MS Dhoni won the ICC Spirit of Cricket of the Decade award following a fan vote, for his decision to retire Ian Bell after a controversial 2011 Nottingham race between England and India.
The incident won the ICC Spirit of Cricket award in 2011.
Since the last ball of the afternoon session on the third day, Bell at 137 * sold out after an erroneous assumption that the ball had reached the rope and gone by four, with Abhinav Mukund breaking the stumps as Bell drove away to speak with his hitting partner Eoin Morgan.
Over the course of tea, the India team led by Captain Dhoni decided to retract the appeal, as batsman Rahul Dravid explained.
“There was a team discussion during the tea break, Dhoni and Fletcher called the meeting and Dhoni led it. There was a unanimous feeling that we should reinstate Bell because the spirit of the game was important and that getting him out that way would go against the spirit. “
Bell learned shortly before the restart that he could continue his innings, adding 22 more runs before being caught in a slip.
After the game, Bell said: “I didn’t know until the last minute that he would come out again, but the way he’s handled has been fantastic and in the spirit of the game.”
ICC Spirit of Cricket Award Nominees of the Decade
- Winner 2011 – MS Dhoni (India)
- 2012 Winner – Daniel Vettori (New Zealand)
- 2013 Winner – Mahela Jayawardene (Sri Lanka)
- Winner 2014 – Katherine Brunt (England)
- Winner 2015 – Brendon McCullum (New Zealand)
- 2016 Winner – Misbah-ul-Haq (Pakistan)
- Winner 2017 – Anya Shrubsole (England)
- Winner 2018 – Kane Williamson (New Zealand)
- 2019 Winner – Virat Kohli (India)
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