England’s Alastair Cook, India’s Neetu David, and South Africa’s AB de Villiers have become the latest inductees in the ICC Hall of Fame honour.
On October 16, the International Cricket Council (ICC) announced the names of these three cricketing legends. Cook, David, and de Villiers are the 113th, 114th, and 115th Hall of Famers, respectively.
In 2009, the ICC launched the prestigious Hall of Fame to mark the organisation’s centenary celebrations. Since then, many renowned cricketers have been added to the club.
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Cook, David, and de Villiers into ICC Hall of Fame
Alastair Cook had an illustrious career for England, especially in Test cricket. He was England’s leading Test run-scorer and century-makes until Joe Root surpassed him a few days ago.
Cook made his international debut in March 2006, playing in a Test match against India. He donned the England cap in 257 matches across formats and scored 15,737 runs.
Cook was more effective in Test cricket, where he amassed 12,472 runs in 161 matches at an average of 45.35. He was also an astute leader in the format, guiding England to several series victories, most notably their series win against India in 2012 and Ashes victories in 2013 and 2015.
Apart from that, Cook scored 3204 runs in ODIs and led them to the final of the Champions Trophy 2013 in England. The left-hander retired from international cricket in 2018.
Neetu David became the second Indian women cricketer to join the ICC Hall of Fame. Diana Edulji was the first to be inducted last year.
David was an impressive left-arm spinner during her playing days. She stormed her way to 100 ODI wickets in 2005 to become the first Indian woman to achieve the feat.
David was also instrumental in India reaching the final of the 2005 Women’s ODI World Cup. She was the leading wicket-taker in the competition, racking up 20 wickets.
The former left-arm spinner entered international cricket in February 1995, making her Test debut against New Zealand. She featured in 10 Tests and bagged 41 wickets. Her ODI career was incredible, as she took 141 wickets in 97 matches at an average of 16.34.
AB de Villiers was known for his 360-degree strokemaking. The former South African batter lit up the arena with his audacious stroke play.
Despite retiring from the format, de Villiers still holds the record for the fastest fifty, century, and 150 in ODI cricket. He was a go-getter for South Africa in all formats, both with the bat and in the field.
The right-hander made his international debut in 2004 and hammered over 20,000 runs across formats. In Tests, de Villiers played 114 matches, scoring 8765 runs. He scored 9577 runs in 228 ODIs, while he blasted 1672 runs in 78 T20Is.
