Namibia skipper Gerhard Erasmus bags ICC Men's Associate Cricketer of the Year Award 2022
The International Cricket Council on Tuesday named Gerhard Erasmus as the Associate cricketer of the year for his stellar showings with the bat in 2022 while also leading Namibia to new heights in the global game. Erasmus expressed gratitude for the honour while listing his highlights of the year.
Namibian skipper Gerhard Erasmus earned his first ICC Associate Cricketer of the Year Award on Tuesday after a record-breaking 2022 for both him as well as his country. The 27-year-old had a great year with the bat in the international circuit, emerging on the ODI circuit as one of the leading run-scorers in the ICC Cricket World Cup League 2 alongside success on the World T20. The Windhoek-born cricketer ended up with 956 ODI runs in 2022 at an average of 56.23 alongside 12 wickets, as well as 306 runs in T20Is at an average of 38.25 while striking at over 120 and scalping six victims with the ball.
Erasmus' year started off with a bang as he led his African nation to a heroic comeback victory against a resilient Oman. The opposition had Namibia down and out at 537 before the skipper dug in deep with the deal, crawling his way to a half-century off 75 balls. Growing in confidence, Erasmus thereon went on a rampage to register his maiden ODI ton, eventually ending unbeaten on 121 off 120 balls. However, more history was to be made by the fledgling cricketer as he brought up his maiden century in the game's shortest format as well, with a stunning 100 not-out off 47 deliveries against Uganda. Alongside the two tons, Erasmus also racked up nine half-centuries only one of which came in a T20I.
The skipper truly came to the spotlight in a five-match T20I series against Zimbabwe in April. Some belligerent performances helped Namibia trump the more-fancied opponents 3-2 and script their name in the history books. It eventually did not even end up being their biggest win of the year, as Namibia trumped Sri Lanka by 55 runs in their World T20 opener albeit two ensuing losses kept them from making it to the Super 12 stage.
"It's really been a great year for myself, contributing on the field to the Namibian cause and many successful stories for the team. Definitely, I have to thank my teammates as well as the coaching staff off the field for contributing towards my game. My most exciting moment of the year was the ODI hundred I scored against Oman, coming out of a tough spot, and going on to score more runs in the T20Is against Zimbabwe to get our first T20I series win against a full-member nation. Definitely, I liked playing in the World Cup as well, and great to have had a successful year not only personally but also for the team," Erasmus said to the ICC upon receiving the award.
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