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England pair Gary Ballance and Ben Stokes shortlisted for ICC emerging player of the year

Gary Ballance Ben Stokes England
Image: Shortlisted: England duo Gary Ballance and Ben Stokes

England's Gary Ballance and Ben Stokes have been shortlisted for the International Cricket Council's emerging player of the year award.

The pair are amongst four players up for the award, with New Zealand's Corey Anderson and Jimmy Neesham also shortlisted.

Yorkshire batsman Ballance has made the number three position his own for England this year, scoring three hundreds and averaging just short of 51 in his eight Tests so far.

Stokes is also on the list, with the Durham all-rounder rewarded for impressive performances at the end of 2013 and late in the 2014 summer, scoring a memorable 120 for England in their Ashes defeat at Perth.

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England's tormentor-in-chief from that disastrous Tour, Mitchell Johnson, is on the list for the ICC Cricketer of the Year.

The paceman was reborn against Alastair Cook's men and the 2009 winner enjoyed a stellar time in the qualification period of August 2013 to September 2014, taking 59 Test wickets at an average of 15. The left-armer also took 21 wickets in 16 one-day matches.

The Australian quick is joined in the running by Sri Lankans Kumar Sangakkara and Angelo Mathews, as well as South Africa's AB de Villiers.

Johnson, Mathews and Sangakkara are also up for the Test player award along with David Warner, while De Villiers, Quinton de Kock and Dale Steyn are three South Africans put up for the ODI prize along with India's Virat Kohli.

England women's captain Charlotte Edwards is nominated for the women's cricketer of the year award along with team-mate Sarah Taylor, Mithali Raj (India) and Stefanie Taylor (West Indies) the others.

Edwards, Raj and Stefanie Taylor are joined by Australia's Meg Lanning in the running for the women's T20 award.

A further English nomination sees Alex Hales put forward for the T20 performance of the year after his match-winning 116 against Sri Lanka at the World T20.

Test team

Meanwhile, Stuart Broad and Joe Root have been named in the ICC Test team of the year.

The mythical side, selected by a panel chaired by the ICC chairman and former India captain Anil Kumble, sees Broad and Root rewarded for their work in helping rebuild the England side after their disastrous tour of Australia.

Sri Lanka's Angelo Mathews is named as captain of the side after leading his men to victory in England, while Kumar Sangakkara (for a seventh time) and Rangana Herath are his named compatriots.

There are no England players named in the one-day side of the year, which is captained by India's MS Dhoni, named for an eighth time and a seventh year in a row.

"I would like to congratulate all the players for their selection in the teams of the year. It is an achievement to be proud of and recognition for their good performances in the qualifying period," Kumble said.

"Team selection is one of the toughest jobs and when you have a large pool of outstanding players to select from in a 12-month period between 26 August 2013 and 17 September 2014, then it becomes even more difficult."

ICC Test Team of the Year 2014 (in batting order): David Warner (Aus), Kane Williamson (NZ), Kumar Sangakkara (SL), AB de Villiers (SA), Joe Root (Eng), Angelo Mathews (SL, captain), Mitchell Johnson (Aus), Stuart Broad (Eng), Dale Steyn (SA), Rangana Herath (SL), Tim Southee (NZ), Ross Taylor (NZ) (12th man).

ICC ODI Team of the Year 2014 (in batting order): Mohammad Hafeez (Pak), Quinton de Kock (SA), Virat Kohli (Ind), George Bailey (Aus), AB de Villiers (SA), MS Dhoni (Ind, captain), Dwayne Bravo (WI), James Faulkner (Aus), Dale Steyn (SA), Mohammad Shami (Ind), Ajantha Mendis (SL), Rohit Sharma (Ind) (12th man).

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