Fahad Babar leads USA sweep of awards

USA opening batsman Fahad Babar was named Best Batsman and Tournament MVP as USA collected all of the hardware handed out to individual players at the ICC Americas Division One T20 post-tournament awards presentation in Indianapolis.

Babar, 23, was the tournament's leading scorer with 242 runs in six games at an average of 121. The only two times he was dismissed were against Canada, for 31 and 33, and he made a high score of 78 not out leading USA to a tense five-wicket win on the first day of the tournament chasing Bermuda's 123.

"I think the key to my success was the team," Babar said. "The management, the staff, the captain, the coach, they have faith in me. They always give me confidence and all the guys were supporting me throughout, which was nice to see. That really helped me and really motivated me."

Legspinner Timil Patel received the tournament's Best Bowler award after finishing with 15 wickets at an average of 7.66, both the best marks for any bowler in the tournament. His best haul came in Friday's win over Suriname with 4 for 13. Most batsmen had trouble picking him as evidenced by four of his dismissals effected through stumpings.

Steven Taylor rounded off the honors list after being named the Best Wicketkeeper at the tournament. Taylor finished third overall in runs with 167 at an average of 27.83. His best score was 60 off 39 balls against Bermuda on Thursday. Behind the stumps, Taylor took two catches and completed three stumpings.

Canada's Hamza Tariq actually had the most total dismissals of any keeper with three catches and four stumpings for the undefeated tournament champions. However, he managed just 44 runs at 11.00 with the bat. Taylor was rewarded for both his batting and glovework while playing for the 4-2 runner-up squad.