Aust captain Knowles hockey player of '14

Kookaburras captain Craig Knowles named International Hockey Player of 2014 after World Cup and Commonwealth Games success.

Australian men's hockey captain Mark Knowles has been named as the sport's International Player of the Year for 2014, the International Hockey Federation announced on Thursday night.

The 30-year-old from Rockhampton, Queensland, topped the polling after leading Australia to the World Cup and Commonwealth Games titles in a six-week period.

Knowles adds the international player crown to the World Cup Player of the Tournament and Hockey Australia Player of the Year awards he won in 2014.

National coach Graham Reid said in a release issued by Hockey Australia: "Mark is thoroughly deserving of the recognition he has received.

"It was just 12 months ago that he took on the captaincy of the Kookaburras and he has not only thrived in the role but his performances on the field have been excellent.

"He has led by example through his strong and courageous play and set a great example for the rest of the team."

Knowles previously won the FIH World Young Player of the Year award in 2007.

In Glasgow in August, Knowles was Team Australia's flag bearer at the closing ceremony after winning his third Commonwealth Games gold medal.

In the award voting he led Kookaburras teammate Eddie Ockenden, Dutch pair Robbert Kemperman and Robert van der Horst, and England's Ashley Jackson.

For the first time, voting in the FIH annual awards was open to the public via Facebook with the athletes and coaches at the Champions Trophy also voting.

An Olympic champion capped 245 times for his country, Knowles took over the captaincy of the Kookaburras in January 2014 having previously served as a co-captain.

He led the Kookaburras at the World League Finals in Delhi in the same month before helping the team to a record eighth title at the Sultan Azlan Shah Cup in Malaysia in March.

In June he was part of the team that stunned the Netherlands 6-1 in the World Cup final, collecting the Player of the Tournament accolade.

In August, he played through the pain of a foot injury to marshal an Australian defence that conceded just four goals in its six games en route to winning a fifth consecutive Commonwealth Games title.


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Source: AAP


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