Cricket: Alastair Cook and Steven Finn in ODI team of the year

Published on 15/09/2012 01:34

England captain Alastair Cook and fast bowler Steven Finn have been named in the International Cricket Council’s ODI team of the year, led by India’s Mahendra Singh Dhoni.

Cook won last year’s world Test cricketer title, and his Ashes team-mate and fellow batsman Jonathan Trott also took the overall award in 2011 – judged across all formats.

But when those prizes are handed out again in Colombo tomorrow night, there will be no England players in the running. Instead, Cook and Finn – who has been a revelation with the white ball in the past 12 months – are England’s only representatives in the 2012 roll of honour, other than a nomination for James Anderson in the people’s award category.

Cook was listed in the ODI team of the year in his specialist opening role alongside India’s Gautam Gambhir. Other notable inclusions in a 12-man line-up, which has featured wicketkeeper-batsman Dhoni for the past five years, are Australia captain Michael Clarke and Pakistani off-spinner Saeed Ajmal. The latter’s omission from the shortlist for the cricketer-of-the-year award lists has been poorly received by his compatriots, and Pakistan last night issued a press release in which they mention a partial protest boycott of today’s ceremony.

ICC ODI Team of the Year (in batting order): Gautam Gambhir (Ind), Alastair Cook (Eng), Kumar Sangakkara (SL), Virat Kohli (Ind), MS Dhoni (Ind, wkt/captain) Michael Clarke (Aus), Shahid Afridi (Pak), Morne Morkel (SA), Steven Finn (Eng), Lasith Malinga (SL), Saeed Ajmal (Pak). 12th Man - Shane Watson (Aus).