Winners announced for 2015 PCA Awards Durham seamer Chris Rushworth has been crowned the 2015 PCA Player of the Year to headline the glistening PCA Awards with Surrey starlet Tom Curran picking up the Young Player of the Year at Tobacco Dock in London. Both awards were voted for by their fellow county cricketers for their performances throughout the 2015 summer as the prestigious trophies were handed out in front of past and present players, the England Test squad, officials, sponsors and guests. The event was dominated by bowlers as England Women’s star Anya Shrubsole lifted the Waitrose Women’s Player of the Summer thanks to her performance in the Ashes. Stuart Broad joined Shrubsole in picking up the main national award with the Nottinghamshire paceman crowned the Investec Test Player of the Summer. Thirteen awards were presented on the night and Rushworth, who was also the winner of the county MVP and selected in the PCA Team of the Year could not contain his delight at being chosen as the winner of the Reg Hayter Cup by his peers. The 29-year-old completed the season with 83 LV= County Championship scalps, breaking the Durham record of Ottis Gibson, also a previous winner of the PCA Player of the Year. Ending with a perfect 100 wickets in all competitions he was not to be matched in a year of extreme consistency. ” I am over the moon, it is a massive achievement,” acknowledged Rushworth. ” To be voted for by fellow players and your peers is a very privileged moment and one I’m very proud of. ” Personally this year couldn’t have gone any better, 83 wickets to go past a club record, it’s just a shame we didn’t win anything as a team. Personally, I couldn’t be more pleased and to finish off with this award wraps up a brilliant season. ” For myself this award is massive and the biggest individual award in county cricket. You play against these guys quite a few times a year so to be voted to win this award is a huge achievement and I’m very grateful and proud. ” Hopefully it’s the next step to progressing towards further honours. To receive this from guys who have also had fantastic seasons and to pip them to the post is fantastic moment. ” The guys that have won it in recent years have gone on to play Test cricket like Adam Lyth, Moeen Ali and Nick Compton so that is definitely in my sights. Hopefully I have another good season next year and I can put my name in the hat for Test selection.” Talk of the national side was also on the agenda for Tom Curran, the elder brother of Sam who also had a wonderful campaign with the ball for Surrey. The 20-year-old ended the campaign with an astonishing 105 wickets in all formats of the game, five more than any other player. Two seven-wicket hauls helped his county to the LV= County Championship Division Two title and he played a crucial part in helping Surrey reach the final of the Royal London One-Day Cup. He has just been added to the England Performance Programme for the winter camps to top off an incredible season. ” I am obviously really pleased and very proud,” admitted Curran. ” It’s a special award to receive as it’s an award voted by players from around the country so I think that reason in itself is why it is such a prestigious award and I’m very proud,” Curran said. ” We have had a great season as a side this year. Losing in the Royal London One-Day Cup final was a huge disappointment but it was still a good achievement and we won the second division of the LV= County Championship which was a special day as well. I’m very pleased for our side and it’s great to be able to contribute to our success. ” At the start of the season I was just trying to do the simple things well and then I started taking a few wickets and as long as the summer is for us cricketers it’s actually gone really quickly and a little surreal if I’m honest. ” It’s been a very special summer for Sammy (Curran) as well. He came in half way through the season when we went down with a couple of injuries and he has shown everyone he has got what it takes. It’s great to be bowling with him and I am so pleased for him this year. ” Playing for England would be the ultimate for any young cricketer and that is my goal but I am concentrating on Surrey first and hopefully the rest will take care of itself and I know that is how Sam feels too.” One player already established in the international arena is Shrubsole who also had a fantastic year with the ball during the Women’s Ashes. A key figure in all-forms of the game, the Somerset quick-bowler follows in the footsteps of Charlotte Edwards who won the inaugural Waitrose Women’s Player of the Summer in 2014. ” I am absolutely honoured to have won this award and it makes it more special that it is selected by your teammates so it is a nice end to what has been a difficult year,” said Shrubsole. ” Despite not achieving what we wanted as a team, I am pleased with the way I bowled. A special mention must go to Katherine Brunt who was brilliant with bat and ball this summer, she received my vote. ” It’s nice to do well personally but it was just a shame we didn’t quite regain the Ashes.” Jim Cumbes, the former Lancashire chief executive and player, won the PCA Special Merit Award, sponsored by Lycamobile, in recognition of more than 50 years of service to the game. Cumbes played for Lancashire from 1963 to 1971, from Surrey from 1968 to 1970 before he rejoined Lancashire for the 1971 season. He moved to Worcestershire in 1972 and ended his career with Warwickshire in 1982. He then moved into the commercial department at Edgbaston and was Commercial Manager from 1984 to 1987. Cumbes then joined Lancashire in a similar capacity and was Chief Executive at Old Trafford from 1998 to 2012. During his time as the county’s CEO, Cumbes oversaw the major redevelopment of the Old Trafford ground. He also played league football as a goalkeeper for Aston Villa, Tranmere Rovers, West Bromwich Albion and Southport . He was recently awarded an honorary doctorate in business administration by Manchester Metropolitan University for his contribution to cricket and the North West region. Angus Porter, PCA Chief Executive, commented: ” Many congratulations to Chris, Tom, Anya and all of the winners this evening. To be selected by fellow professionals is rightly seen as the ultimate accolade. Previous winners of the PCA Player and Young Player have gone on to have wonderful careers, both at county and international level, which just shows the people best placed to judge outstanding performances are fellow professionals.” The full list of the 2015 PCA Awards winners: Reg Hayter Cup for the PCA Player of the Year Chris Rushworth (Durham) Overall PCA County MVP Chris Rushworth (Durham) John Arlott Cup for the PCA Young Player of the Year Tom Curran (Surrey) Investec Test Player of the Summer Stuart Broad Waitrose Women’s Player of the Summer Anya Shrubsole PCA Team of the Year Alastair Cook © (Essex and England) Alex Hales (Nottinghamshire and England) Joe Root (Yorkshire and England) Sam Northeast (Kent) Luke Wright (Sussex) Ben Stokes (Durham and England) Alex Davies (Lancashire) Stuart Broad (Nottinghamshire and England) Matt Coles (Kent) Jeetan Patel (Warwickshire) Chris Rushworth (Durham) Sky Sports Sixes Award Ross Whiteley (Worcestershire) Royal London One Day Cup Player of the Year Award Michael Klinger (Gloucestershire) NatWest T20 Blast Player of the Year Award Michael Klinger (Gloucestershire) PCA Special Merit Award sponsored by Lycamobile Jim Cumbes ECB Special Award Lord Bill Morris PCA England Masters MVP Usman Afzaal Harold Goldblatt Award for the PCA Umpire of the Year Michael Gough Notes to editors Recent winners of the Reg Hayter Cup for the PCA Player of the Year include: Adam Lyth, 2014 Moeen Ali, 2013 Nick Compton, 2012 Marcus Trescothick, 2011, 2009 & 2000 Mark Ramprakash, 2006 Andrew Flintoff, 2005 & 2004 Mushtaq Ahmed, 2003 Recent winners of the John Arlott Cup for the PCA Young Player of the Year have included: Alex Lees, 2014 Ben Stokes, 2013 Joe Root, 2012 Alex Hales, 2011 Ravi Bopara, 2008 Alastair Cook, 2006 & 2005 Ian Bell 2004 Kabir Ali, 2003 & 2002 Photography: The official Awards photographers are Getty Images, who will be providing images of the players arriving and winners collecting their awards www.gettyimages.co.uk. The PCA are the collective and representative voice of first class cricketers in England and Wales. Its role is to safeguard the rights of present, past and future first class cricketers. The PCA Professional Cricketers’ Trust is the registered charity of the PCA, charity number 1120088. All monies raised from the evening are donated to the PCA Professional Cricketers’ Trust, supported by Royal London, part of the association’s ongoing commitment to supporting players and their dependents who might be in need of a helping hand to readjust to a world beyond cricket, as well as helping current and past players who may have fallen on hard times or are in need of specialist advice or assistance. ECB, the England and Wales Cricket Board, are the governing body of cricket in England and Wales. {{ak_sharing}}
