ESPNcricinfo Awards 2012 readers choice: An Ajmal sweep
ESPNcricinfo's readers have picked Saeed Ajmal as the winner in all three bowling categories in the 2012 Awards, in stark contrast to the awards jury, who handed Ajmal no gongs.
The batting awards in the readers' choice segment went to Hashim Amla's 311 against England (Tests), Virat Kohli's 183 against Pakistan (ODIs), and Marlon Samuels' World Twenty20-winning fifty. The T20 batting award was the only one where the jury's selection matched the readers'.
Ajmal's most emphatic win came in the Test bowling category, where he fetched nearly as many votes as the other nine contenders put together. He took 95 wickets in the three formats in 2012, at a combined average of under 20, and his not being picked among the nominees for last year's ICC Awards sparked a furore.
Kevin Pietersen's 186 against India, was the jury's choice for the Test batting award was well down the readers' list, in which Amla's knock was followed by Michael Clarke's triple-century against India at the beginning of the year, Faf du Plessis' remarkable fourth-innings 110 not out against Australia in Adelaide and Azhar Ali's 157 against England.
Kohli was a clear favourite: his two innings on the ODI batting shortlist were Nos. 1 and 2 on the readers' list.
| Test Batting | Test Bowling | ODI Batting | ODI Bowling | T20 Batting | T20 Bowling |
| Hashim Amla, 311 v Eng | Saeed Ajmal, 7 for 55 v Eng | Virat Kohli, 183 v Pak | Saeed Ajmal, 4 for 32 v Aus | Marlon Samuels, 78 v SL | Saeed Ajmal, 4 for 23 v Eng |
| Michael Clarke, 329* v Ind | Monty Panesar, 6 for 81 v Ind | Virat Kohli, 133* v Sri Lanka | Thisara Perera, 6 for 44 v Pak | Yuvraj Singh, 72 v Pak | Bhuvneshwar Kumar, 3 for 9 v Pak |
| Faf du Plessis, 110* v Aus | Vernon Philander 5 for 30 v Eng | Hashim Amla, 150 v Eng | Sohag Gazi, 4 for 29 v WI | Mohammad Hafeez, 55 v Ind | Ajantha Mendis, 6 for 8 v Zim |