ICC Awards 2014: Australia's Mitchell Johnson fully deserved top accolade, says Dominic Cork

Mitchell Johnson’s ICC Cricketer of the Year accolade is just reward for turning his career around, says Dominic Cork.

Australian left-arm quick Johnson, who was also named Test Cricketer of the Year, pipped Sri Lanka’s Kumar Sangakkara and Angelo Mathews as well as South Africa’s AB de Villiers to scoop the gong for a second time, having first won it in 2009.

Johnson endured a nightmare Ashes series in 2010/11 but bounced back in supreme style last winter, taking 37 wickets at an average of 13.97 as Australia whitewashed England.

He has transformed his career from being a person who was ridiculed by the crowd.

And Cork says the Queenslander – who also starred during the Baggy Greens’ Test series win in South Africa in 2013/14, plundering 22 scalps at a touch over 17 – will be crucial for Michael Clarke’s team going forward.

“I think he deserves it for the way he has transformed his career from being a person who was ridiculed by the crowd,” said Cork. “He came back in that Ashes series and has gone on from strength to strength.

“People questioned whether he could stay fit but he has at the moment, and it will be interesting to see how he pushes on to the World Cup and the Ashes next year.”

Committed

There were also four English winners at the ICC Awards, with batsman Gary Ballance named as the Emerging Cricketer of the Year and former Middlesex and Yorkshire player Richard Kettlebrough picked as Umpire of the Year.

England Women’s wicketkeeper-batsman Sarah Taylor was announced Women’s ODI Cricketer of the Year after racking up 334 runs at an average of 66.80 during the judging timeframe.

Plus, Taylor’s colleague, seamer Katharine Brunt, collected the Spirit of Cricket Award for calling for a referral after a South African player had incorrectly been given out caught by an on-field umpire.

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Cork added: “It’s good to see Ballance in there with the way that he came into the England team and took over from Jonathan Trott, while it’s also good to see an English umpire.

“I’ve played against Kettlebrough and I know he’s very good in the middle – he’s very, very calm and committed and I think he’s one of the best in the world.

“I also think it’s testament to where English women’s cricket is at the moment - on a high – that (Taylor and Brunt have been recognised).

“The way that they’ve now become professional through contracts with the ECB is good for women’s cricket at all levels.”