Root and Stokes won PCA Young Player of the Year in 2012 and 2013 respectively
Wednesday 2 October 2019 18:12, UK
The 50th Professional Cricketers' Association Awards take place on Wednesday night, with Ben Stokes among the leading candidates to take home the prestigious Reg Hayter Cup, presented to the Player of the Year.
The Player of the Year is one of the three main accolades on the night that are voted for by current professional players, with Stokes nominated alongside Essex's Simon Harmer, Warwickshire's Dom Sibley and Gloucestershire's Ryan Higgins.
To celebrate the anniversary of the PCA Awards, here are the thoughts of some previous winners - including Stokes, recipient of the Young Player of the Year award in 2013 - on what the night means to them...
2013 PCA Young Player of the Year
"The PCA Awards night is something that the players always really look forward to at the end of the summer.
"In 2013, I was part of a winning Championship side, and things progressed from there for me, winning Young Player of the Year and then to be called up to the England team. It was a great time for me.
"I was over the moon to get an award voted for by the people you play against. I was very proud.
"Hopefully whoever wins it this year can look at some of the previous winners and take inspiration from the fact that a lot of them have gone on to play for England."
2012 PCA Young Player of the Year
"I got promoted back into the First Division with Yorkshire. It was a great season and it was great to have contributed well within that, scoring a few runs.
"Off the back of that, I then got selected for my first international tour.
"Receiving that Young Player of the Year award, knowing that players from my team and others up and down the country had voted for me, made me immensely proud.
"You look at the names who have won it and a lot of guys have gone on to have very illustrious international careers."
2018 PCA Player of the Year
"It was an amazing year for myself. I wasn't expecting to have a season like that across all formats.
"I think everyone attending that night hopes to be up for an award, and so to get your name called out, it was very special.
"It just goes to show that when you have a good year like that, who knows what you can achieve - I've gone on to represent England in Test cricket.
"If you'd have asked me at the beginning of 2018 whether that was likely to happen, I would never have predicted it. Things have really taken off and these last couple of years have been extra special."
Three-time PCA Player of the Year (2000, 2009, 2011)
"This was my goal. This was the thing I worked for each year, to be the best. To be a three-time winner of the trophy is something really special to me.
"I was over the moon to win it in 2000, the first time I picked it up. Breaking through into the international scene was obviously a special moment. It was just brilliant, to be playing for England in front of the big crowds and on the big stage. It's something you dream of.
"2000 was one of those highlights in your career that you can sit back and cherish while watching old videos and remembering old times.
"Winning again in 2009 was a special feeling, achieving my goal again, and 2011 was just amazing - to win two in three years. To be up there with some of the greats of the game - some who won twice and Richard Hadlee, who won three - is a really nice feeling."
1990 PCA Young Player of the Year
"What do I remember about that summer in 1990? They reduced the seams on the balls, they changed the colour of the pitches - you couldn't produce particularly green surfaces - and so it was a golden year for batting!
"Lancashire won the double, claiming both one-day trophies, and so from a county perspective it was a highly successful summer.
"England's summer was really dominated by Graham Gooch. As a young opener, I had the best education possible, standing 22 yards away from a legendary England player.
"I have no doubt that whoever wins this year will have a highly-successful career. Almost without fail, those who have been given this award go on to have very long and successful first-class careers or in some cases international careers."
