Captains Kane Williamson, Sophie Devine win top New Zealand honours

Black Caps captain Kane Williamson and White Ferns skipper Sophie Devine were the big names that headlined the New Zealand Cricket (NZC) awards along with Ross Taylor and Suzie Bates on Thursday, April 30.

Williamson, who was named Player of the Tournament in last year's ICC Men's Cricket World Cup, was named men's one-day international Player of the Year. The dashing batsman has led New Zealand to the final, accumulating 578 runs in nine innings at 82.57.

"Kane was simply exceptional at the ICC Cricket World Cup last year," said Black Caps coach Gary Stead. "He can be extremely proud of what he achieved at the tournament in the UK. He scored his runs at crucial times, in crucial matches and he set a tempo throughout the tournament that allowed us to play some superb cricket."

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Bates won the women's ODI Player of the Year award having made two half-centuries in three matches against South Africa, the only series in the format for New Zealand in the last 12 months.

Experienced batsman Taylor picked up the men's T20 Player of the Year award for his exceptional performances in the shortest format. He performed consistently in New Zealand's last three T20I series against Sri Lanka, England and India.

White Ferns captain Devine was the standout performer in women's T20Is, achieving a world record of six successive half-centuries in the format. She scored 429 runs in eight matches at an average of 71.50.

"Our T20 side is at its best when Sophie is scoring runs at the top. She gives others around her the freedom to play their natural game," said White Ferns coach Bob Carter. "Sophie’s ability with the ball in T20 cricket goes under the radar at times. She will often step up and bowl the hard overs and uses changes of pace to her advantage. She is a top quality all-rounder and an exceptional T20 talent."

The NZC awards will conclude on Friday, May 1 with the announcement of the Sir Richard Hadlee medal for Player of the Year as well as Test Player of the Year and Umpire of the Year awards.