Kathmandu, March 20
Nepal national cricket team wicketkeeper Aasif Sheikh won the Christopher Martin-Jenkins Spirit of Cricket Award for his sportsmanship in an international match, the BBC announced today.
Sheikh was picked for the Award - created by Marylebone Cricket Club and BBC in memory of former MCC President and BBC Test Match special commentator Christopher Martin-Jenkins in 2013 - ahead of England's Jos Buttler and Ben Stokes.
"Sheikh refused to run out Ireland's Andy McBrine after he was accidentally tripped over by bowler Kamal Singh Airee," said BBC on its website. Nepal bowler Airee collided with McBrine while attempting to field the ball as the Ireland batters opted to take a quick single. Sheikh collected the ball behind the stumps with McBrine well short of his ground but the wicketkeeper refused the run out, allowing the batter to complete the run.
Buttler and Stokes were also highly commended by judges, BBC reported. Whiteball captain Buttler refused to appeal for obstructing the field when Australia's Matthew Wade top-edged a Mark Wood delivery, with the batter blocking the bowler's attempt to make the catch in a Twenty20 international in Perth in October 2022. Test skipper Stokes donated his match fees from the Test series in Pakistan to the country's flood appeal. "The moment was a spontaneous decision on my/our part not to take the wicket because it would have been unfair to the opponent," Sheikh was quoted as saying by the BBC. In January, Sheikh received the ICC Spirit of the Cricket Award for his sportsmanship.
A version of this article appears in the print on March 21, 2023, of The Himalayan Times.
