Johnson wins ICC Cricketer and Test Cricketer of the Year awards

Dubai, Nov 14 (IANS) Australian pacer Mitchell Johnson Friday claimed two International Cricket Council (ICC) awards - Cricketer of the Year and Test Cricketer of the Year - while South African skipper AB de Villiers was named One-Day International (ODI) Cricketer of the Year.

England's Gary Ballance was declared the Emerging Cricketer of the Year and Australia opener Aaron Finch, who hit 156 runs off 63 balls against England, won the Twenty20 International (T20I) Performance of the Year award.

The 32-year-old Johnson won the Garfield Sobers trophy for being the best player of the year as he claimed 59 Test wickets at an average of 15.23, with best bowling figures of seven for 40 runs against England in Adelaide last December. In ODIs, the left-armer picked up 21 wickets in 16 games during the voting period between August 26, 2013 and September 17 2014.

England women's captain Charlotte Edwards and Sri Lanka's T20 World Cup-winning captain Angelo Mathews were also among the nominees.

Since the inception of the awards in 2004, Johnson is only the second player after compatriot Ricky Ponting to win the Garfield Sobers Trophy twice. While Johnson previously won this award in 2009, Ponting won back-to-back awards in 2006 and 2007. Other winners include Rahul Dravid (2004), Jacques Kallis and Andrew Flintoff (2005), Shivnarine Chanderpaul (2008), Sachin Tendulkar (2010), Jonathan Trott (2011), Kumar Sangakkara (2012) and Michael Clarke (2013).

"Some of the greats of the game have been nominated and won this award and it's a very special honour. Aggressive fast bowlers are something you'd have seen back in the day with the likes of (Dennis) Lillee and (Jeff) Thomson. For me, it's nice to be able to contribute to the team and do the job that I've always thought I've been able to do," Johnson was quoted as saying by the ICC website.

"I suppose it comes down to the attitude I've got, the belief and the confidence. I'm very happy with where I am at the moment and I want to keep getting better as a cricketer."

Johnson is also the third Australian after Ponting (2006) and Michael Clarke (2013) to win the ICC Test Cricketer of the Year award.

"This is something that I'll be able to look back on in time when my career is over and be exceptionally proud of. I want to thank everyone for their support, especially my teammates, support staff and my family for everything they've done for me. I wouldn't be sitting here today without them."

Johnson was earlier named in the Test Team of the Year in Dubai on November 5. At the same event, India's medium pacer Bhuvneshwar Kumar was declared the LG People's Choice award winner.

Other winners include England's wicketkeeper-batswoman Sarah Taylor, who won the Women's ODI Cricketer of the Year award and Scotland's Preston Mommsen, who won the Associate and Affiliate Cricketer of the Year award.

Richard Kettleborough of the Emirates Elite Panel of ICC Umpires won the David Shepherd trophy for Umpire of the Year for the second consecutive year.

Australia captain Meg Lanning clinched the Women's T20I Cricketer of the Year award, while England's Katherine Brunt won the Spirit of Cricket award for sportingly asking for a referral when a South Africa batswoman was adjudged to have been given out caught and the decision was subsequently reversed.