Jordan Cox, Emma Lamb land prestigious PCA player of year awards

Jordan Cox and Emma Lamb have been named PCA Players of the Year, capping stellar summers in which both players earned England recalls after consistent seasons in domestic cricket.

Cox missed out on a Test debut for England last November due to an ill-timed injury and was left out of their white-ball squads at the start of the summer. However, he earned a T20I recall after scoring his maiden T20 hundred for Essex and finishing the Hundred as the leading run-scorer. He saw off competition from Joe Root, Ed Barnard and Dom Sibley to win the award.

"My favourite moment of the year was taking my chance and scoring an international half-century [against Ireland]," Cox said. "It's probably why I got selected to go to New Zealand, which means a lot. On the Lions trip [to Australia] I want to show the selectors I'm capable of playing Test cricket."

Lamb missed the PCA awards ceremony in west London on Thursday night - which are sponsored by Toyota - as she is currently in Colombo, preparing for England's World Cup fixture against Sri Lanka. She was the leading run-scorer in Lancashire's Metro Bank Cup triumph, and pipped Nat Sciver-Brunt, Kathryn Bryce and Georgia Elwiss to the award.

Lamb said she was "very surprised" to find out she had won after England's tense win over Bangladesh on Tuesday. "I wasn't expecting it, but obviously I'm very happy," she said. "It's really lovely that my peers have taken the time to recognise my performances this year. It's such an honour to receive this award… It's been a very enjoyable 12 months."

Rehan Ahmed was named men's Young Player of the Year after scoring five centuries for Leicestershire as they won promotion in the County Championship, while he also impressed for Trent Rockets in the Hundred. Davina Perrin, who scored a stunning 42-ball century in the Hundred's eliminator, won the women's award, having also impressed for Birmingham Bears.

"I was a bit shocked to be honest," Perrin said. "There's been some great performances from young players, especially Ailsa [Lister] and Ella ([cCaughan] who have had unbelievable seasons… The biggest thing for me is that I'm maximising my potential and hopefully the England honours will come."

Rehan said that the award "topped off a great season" for him. "My red-ball season was great," he said. "I want to be a regular in the England [Test] team - it's more important to me than the white-ball stuff - so being given the opportunity to perform and then repaying the coaches with my form for Leicestershire has been great."

The Outstanding Contribution Award went to Graham Gooch, for his "incredible support of the game" including his donations to the Cricketers' Trust, while Adil Rashid and Nat Sciver-Brunt won Rado Recognition Awards for their England careers. The ECB's Special Merit award went to Andrew Flintoff's BBC series Field of Dreams, while the players voted for Ian Blackwell and Gabi Brown as Umpires of the Year.

Daryl Mitchell, the PCA's chief executive, said: "The most prestigious awards ceremony in cricket is always a wonderful opportunity to celebrate our fantastic players who have worked so hard throughout the season. Another enjoyable year… culminated in everybody coming together to congratulate our four main winners at the PCA Awards in partnership with Toyota."

Men's Player of the Year: Jordan Cox (Shortlisted: Ed Barnard, Joe Root, Dom Sibley)
Women's Player of the Year: Emma Lamb (Shortlisted: Kathryn Bryce, Georgia Elwiss, Nat Sciver-Brunt)
Men's Young Player of the Year: Rehan Ahmed (Shortlisted: James Coles, Asa Tribe)
Women's Young Player of the Year: Davina Perrin (Shortlisted: Alisa Lister, Ella McCaughan)
Outstanding Contribution Award: Graham Gooch
Rado Recognition Awards: Adil Rashid, Nat Sciver-Brunt
ECB Special Merit: Freddie Flintoff's Field of Dreams
Men's Umpire of the Year: Ian Blackwell
Women's Umpire of the Year: Gabi Brown