New Zealand opener Daryll Mitchell wins ICC Spirit of Cricket Award for 2021

New Zealand batter Daryl Mitchell has been named the recipient of the ICC Spirit of Cricket Award after his gesture in the 2021 ICC Men's T20 World Cup semi-final against England in Abu Dhabi.

Mitchell won the award for refusing to take a single in the high-pressure T20 World Cup semi-final against England in Abu Dhabi on November 10, 2021. Mitchell has now become the fourth New Zealand player to win the award, following in the footsteps of Daniel Vettori, Brendon McCullum and Kane Williamson.

"It’s an honour to receive the ICC Spirit of Cricket Award," Mitchell said. "To be part of that T20 World Cup in UAE was an amazing experience, and to receive an award like this is pretty



cool.

"It’s something that we pride ourselves on as New Zealanders, the way we go about playing our cricket, and yes, the Spirit of Cricket side. Personally, I felt I got in the way and we wanted to win on our own terms, and didn’t want to be controversial in such a big game.

"It paid off in the long run that we won the game. Looking back, it all happened pretty quickly."

This spirit is described in the preamble to the laws of cricket: "Cricket is a game that owes much of its unique appeal to the fact that it should be played not only within its laws but also within the spirit of the game. Any action which is seen to abuse this spirit causes injury to the game itself."