ICC reveals men's associate cricketer of the year for 2023

JOIN OUR WHATSAPP CHANNEL

The winner of the ICC Men's Associate Cricketers of the Year for 2023 has been named, with a Dutch Cricket World Cup hero taking the honour.

Bas de Leede was named ICC Men's Associate Cricketer of the Year for his work both at the ICC Men's Cricket World Cup 2023 Qualifier, and the tournament proper in India.

De Leede joins two-time winner Ryan ten Doeschate as Dutch winners of the accolade.

More on his exploits over the course of 2023.

Bas de Leede (Netherlands)

31 ODI wickets at 26.41, economy 6.51
424 ODI runs at 28.26, one century, one fifty

The year that was

It was a watershed year for Dutch cricket in the one-day game, bouncing back from a tough Super League campaign to edge the likes of Zimbabwe, West Indies and Scotland for a Cricket World Cup spot, before beating South Africa and Bangladesh in the main tournament across October and November.

Continuing as a key cog in their bowling line-up, de Leede moved his batting up another level, standing up with crucial knocks throughout the year, most notably with a ton against Scotland in a de-facto final for a World Cup spot at the Qualifier.

At the World Cup, de Leede claimed 16 wickets across eight bowling efforts, beginning with a four-wicket haul against Pakistan. He only went wicketless once in the campaign, taking four two-wicket hauls and a three-wicket haul against England. He added 139 runs with the bat, making a half-century against Pakistan.

De Leede admitted it was likely a race between several other players in orange Dutch shirts for the accolade.

“I'm accepting the award, but I think most of the Dutch boys would have been in contention for it. So it's a cool way to finish off a great year for The Netherlands.

“Looking at my performances, it's probably the best I've played for Holland, which I'm very thankful for. I'm happy to have put in some performances to make that happen there."

Memorable Performance

Scoring a century and taking a five-wicket haul in a One Day International had only been achieved by four players before 6 July 2023, and the likes of Viv Richards, Amelia Kerr, Paul Collingwood and Rohan Mustafa were joined by de Leede after his efforts in a crucial Cricket World Cup Qualifier meeting with Scotland.

Bowling first, de Leede claimed the key wickets of Richie Berrington, George Munsey and Chris McBride, before returning to claim all-rounders Chris Greaves and Mark Watt in successive deliveries at the death.

Needing to chase that down inside 44 overs to overtake Scotland on net run-rate, de Leede was forced into a corner with the bat. At one stage 19 from 30 balls, de Leede accelerated, finishing with an awe-inspiring 123 from 92 deliveries. He was run out before reaching the target, though his work ensured his teammates would have little problems claiming the final two runs in time.