ICC Associate Members have continued to find ways to innovate, engage and inspire over the past year in the most difficult of circumstances amid the covid pandemic, but cricketing nations have used a combination of determination and creative thinking to overcome any obstacles in their way.
ICC Development Award – Part I: Development initiative and Associate Men’s performance of the year
From developing the motor skills of children to making cricket more accessible, initiatives in the Associate nations continue to ensure the game is spread far and wide with a marked increase in participation.
The ICC Development Awards 2021 reflect these achievements and show how Associate Members keep empowering individuals and reaching out to communities, we celebrate these stories this International Day of Sport for Development and Peace. The regional winners will now be put forward as the nominees for the global awards to be decided in the coming weeks.
100% Cricket Female Cricket Initiative of the Year
The 100% Cricket Female Cricket Initiative of the Year acknowledges the outstanding female cricket focused initiative delivered by an Associate Member to promote the game, either through a physical participation programme or a digitally delivered game development initiative during the year.
The women’s game is thriving in East-Asia Pacific and pandemic recovery efforts in Vanuatu have been boosted by the launch of the Women’s Island Cricket Program (WICP).
In October, 175 women from Port Vila and Tanna took part in the launch that was followed by a full week of competition and social impact activities.
The national teams went for two years without playing international cricket due to COVID-19 but the recreational scene remains vibrant with the WICP empowering women and girls through cricket.
In Africa the Sierra Leone Female Leadership Criiio Cricket Programme has been recognized. 80 women and girls, predominantly schoolteachers, were trained in event management, cricket umpiring, scoring, coaching and reporting and are now co-ordinating entry level programmes to try and bring thousands of school kids into the sport.
In Europe, Germany took the award after forming the Winterwunderliga to give females who were new to the sport a chance to play in the winter indoor season.
Building off the back of the success of last summer, 120 players – 80 percent of whom were complete novices only a year ago – took part in teams with bases in Cologne, Hamburg, Berlin, Stuttgart, Munich and Frankfurt with experienced national team players assigned to each as mentors.
Bahrain embarked on the historic task of setting up the country’s first ever women’s cricket team. A heart-warming response saw almost 200 registrations and the BCF Women’s League was formed in December 2021, with the national women’s team coming as a direct result of the initiative.
The league has overcome substantial challenges, from cultural to logistical – a lack of grass pitches has seen matches played in sand grounds with cement wickets – and the players’ sheer dogged determination to succeed has shone through, giving them the wings to fulfil their cricketing dreams.
A new league has also been set up in the USA, who earned the Award in the Americas. The new Intra-Regional Women’s Competition for aspiring female hard-ball cricketers launched in June 2021 and featured 12 teams playing a mixture of T20 and 40-over matches within four geographic regions.
The inaugural tournament established a clear pathway from grassroots to representative cricket and selectors picked teams to represent each of the four regions, which later became West Conference and East Conference sides.
In all, nearly 160 females took part – many of whom were playing competitive games for the first time. As a result, plenty of young players have made their national team debuts in recent months.
100% Cricket Female Cricket Initiative of the Year: Global nominees
ICC Associate Member Women’s Performance of the Year
The ICC Associate Member Women’s Performance of the Year Award, acknowledges the outstanding on-field display from the year.
The Africa regional winner is Namibia. The Capricorn Eagles delivered a thrilling performance against Tanzania in Gaborone in the second semi-final of the Women’s T20 World Cup Africa Qualifier to secure a fourth consecutive victory which will live long in the memory despite the side going on to lose the final.
Captain Irene Van Zyl helped Namibia restrict Tanzania, who are ranked seven places higher in the ICC MRF Tyres Women’s T20I Team Rankings, to 89/7 before her side recovered from 39 for five to seal a famous victory by two wickets with a ball to spare.
The best performance of the year by an Associate Member in the women’s game in Asia was adjudged to be Thailand’s win over Full Member Bangladesh at the ICC Women’s Cricket World Cup Qualifier.
Nattaya Boochatham took five wickets to restrict Bangladesh to 176 from their 50 overs and a 90-run opening stand between Sornnarin Tippoch and Natthakan Chantham laid the foundations for a 16-run win.
The historic victory over the highly ranked outfit was a significant step forward for Thai cricket and showcased their development in the 50-over format, as well as recent T20 successes.
In Europe the regional winner was Scotland following their five-wicket win over Ireland in the Women’s T20 World Cup Qualifier Europe 2021.
The win, inspired by 16-year-old Katherine Fraser (3-14) and a captain’s innings of 46 not out from Kathryn Bryce, was pivotal in securing Scotland Women’s place at the global qualifying tournament.
In the Americas, Brazil won the Award following an incredible performance against Canada in the ICC Women’s T20 World Cup Americas Qualifiers.
Canada needed three runs from the final over to win only for Brazil to take five wickets in as many balls and seal victory, with two run-outs sandwiching a Laura Cardoso hat-trick to send the crowd in to a frenzy.
Brazil had never previously beaten Canada and the performance, particularly from 16-year-old Cardoso, is set to inspire future generations of Brazilian cricketers.
ICC Associate Member Women’s Performance of the Year: Global nominees
The full list of regional winners and global nominees in each category are below.
ICC Development Initiative of the Year
Cricket Argentina – Local production of junior bats
Hong Kong Cricket – HKJC Community Sustainability Programme – Cricket for All
Cricket Namibia – Ashburton Kwata Mini-Cricket Programme
Cricket Netherlands – Partner in Versatile Movement
Persatuan Cricket Indonesia – National Sports Week 2021 Papua (PON Games Papua 2021)
100% Cricket Female Cricket Initiative of the Year
Bahrain Cricket Association – Building a robust community of women cricketers
Cricket Germany – The Winterwunderliga
Sierra Leone Cricket Association – Female Leadership CRIIIO Cricket Programme
USA Cricket – A new Intra-Regional Women’s Competition for aspiring female hard-ball cricket players
Vanuatu Cricket Association – Launch of the Women’s Island Cricket Programme on the island of Tanna
ICC Associate Member Men’s Performance of the Year
Argentina – Stand out performance in ICC Men’s T20 World Cup 2021 Regional Qualifier
Namibia – Beat Ireland in the Men’s T20 World Cup 2021
Scotland – Victory against Bangladesh in the ICC Men’s T20 World Cup 2021 Group B
PNG – First ever senior ICC World Cup game v Oman to open the ICC Men’s T20 World Cup
UAE – the UAE beat Ireland as part of its first series win versus a Test playing nation
ICC Associate Member Women’s Performance of the Year
Brazil – victory against Canada in the ICC T20 World Cup Qualifiers Americas
Namibia – Namibia vs Tanzania, 17 September 2021
Scotland – Victory against Ireland Women in the ICC Women’s T20 World Cup Qualifier Europe 2021
Thailand – Achieved victory against a Full Member nation, beating Bangladesh
ICC Digital Fan Engagement of the Year
Cricket Canada – Social media campaign leading up to the ICC U19 Men’s Cricket World Cup
Estonian Cricket Association – ‘Always On’ Social Media Fan Engagement strategy
Kuwait Cricket – Development of the KCC Mobile App
Cricket PNG – Maximising the digital fan engagement from the ICC Men’s T20 World Cup
Uganda Cricket Association – #Cheer4BabyCricketCranes campaign
ICC Cricket 4 Good Social Impact Initiative of the Year
Bhutan Cricket Council Board – Introduction of cricket to remote areas Merak and Sakteng
Cricket Italy – Cricket for Climate Change
Cricket Peru – Formation of Ari Atinchismi in the indigenous, rural communities of Cusco
Nigeria Cricket Federation – Internally Displaced Persons (IDP) Special Intervention Programme
Samoa International Cricket Association – Disability Cricket Programme (Cricket for All Activities)