Our Captain of the Year nominees have charted new paths for their teams and led them to triumphs for the first time
Events: P4 W2 D2
T20Is: P12 W8 L4
Williamson led New Zealand to victory at the World Test Championship (WTC) in June 2021 and their first-ever T20 World Cup final in Dubai later that year. Despite an elbow injury, Williamson not only set the stage for the WTC victory with a 49 in the first inning, batting for nearly five overs, but also sealed it with an undefeated 52 in the company of Ross Taylor in difficult striking conditions against an Indian attack. who had dominated in all conditions in 2021. Williamson’s elbow injury erupted again heading into the T20 World Cup but he overcame it to produce a masterclass in the final against eventual champions Australia. He smashed Mitchell Starc to smithereens on his 85-for-48 ball run, but the title eluded Williamson and New Zealand.
T20I: P17 W9 L8
Few have given Australia a chance to win the 2021 T20 World Cup. In the build-up to the tournament, there have been reports of tension around Justin Langer’s hands-on coaching style. Additionally, Australia had lost five consecutive T20I series, and Finch himself was an uncertain starter, having undergone knee surgery. However, under his watch Australia defied the odds – and New Zealand – to finally add the T20 World Cup to their trophy cabinet. With the bat, Finch started the tournament with a duck against South Africa in Abu Dhabi, but fought back with scores of 37 from 23, 44 from 49 and 40 from 20 balls in his next three innings. Overall, he was Australia’s second-best T20I run-getter in 2021 behind Mitchell Marsh, with 459 runs in 17 innings at an average of 28.68 and a strike rate of 125.06.
T20Is: P14 W9 L5
Under Erasmus, Namibia won nine of the 14 T20Is they contested last year, the highlight being qualifying for the Super 12 in their first World Cup appearance. Namibia suffered a beating at the hands of Sri Lanka in their opening game but came back strong with successive victories against the Netherlands, Ireland and Scotland. Erasmus broke his finger during warm-up matches but he persevered, with Namibia assistant coach Albie Morkel revealing he headed straight for the operating room after the T20 World Cup . Under these circumstances, Erasmus’ unbeaten run at 53 against Ireland proved to be an even more significant contribution to Namibia’s inaugural World Cup run.
Deivarayan Muthu is a sub-editor at ESPNcricinfo
