Michael Clarke believes Australian fast bowler Mitchell Johnson would be a worthy winner of the international cricketer of the year award.
Johnson is in line to join former Australian captain Ricky Ponting as only the second two-time winner of the prestigious award after being shortlisted for 2014 honours alongside South African AB de Villiers and Sri Lankan pair Angelo Mathews and Kumar Sangakkara.
After first earning the Sobers Trophy back in 2009, Johnson returned to his brilliant best with 59 wickets in eight Tests at an impressive average of 15.23 during the August 2013-September 2014 voting period.
The left-arm quick and handy lower-order batsman was equally impressive in one-day cricket, notching 21 wickets in 16 matches at an average of 33.04 with an economy rate of less than five runs per over.
Clarke, who won the award last year, said Johnson’s nomination was rightly deserved.
“Mitch has been a star his whole career, there’s no doubt about it, but certainly the last few years,” Clarke said on Thursday.
“He’s at the top of his game, he’s bowling well, even most recently in the UAE (against Pakistan).
“I know he didn’t get as many wickets as he would have liked, but he was a standout there as well.
“He’s a great competitor, I love having him in the team. He’s a senior player in our team now and I really hope he wins.”
Johnson and explosive opener David Warner were the only two Australians selected in the ICC Test team of the year, with Warner also joining Johnson as a nominee for Test player-of-the-year honours.
Australian batsman George Bailey and allrounder James Faulkner were named in the one-day team of the year.
Other Australians up for awards at the November 14 ceremony are Aaron Finch for international T20 performance of the year – his 156 against England in 2013 – and Meg Lanning for women’s T20 international player of the year.
INTERNATIONAL CRICKET AWARDS SHORTLIST:
ICC cricketer of the year:
AB de Villiers (South Africa)
Mitchell Johnson (Australia)
Angelo Mathews (Sri Lanka)
Kumar Sangakkara (Sri Lanka)
ICC Test cricketer of the year:
Mitchell Johnson (Australia)
Angelo Mathews (Sri Lanka)
Kumar Sangakkara (Sri Lanka)
David Warner (Australia)
ICC one-day cricketer of the year:
Quinton de Kock (South Africa)
AB de Villiers (South Africa)
Virat Kohli (India)
Dale Steyn (South Africa)
ICC women’s one-day cricketer of the year:
Charlotte Edwards (England)
Mithali Raj (India)
Sarah Taylor (England)
Stafanie Taylor (West Indies)
ICC emerging cricketer of the year:
Corey Anderson (New Zealand)
Gary Ballance (England)
Jimmy Neesham (New Zealand)
Ben Stokes (England)
ICC associate and affiliate cricketer of the year:
Calum MacLeod (Scotland)
Preston Mommsen (Scotland)
Mohammad Nabi (Afghanistan)
Samiullah Shenwari (Afghanistan)
ICC Twenty20 international performance of the year:
Alex Hales (England) 116 not out vs Sri Lanka 2104
Aaron Finch (Australia) 156 v England 2013
Rangana Herath (Sri Lanka) 3-5 v New Zealand 2014
ICC women’s T20 cricketer of the year:
Charlotte Edwards (England)
Meg Lanning (Australia)
Mithali Raj (India)
Stafanie Taylor (West Indies)
ICC umpire of the year:
All 12 members of the Elite Panel of ICC Umpires have been nominated.
Test team of the year:
David Warner (Aus)
Kane Williamson (NZ)
Kumar Sangakkara (SL)
AB de Villiers (SA)
Joe Root (Eng)
Angelo Mathews (SL) (captain)
Mitchell Johnson (Aus)
Stuart Broad (Eng)
Dale Steyn (SA)
Rangana Herath (SL)
Tim Southee (NZ)
Ross Taylor (NZ) (12th man)
ODI team of the year:
Mohammad Hafeez (Pak)
Quinton de Kock (SA)
Virat Kohli (Ind)
George Bailey (Aus)
AB de Villiers (SA)
MS Dhoni (wicketkeeper) (captain)
Dwayne Bravo (WI)
James Faulkner (Aus)
Dale Steyn (SA)
Mohammad Shami (Ind)
Ajantha Mendis (SL)
Rohit Sharma (Ind) (12th man).
