I checked the story against coverage from Yahoo Sports (carrying the BBC’s report) and theScore (AFP), and it’s real. One correction: the sources spell his name **Naavya** Sharma, not “Naayva”, so the article uses Naavya. Robinson’s Test average is 9.30 in one source and 9.32 in the other, so the article says “just over nine”. I couldn’t open the Warwickshire World page, so Ethan Bamber’s figures rest on Yahoo’s report alone.
Ollie Robinson, Naavya Sharma and Ethan Bamber made it a day for fast bowlers at the Cricket Writers’ Club awards at Lord’s. Robinson won the Bob Willis Trophy as England Player of the Year after taking 28 wickets in four Tests at an average of just over nine.
Middlesex’s Sharma, 21, was named NV Play Men’s Young Cricketer of the Year. Warwickshire’s Bamber, 27, won County Championship Player of the Year after taking 69 wickets as the Bears won the title. In a year when seamers set the pace in both Test and county cricket, all three main men’s awards went to bowlers.
Tilly Corteen-Coleman was named Women’s Young Cricketer of the Year. Scotland’s Kirstie Gordon won the Women’s Cricket Award, and England’s Angus Brown was Disability Cricketer of the Year.
Robinson’s return completes a remarkable comeback
Robinson’s award caps one of the more unlikely comebacks of the English summer. The 32-year-old Sussex seamer had spent more than two years out of favour with the England selectors. He returned to the Test side against New Zealand and Pakistan and was hard to score off throughout.
His 28 wickets in four Tests came at an average just over nine, among the most economical returns by any England seamer across a full home summer. That run lifted him into the top five of the International Cricket Council’s Test bowling rankings, his first time there since July 2023.
“It’s a huge honour to receive this award,” Robinson said. “After spending such a long time away from the England side, to come back and have the summer I’ve had has been incredibly special.”
Robinson is the fifth winner of the Bob Willis Trophy since the award was renamed in 2022 after the former England fast bowler and captain. Given whose name is on the trophy, it suits a seamer whose comeback was built on accuracy and seam movement rather than raw pace.
The award also sets up a busy winter. England have red-ball tours of South Africa and Bangladesh ahead, followed by the 150th anniversary Test against Australia in Melbourne. If Robinson stays fit, he goes into that run as a likely first pick in the attack.
Sharma joins an illustrious roll of honour
Sharma was not at Lord’s to collect his award because he is with England Lions in St Kitts. That says something about how quickly his career has moved.
The Middlesex bowler took 35 wickets in nine County Championship matches at an average of 21. He also helped his county win the One-Day Cup.
He is the 77th winner of the Young Cricketer of the Year award, which club members have voted on since the 1950 season. Previous winners include:
- Fred Trueman and Geoffrey Boycott
- Ian Botham, David Gower and Mike Gatting
- Andrew Flintoff and James Anderson
- Ian Bell, Jonny Bairstow, Joe Root and Ben Stokes
Winning the award does not guarantee a Test career, but the list shows how well the club’s members tend to judge young talent. For Sharma, the Lions tour is the next step, and a strong winter in the Caribbean would bring him closer to selection for the senior side.
Corteen-Coleman, who turned 19 in August, won the women’s young cricketer prize. She starred for Surrey and Southern Brave and made her England debut in both white-ball formats. She was also part of the T20 World Cup squad that lost the final to Australia at Lord’s.
Bamber’s late surge powers Warwickshire to the title
Bamber’s award reflects one of the title run-ins of the county season. He took 69 wickets in 16 matches, and 32 of them came from late August onwards. In that spell Warwickshire won five of their last six games to claim a ninth County Championship, their first since 2021.
Bamber has long been regarded as one of the most reliable seamers on the county circuit, a bowler whose control often counts for more than the speed gun. This award is the clearest recognition yet of his work, and it will raise the question of whether he deserves a Lions or Test call-up.
The other winners were Gordon and Brown. Gordon, who played for Scotland at the T20 World Cup, captained the Nottingham-based Blaze to a domestic treble of the Blast, County Cup and One-Day Cup. Brown hit a 43-ball hundred against India, England’s first century in the mixed disability format. He also made the fastest century in Disability Premier League history, from 45 balls.
The club renamed itself the Cricket Media Club in 2025. Its roughly 450 members vote for the winners.
For England, the three main men’s awards point the same way for the winter. Robinson is back in form at Test level, Bamber has just carried his county to a title, and Sharma is pushing for a place. England go to South Africa, Bangladesh and Melbourne with more seam-bowling options than they have had for some time.
Sources:
– [Yahoo Sports: Cricket Writers’ Awards for Robinson, Sharma & Bamber](https://sports.yahoo.com/articles/cricket-writers-awards-robinson-sharma-163013419.html)
– [theScore: Robinson wins England cricketer of the year award](https://www.thescore.com/news/3644200/robinson-wins-england-cricketer-of-the-year-award)
– [Wisden: ICC Test rankings, Robinson into the top five](https://www.wisden.com/series/england-vs-pakistan-m-2026/cricket-news/latest-icc-test-player-rankings-england-seamer-enters-top-five-for-the-first-time-since-2023)
– [Wikipedia: Cricket Writers’ Club Young Cricketer of the Year](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cricket_Writers’_Club_Young_Cricketer_of_the_Year)
Sports journalist and editor at SportsPortal.net. Covers cricket, football, Formula 1, tennis, and basketball with a focus on how global sports connect with Pakistani audiences. Follows the PSL, Pakistan national cricket team, Premier League, and major international tournaments. Has reported on sports for digital audiences since 2021.
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