North named best Sheffield Shield player

West Australian veteran Marcus North has capped a great comeback since being dropped last season by being named Sheffield Shield player of the 2013-14 season.

Ex-Test batsman North made 884 runs at an average of 68 and took 12 wickets with his offspinners to help the Warriors qualify for their first Shield final in 15 years – against NSW starting on Friday.

The 34-year-old received the award – voted on by umpires after each regular-season match – at a Cricket Australia presentation in Canberra on Wednesday.

North polled 19 votes to finish ahead of NSW batsman Ryan Carters and Queensland captain James Hopes (16 votes each) while young South Australian batsman Travis Head was fourth with 15 votes.

North, who played the last of his 35 Test matches against England in Adelaide in 2010, stood down as captain of the Warriors towards the end of 2012 after more than six years at the helm.

The runs then dried up and the middle-order mainstay was surprisingly dropped.

But following a productive stint in English county cricket and moving to the top of the order, North this season scored heavily domestically.

In women’s cricket, fellow West Australian Nicole Bolton was named WNCL player of the year for a second season running, while Victorian Elyse Villani took home the Twenty20 player of the year.

Bolton, who scored 124 in her one-day international debut for the Southern Stars in January, finished the WNCL season with 371 runs at an average of 61.8 and took seven wickets.

Meanwhile ACT all-rounder Vele Dukoski was awarded Futures League player of the year, West Australian Michael Bailey the indigenous cricketer of the year, and Simon Fry CA’s umpire award.

North’s Warriors also claimed the Benaud Spirit of Cricket honours for the best state team of the year, alongside the women’s Victoria side.