Beaumont and Brook win cinch PCA Awards

Tammy Beaumont and Harry Brook and have won the headline honours at the 2023 cinch PCA Awards with Mahika Gaur and James Rew also claiming sought after accolades at the Troxy.

England’s Brook completes a first of its kind PCA Awards hat-trick, having won three player-voted for awards in successive seasons, following his cinch PCA Men’s Young Player of the Year award success in 2021 and 2022.

Current professionals continued their trend of voting for one of England’s top performers across the men’s and women’s game. The Yorkshireman has joined a prestigious list of winners that has included Jonny Bairstow, Joe Root, Chris Woakes and Ben Stokes in recent years.

England opening batter Beaumont rounded off a fantastic run-scoring summer by winning her second cinch PCA Women’s Player of the Year award, after first receiving the trophy in 2016.

Somerset’s 19-year-old wicketkeeper, Rew, scored over 1,000 First-Class runs in the LV= Insurance County Championship this season, becoming the first teenager to win the cinch PCA Men’s Young Player of the Year since James Taylor in 2009.

Meanwhile, the cinch PCA Women’s Young Player of the Year award went to a 17-year-old for the third year in succession. Gaur started the season representing the UAE before changing allegiances to her country of birth and made her England debut this summer.

Held in East London, the cinch PCA Awards were attended by 500 guests, including current and former players, partners and stakeholders, to celebrate the 54^th edition of the most prestigious awards ceremony in English and Welsh cricket.

A record-breaking Awards for Brook rounded off a sensational 12 months for the England batter.

Scoring 2,149 runs in the last year across all formats, the 24-year-old helped his country win the T20 World Cup, alongside hitting maiden centuries in the IPL and The Hundred.

Brook becomes the fifth Yorkshireman to win this award, topping the player poll ahead of Durham’s Alex Lees, Hampshire’s Liam Dawson and Ryan Higgins of Middlesex.

cinch PCA Men’s Player of the Year, Brook, said: “I wasn’t expecting to win this award if I’m honest, the last 12 months have been a dream come true and this is a huge honour.

“To contribute to wins for my country has been fantastic and I want to continue doing that. I’ve had the experience of playing in different conditions with and against some of the best players in the world so to help win games of cricket for England has made it even sweeter.

“It’s a great feeling having players vote for you and I want to say thank you to them. Looking at the high profile names on this trophy and to be alongside them is incredible. To have done what I have in the last 12 months in international cricket is a dream and hopefully it continues.

“I now can’t wait to be part of the World Cup, it’s going to be great fun and I’m looking forward to it getting underway.”

Beaumont proved once again she is a world-leading opening batter, scoring a brilliant double hundred in the Metro Bank Women’s Ashes Test match and becoming the first woman to hit a century in The Hundred.

The 32-year-old finished as the second leading run scorer in the 100-ball format with 290.

Beaumont succeeds Sciver-Brunt who won the 2022 accolade, finishing above last year’s winner, Southern Vipers skipper Georgia Adams and South East Stars Bryony Smith in the vote.

cinch PCA Women’s Player of the Year, Beaumont, said: “I’m really pleased to win it, I was shocked just to be nominated with lots of players having really good individual summers in Nat, Georgia and Bryony.

“I’m very grateful that my peers have voted for me and I think that’s what makes the PCA Awards so special because it’s voted for by your teammates and opposition.

“I tend not to look at my statistics, yes the double hundred was nice but we didn’t win that game, so I should have got more in the second innings but I’m very proud of that achievement.

“I actually found that doing commentary in The Hundred for Sky Sports was quite a nice escape from the playing schedule, I’m a cricket badger so I love doing commentary but I’m not retiring any time soon – playing is still number one for me.

“Going forward I just want to be the best that I can and contribute to every team that I play in in a positive way.”

Rew’s fantastic breakthrough season saw him accumulate an incredible five centuries in red-ball cricket.

The 19-year-old also produced a career best 221 against Hampshire as he led the vote from Gloucestershire’s Ollie Price and Surrey and England’s Jamie Smith to the cinch PCA Men’s Young Player of the Year.

cinch PCA Men’s Young Player of the Year, Rew, said: “It’s unbelievable really because at the start of the season I didn’t expect to be in the running for the cinch PCA Men’s Young Player of the Year.

“I was just trying to keep it simple and score runs, I was overjoyed just to be nominated for an award that has some amazing names on it, it’s really special for me.

“It’s hard to get my head around winning it, things seemed to work for me this year by playing on some nice wickets and we put in some good team performances that helped me out too.

“I want to keep performing well for Somerset and try and put in a title challenge and hopefully I can break into the Somerset white-ball side and try to get into the England Test team in the future.”

Gaur burst onto the stage this season for club and country, taking 20 wickets, including best figures of 3-26 in the first Metro Bank ODI against Sri Lanka.

The 6’2” left-arm quick bowler topped the poll ahead of her Thunder and England teammate Sophie Ecclestone and Northern Diamonds’ Bess Heath.

cinch PCA Women’s Young Player of the Year, Gaur, said: “It means a lot more to me than a normal award because with the cinch PCA Awards, it’s the other players voting for you.

“I’ve really enjoyed moving over from Dubai and I’ve learnt lots this season, I didn’t think at the start of the year that I’d be playing for England so I’m really grateful.

“Making my England debut was very special and Kate Cross gave me my cap with my family there as well which I’ll never forget.

“It’s a great feeling to win the award, I’ve played with lots of people this season and they’ve all been great.

“Looking to the future, firstly I need to finish school and then just take everything as it comes and enjoy it.”

The evening also saw Georgia Adams and Liam Dawson presented their PCA Domestic Overall MVP trophies while the Rado Recognition award went to the England Women’s squad for their record-breaking summer.

The PCA Outstanding Contribution Award was also revealed, with Gloucestershire spinner Tom Smith acknowledged for his inspirational work in securing critical health cover for all professional cricketers in England and Wales.

The ECB presented their Special Merit award to two recently retired England legends, Katherine Sciver-Brunt and Stuart Broad.

The cinch PCA Awards also recognised Anna Harris and Michael Gough as Umpires of the Year, as voted for by the players.

Funds raised throughout the evening went directly to the Professional Cricketers’ Trust, the players’ charity that provides support for PCA members and their immediate families when they need it most.

PCA Chief Executive, Rob Lynch, said: “This year was a momentous one for the game. To be able to celebrate all our winners at the most prestigious awards ceremony in cricket was the perfect end to a summer to remember. Congratulations to the four main award winners at this year’s cinch PCA Awards, all of them performed at an inspiring level and are deserving of their prizes.

“Well done to all award winners from this season, your phenomenal performances have helped make this an unforgettable summer.

“I would like to thank cinch for making the PCA Awards possible and for supporting the professional game.”