Joe Root receives ICC Men’s Test Cricketer of the Year from ENG skipper Ben Stokes; WATCH

England's Joe Root was voted Test Cricketer of the Year by the International Cricket Council (ICC) earlier this year for his consistent performances in the red-ball format in 2021. The former skipper was finally awarded the Test Cricketer of the Year 2021 cap during the ongoing second Test match between England and New Zealand. Ben Stokes, the newly-appointed captain of the Three Lions and Root's successor, presented the cap to the batsman ahead of Day 2 of the match on Saturday.

The ICC published a video on Twitter on Saturday of Stokes handing the cap to Root inside England's dressing room in front of his teammates and head coach Brendon McCullum. "Got a cap here to present to Rooty - named in the ICC Test Team of the Year 2021 and obviously named Test Player of the Year, so congratulations," Stokes said while presenting the cap to Root. 

Root's performance in 2021

Last year, Root had an outstanding season, scoring 1,708 runs in 15 Test matches, including a stunning six centuries. Root joined the likes of Mohammad Yousuf and Sir Vivian Richards to become only the third cricketer in the world to score over 1,700 Test runs in a calendar year.

"I’m honoured to have won the ICC Men’s Test Cricketer of The Year. To beat the best players in red-ball cricket to this award is some achievement. It has been my best 12 months with the bat in what has been a challenging period for the England Test team. From a personal point of view, I felt in good form and relaxed at the crease. My hope for 2022 is that I can build on my individual performances for what promises to be a crucial 12-month campaign for the England Men’s Test team," Root had said after being named the Test Cricketer of the Year for 2021. 

Root's great success continued in 2022, when he scored an undefeated century to help England win the opening Test match against New Zealand. Before this, the 31-year-old had quit his Test leadership last month due to his team's poor performance in the bilateral series against West Indies. Ben Stokes was appointed the captain after Root stepped down from the post.