Hope, Taylor take top CWI/WIPA awards

BRIDGETOWN, Barbados, CMC – Stylish batsman Shai Hope swept three awards including Cricketer-of-the-Year, headlining the Cricket West Indies/WIPA Awards Ceremony staged here Wednesday night.

The 24-year-old, who has emerged as one of the Windies’ main run-scorers over the last year, also picked up the Test Cricketer-of-the-Year and ODI Cricketer-of-the-Year awards, to clinch the major honours on the men’s side.

For Hope, the awards add to his growing collection, having claimed the Barbados Cricket Association’s President’s Award earlier this year as well as being named one of the five Cricketers-of-the-Year by the prestigious Wisden Almanack.

Following a low-keyed start to his international career, the Barbadian shot to prominence last August when he made centuries in both innings of the second Test against England at Leeds, guiding West Indies to a historic series-levelling five-wicket win.

Hope’s feat marked the first time in 127 years of first class cricket at Edgbaston that a player had scored a century in both innings at the ground.

The performance was the main reason behind his capture of the Wisden award.

Hope currently averages 32 from 19 Tests and 37 from 33 ODIs.

Evin Lewis, meanwhile, collected the T20 Cricketer-of-the-Year award for his exploits which have seen him score an unbeaten hundred and two half-centuries in his last two outings.

In the women’s category, Stafanie Taylor won the Cricketer-of-the-Year award along with the ODI Cricketer-of-the-Year while exciting all-rounder Deandra Dottin captured the T20 Cricketer-of-the-Year honour.

Jamaican Taylor, the West Indies Women’s captain, has scored four half-centuries in her last five ODIs and averages 44 from 111 matches.

Dottin, meanwhile, once again reiterated her amazing ability in the shortest format by slamming 112 against Sri Lanka last October to mark her second century in T20s.

Guyana speedster Keemo Paul was honoured as the Emerging Cricketer-of-the-Year, following a breakthrough season in first class cricket which saw him grab 42 wickets and catapult into the West Indies A, ODI and Twenty20 squads.

As expected, veteran left-hander Devon Smith clinched the First Class Four Day Cricketer-of-the-Year award for his record-breaking 1095 runs in the season which wrapped earlier this year.

He averaged 84 and struck six centuries in a campaign which saw him seal his return to West Indies colours for the ongoing Test series against Sri Lanka.