Yorkshire duo Lyth and Lees win PCA awards

The opening batsmen scooped top honours in a glittering ceremony in London last night.

Lyth was named Player of the Year after scoring 1,489 runs at 67.68, the 27-year-old finishing leading run-scorer in Division One of the County Championship to help Yorkshire to their first title since 2001.

Lees was named Young Player of the Year after making 971 runs at 44.13, the 21-year-old shining in his first full season at county level.

The honours came just over 24 hours after both men cleaned up at The Cricket Writers’ Club awards in London, Lyth winning the County Championship Cricketer of the Year accolade and Lees the Young Cricketer of the Year award.

The Yorkshire Post cricket correspondent Chris Waters made it a hat-trick of Yorkshire successes when he won the Cricket Writers’ Club Book of the Year Award for 10 for 10: Hedley Verity and the Story of Cricket’s Greatest Bowling Feat.

The book tells the tale of Verity’s world record performance against Notts in 1932.

Angus Porter, the PCA chief executive, said: “Many congratulations to Adam and Alex on being voted by their fellow professionals as 2014’s Player and Young Player of the Year.

“The list of past winners bears testament to the fact that the people best placed to judge outstanding performances are fellow professionals.”

Lyth was also named in the overall PCA Team of the Year along with Yorkshire and England’s Joe Root and Gary Ballance, plus Yorkshire pace bowler Jack Brooks.