New
Zealand cricketer Daryl Mitchell has been conferred the ICC Spirit of Cricket
Award for his gesture in the 2021 ICC Men’s T20 World Cup semi-final against
England in Abu Dhabi. Mitchell is the fourth New Zealand player to win the
award. Previously, Daniel Vettori, Brendon McCullum and Kane Williamson had won
the prestigious award.

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“It’s
an honour to receive the ICC Spirit of Cricket Award,” Mitchell said in an
official release. “To be part of that T20 World Cup in UAE was an amazing
experience, and to receive an award like this is pretty cool.”

“It’s
something that we pride ourselves on as New Zealanders, the way we go about
playing our cricket, and yes, the Spirit of Cricket side. Personally, I felt I
got in the way and we wanted to win on our own terms, and didn’t want to be
controversial in such a big game,” he added.

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In
the T20 World Cup semi-final against England, Mitchell refused to take a
single. It was for his gesture that he won the award.

At
Abu Dhabi’s Sheikh Zayed Stadium, England and New Zealand were locked in a high
octane clash to reach the final. Batting first, England had posted a
competitive 166/4 on the board courtesy of Moeen Ali’s half-century.

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New
Zealand, in reply, were on course for the run chase with a well-settled
Mitchell setting a partnership with James Neesham, who was in great form. The
incident happened on the first ball of the 18th over bowled by Adil Rashid,
with the score at 133/4.

Neesham
pushed the ball down the ground and it would have been an easy single. But
Mitchell, at the non-striker’s end, refused to take the run, conceding that he
had impeded Rashid – in a high-pressure chase, with a place in the World Cup
final at stake, Mitchell’s gesture oozed class.

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Eventually,
New Zealand ended up winning the contest, chasing the total down with an over
to spare. Mitchell who opened the batting proved to be the match-winner,
playing a memorable knock of 72* in only 47 deliveries, hitting the winning
runs.

New
Zealand would end up as the runners-up in the tournament, falling short at the
final hurdle against Australia who won the match by eight wickets.