Root & Brook shortlisted for ICC cricketer of year

Former England captain Joe Root and batter Harry Brook have been shortlisted for the ICC men's cricketer of the year award.

Australia batter Travis Head and India pace bowler Jasprit Bumrah are the other male nominations.

Root, 34, is the number one-ranked Test batter in the men's game as a result of making 1,556 runs from 17 Tests at an average of 55.57 in 2024.

He was briefly displaced at the top of the rankings earlier this year by team-mate Brook, but a disappointing third Test in New Zealand for the 25-year saw Root regain his spot.

Brook has otherwise enjoyed a stellar year, which peaked with a maiden triple hundred in Pakistan in October.

The Yorkshire batter hit 317 off 322 balls in Multan to help England to their third-highest total in Test history.

Australia's Annabel Sutherland, New Zealand's Melie Kerr, South Africa's Laura Wolvaardt and Sri Lanka's Chamari Athapaththu have been nominated for the women's award.

Kerr led New Zealand to the T20 World Cup title earlier this year, beating Wolvaardt's South Africa in the final.

The 24-year-old took a record 15 wickets during the tournament while Wolvaardt hit more runs (223) than any other batter in the tournament in the United Arab Emirates.