Jordan Cox and Emma Lamb have walked off with the Professional Cricketers’ Association’s top gongs, rounding off domestic campaigns that nudged both back into England colours.
Cox, 25, had begun 2025 on the rehab table, the groin strain that cost him a likely Test debut in India still raw in the memory. By September he was driving England home against Ireland with a maiden international fifty and closing the Hundred as its leading run-scorer. Those runs, plus a first T20 hundred for Essex, helped him edge Joe Root, Ed Barnard and Dom Sibley in the player vote.
“My favourite moment of the year was taking my chance and scoring an international half-century [against Ireland],” Cox said. “It’s probably why I got selected to go to New Zealand, which means a lot. On the Lions trip [to Australia] I want to show the selectors I’m capable of playing Test cricket.”
Lamb was 5,000 miles away in Colombo when her name was read out at Thursday night’s ceremony in west London, sponsored by Toyota. She had top-scored through Lancashire’s Metro Bank Cup triumph and chipped in with handy overs for Thunder, form that clinched the award ahead of Nat Sciver-Brunt, Kathryn Bryce and Georgia Elwiss.
“I wasn’t expecting it, but obviously I’m very happy,” Lamb said after England’s nerve-jangling win over Bangladesh earlier in the week. “It’s really lovely that my peers have taken the time to recognise my performances this year. It’s such an honour to receive this award… It’s been a very enjoyable 12 months.”
Rehan Ahmed collected the men’s Young Player of the Year after five championship centuries under-pinned Leicestershire’s promotion push. A tidy stint with Trent Rockets did his white-ball credentials no harm either. “My red-ball season was great,” he said. “I want to be a regular in the England [Test] team – it’s more important to me than the white-ball stuff – so being given the opportunity to perform and then repaying the coaches with my form for Leicestershire has been great.”
Davina Perrin, the teenager who lit up the Hundred eliminator with a 42-ball hundred, secured the women’s young player award. “I was a bit shocked to be honest,” Perrin admitted. “There’s been some great performances from young players, especially Ailsa [Lister] and Ella [McCaughan] who have had unbelievable seasons… The biggest thing for me is that I’m maximising my potential and hopefully the England honours will come.”
Away from the player categories, Graham Gooch received the Outstanding Contribution award – recognition for decades of charity work and mentoring – while Adil Rashid and Nat Sciver-Brunt landed the Rado Recognition awards for sustained excellence in England shirts. The ECB’s Special Merit nod went to Andrew Flintoff’s BBC series Field of Dreams, and the umpiring community voted Ian Blackwell and Gabi Brown as their officials of the year.
PCA chief executive Daryl Mitchell summed up proceedings in typically down-to-earth fashion: “The most prestigious awards ceremony in cricket is always a wonderful opportunity to celebrate our fantastic players who have worked so hard throughout the season.”
Plenty of silverware, then, yet for Cox and Lamb the message was clear: domestic consistency still opens international doors, even in a congested schedule.
