17/03/2026
Congratulations to our very own Darren Smith on being awarded the International Masters Cricket Over 60s Player of the Year!
IMC is pleased to announce the IMC Players of the Year for 2025
* Over-40s - Mark Cleary (Australia)
* Over-50s - Ali Bukhari (Wales)
* Over-60s - Darren Smith (Australia)
* Over-70s - (No PoTY was considered for the over-70s category due to the low number of games played in 2025.)
In the over-40s category, Mark Cleary took 26 wickets in 10 international matches in 2025 - all T20s - at an amazing average of 9.69. He was the clear standout player at the IMC T20 O40s World Cup, where he took at least 2 wickets in every game, including 5/22 in the final as Australia stunned pre-tournament favourites Pakistan to win the title.
Wales' Ali Bukhari was Player of the Tournament at the IMC Over-50s World Cup and ended the year with 27 wickets in O50Is at 14.40 and 298 runs at 29.8. Among his outstanding efforts were an astonishing 107 vs India off just 49 balls, and rapid spells against USA, West Indies and South Africa in particular. Bukhari is currently ranked #1 in the IMC Over-50s World Player Rankings.
In the O60s arena, Darren Smith played 8 O60Is in 2025, scoring 352 runs at 58.66 and taking 16 wickets at 12.25. He had a relatively quiet series against New Zealand (68 runs at 34 and 1 wicket for 27 runs) but put on a show against a strong England side during the northern summer. In consecutive matches he had scores of 8, 107*, 61 and 97, as well as bowling analyses of 1/20, 4/27, 4/29 and 4/53.
Congratulations to all three players!
