Northamptonshire opening batsman and new England recruit Ben Duckett crowned a memorable season by making history as the first ever winner of the two headline honours at the NatWest Professional Cricketers’ Awards at a glittering presentation ceremony in London.
Duckett, 21, became the first man to win both the Reg Hayter Cup for NatWest PCA Players’ Player of the Year and the John Arlott Cup for NatWest PCA Young Player of the Year in the same season. Both awards were voted for by all current professional cricketers in England and Wales.
The brace of trophies, which were presented at the annual NatWest #PCAawards ceremony at the Grosvenor House Hotel on Mayfair’s Park Lane, came at the end of a record-breaking summer for Duckett which culminated in him being called up by England for both their One Day International and Test squads for the forthcoming tour to Bangladesh.
“It seems to have been good news each week. I keep saying every week: ‘that has topped off my summer’ and then something else happens,” Duckett said.
“Winning these two NatWest PCA Awards is probably the highlight of my summer. I got my England call-ups and so many other things have happened. If someone had said at the start of the season that all this would happen I wouldn’t have believed it.
“What makes the PCA awards so special is that you are voted for by your peers. People who you play against vote for you and that means a lot to me.
“I can’t keep the smile off my face. I wasn’t expecting this. To be nominated for both awards was an honour in itself so to win them both is something very special.
“Most of the guys who have won the awards in the past have played for England or in international cricket so to follow them is a very great honour.”
Duckett made 2,706 runs across all formats in 2016 and began the season by scoring a career-best 282 not out in Northamptonshire’s Specsavers County Championship match against Sussex at Wantage Road and followed up with another double century against Kent at Beckenham earlier this month.
The left-hander also made a maiden List A double century, an England Lions record 220 not out against Sri Lanka A at Canterbury, one of three three-figure scores in one-day cricket and helped Northants to win the NatWest T20 Blast for the second time in four years.
Duckett’s form in the Royal London One-Day Cup helped to secure Duckett selection for the North team for next March’s inaugural three-match series against the South in the United Arab Emirates with places picked through the PCA MVP rankings.
He was voted Northamptonshire’s Players’ Player of the Year last week and he collected the Cricket Writers’ Club Young Cricketer of the Year Award yesterday.
After such a busy season Duckett could be forgiven for wanting a break from cricket, instead he will fly to Bangladesh tomorrow with England’s one day squad relishing the challenge of representing his country for the first time.
“It’s a tough season but I think no matter what state your body is in, after being picked for England I would be more than happy to go and play for the next 12 months straight for my country. It’s a new thing for me and I am absolutely buzzing to get out there,” he said.
Duckett was voted NatWest PCA Players’ Player of the Year ahead of Warwickshire off-spinner Jeetan Patel, the winner of this year’s PCA Most Valuable Player Award, Essex all-rounder Graham Napier and Durham opening batsman Keaton Jennings.
Kent batsman Daniel Bell-Drummond, Surrey’s Sam Curran and Lancashire opener Haseeb Hameed, another England newcomer, were also shortlisted nominees for the NatWest Young Player of the Year.
Tammy Beaumont was voted Waitrose Women’s Player of the Summer by her fellow England players after a breakthrough season in which she followed up a maiden One Day International half century in the Royal London series against Pakistan with successive centuries against the same opponents.
Her aggregate of 342 runs was a record for three-match series and Beaumont followed up with 142 runs in the NatWest T20 Series. She also helped Kent complete a Royal London County Championship and NatWest T20 double and will fly to the West Indies with England on Friday to prepare for the forthcoming One Day International series.
Chris Woakes won the Investec Test Player of the Summer after a breakthrough year in red ball cricket which saw him top the MVP rankings ahead of Joe Root and Jonny Bairstow.
Meanwhile, Glamorgan’s overseas star Colin Ingram joined Duckett in winning two awards with the white ball specialist scooping the NatWest T20 Blast Player of the Year and the Sky Sports Sixes award for hitting the most maximums in the T20 Blast with the South African smashing the first ball of the season for six and ended with 29 in total.
In a night to remember for the Northamptonshire squad, slow left-armer Graeme White was awarded the Royal London One-Day Cup Player of the Year after finishing on top of the MVP rankings while former Durham batsman Michael Gough retained the Harold Goldblatt Award for the PCA Umpire of the Year, a prize also voted for by professional cricketers in England and Wales.
David Leatherdale, PCA Chief Executive, commented: “Huge congratulations to Ben who has made history this evening by being the first man to win the NatWest Players’ Player and Young Player of the Year in the same season. He has had a remarkable summer with Northants and fully deserves all the plaudits that go his way and I’m sure he will go on to show his talent in the international arena starting in Bangladesh next month.
“ I extend my congratulations to Chris, Tammy and to all the other winners here tonight who had fine seasons.”
The full list of the 2016 NatWest PCA Awards winners:
Reg Hayter Cup for the NatWest Players’ Player of the Year
Ben Duckett (Northamptonshire)
John Arlott Cup for the NatWest Young Player of the Year
Ben Duckett (Northamptonshire)
Waitrose Women’s Player of the Summer
Tammy Beaumont
Investec Test Player of the Summer
Chris Woakes
Greene King Team of the Year
1. Adam Lyth (Yorkshire)
2. Keaton Jennings (Durham)
3. Ben Duckett (Northamptonshire)
4. Joe Root (C) (Yorkshire & England)
5. Jonny Bairstow (Yorkshire & England)
6. Liam Dawson (Hampshire & England)
7. Tim Bresnan (Yorkshire)
8. Chris Woakes (Warwickshire & England)
9. Keith Barker (Warwickshire)
10. Toby Roland-Jones (Middlesex)
11. Jeetan Patel (Warwickshire)
Sky Sports Sixes Award
Colin Ingram (Glamorgan)
Royal London One-Day Cup Player of the Year
Graeme White (Northamptonshire)
NatWest T20 Blast Player of the Year
Colin Ingram (Glamorgan)
PCA Special Merit Award
Marcus Trescothick
ECB Special Award
Mike Selvey
Overall PCA County MVP
Jeetan Patel (Warwickshire)
Harold Goldblatt Award for the PCA Umpire of the Year
Michael Gough
Greene King PCA England Masters MVP
Mal Loye