Mitchell the Spirit of Cricket Award 2021 for refusing a single to his partner James Neesham in the T20 World Cup semifinal against England after he came gotten into the way of the bowler. 

This incident occurred in the 18th over when Adil Rashid's delivery was pushed past by James Neesham. The leggie tried to stop the ball but Daryl Mitchell ended up blocking the bowler with the ball travelling to the fielder in the deep. While there was no fault from Mitchell and a single was easy on the card, the batter denied it. That gesture became spoken off on the internet also given that every run could have been important as the Kiwis needed 34 off 18 and with a dot ball needed 34 off 17 to win.  However, in the end, Mitchell and Neesham took New Zealand over the line and won with six balls to spare. 

ICC Spirit of Cricket Award 2021

Speaking to the International Cricket Council,  Daryl Mitchell said that he opted out of taking the single as he felt he can come in Adil Rashid's way and didn't want to take what could have been spoken off as a controversial run and added that being a part of the World Cup was a great experience. 

"To be part of that T20 World Cup in UAE was an amazing experience, and to receive an award like this is pretty cool. Personally, I felt I got in the way and we wanted to win on our own terms, and didn’t want to be controversial in such a big game," he said.

Image: AP