28 December 2020 04:25 pm
MS Dhoni has won the ICC Spirit of Cricket Award of the Decade following a fan vote, for his decision to recall Ian Bell after a controversial run out in the 2011 Nottingham Test between England and India.
The incident won the ICC Spirit of Cricket Award in 2011.
From the final ball of the afternoon session on the third day, Bell on 137* was run out following a mistaken assumption that the ball had reached the rope and gone for four, with Abhinav Mukund breaking the stumps while Bell wandered off to talk to his batting partner Eoin Morgan.
Over the course of tea, the India team led by captain Dhoni decided to retract the appeal, as batsman Rahul Dravid explained.
“There was a team discussion during the tea interval, Dhoni and Fletcher convened the meeting, and Dhoni led it. There was a feeling of unanimity that we should reinstate Bell because the spirit of the game was important, and that getting him out in that way would contravene the spirit.”
Bell learned shortly before resumption that he could continue his innings, adding 22 more runs before being caught at slip.
After the game, Bell said: “I didn't know until the last minute that I would be going back out again but the way it's been handled has been fantastic and in the spirit of the game.”
ICC Spirit of Cricket Award of the Decade nominees
2011 Winner – MS Dhoni (India)
2012 Winner – Daniel Vettori (New Zealand)
2013 Winner – Mahela Jayawardene (Sri Lanka)
2014 Winner – Katherine Brunt (England)
2015 Winner – Brendon McCullum (New Zealand)
2016 Winner – Misbah-ul-Haq (Pakistan)
2017 Winner – Anya Shrubsole (England)
2018 Winner – Kane Williamson (New Zealand)
2019 Winner – Virat Kohli (India)