Ben Stokes wins PCA Players' Player of the Year award

In claiming the title, Stokes became only the sixth player to win the double of Young Player of the Year award and Player of the Year honour. Meanwhile, Sophie Ecclestone won her second successive Women's Player of the Summer award.

Chris Woakes and Stuart Broad were honoured as the ODI and Test Player of the Year respectively. Twenty-year-old Tom Banton was named the Young Player of the Year for his solid performances for Somerset, especially in white-ball formats.

Stokes scored 465 runs, including 84* in the Lord's final against New Zealand, and took seven wickets in England's successful World Cup campaign. In the Ashes, he scored 441 runs at 55.12 and also took eight wickets. Notably, he scored 135* in England's miracle one-wicket win at Headingley. His solid performances almost guaranteed him the top honour, but he was delighted all the same.

"It's hard to put it into words," gushed Stokes. "I am over the moon that players think I am worthy of winning the PCA Players' Player of the Year through performances this summer.

"You can take a lot of personal pride when you receive this award because it's your peers that vote for you. Earning this award is a huge moment and something I am very gracious of and I am sure the previous 49 winners are gracious of too.

"While this is an individual award, it is within a team sport so I am only in this position because of what other guys in our squad have achieved as well. What we have done as a team in 2019 is phenomenal, to win the World Cup and draw the Ashes has been a fantastic summer and something I am proud of personally and as a team."

Ecclestone, the left-arm spinner, played seven matches across formats in the Women's Ashes and claimed 13 wickets at 26.07. She also claimed 12 scalps at 19.83 in the Women's Cricket Super League for Lancashire Thunder. She became the first woman to win the Women's Player of the Year award in consecutive years.

"I feel like I'm a bit more of a presence in the team now than I was last year, and I've enjoyed getting my point of view across," she said. "The highlight was definitely when we came back and won the last T20I [against Australia in the Ashes].

"It was really nice to end on a high and show that we're a team to be reckoned with at the T20 World Cup next year. The big goal is to get ready for that World Cup and show everyone what we're all about."