Stephanie Taylor becoming the first female to win the country’s Cricketer of the Year Award is being viewed as a symbolic, yet controversial.

Taylor, recently catapulted to No 9 on the ICC Women’s rankings batting list and No 5 on the all-rounders’ list, came out ahead of main rival leg-spinner Odean Brown and right-hand batsman Tamar Lambert.

But in her crowning moment of glory on Monday night, emotions were mixed inside the Grande Independence Ballroom at the Kingston Hilton Hotel.

Amid a rousing standing ovation, as the 18-year-old rising star collected Jamaica’s most prestigious individual cricket award, there was an air of disgruntled disbelief.

The 2008/2009 season has been simply fantastic for Taylor, who made her West Indies debut in the summer of 2008. But it was in 2009 that Taylor comes of age, scoring 485 runs at an average of 37.3 highlighted by a century and two 50s.

She carried her form into the Twenty20 version of the game, including the Women’s Twenty/20 World Cup in England where she slammed two half-centuries.

Few women cricketers around the world can match Taylor’s current 20/20 strike rate of 129.85 and her ascendency into the top-10 was unquestionable.

She also captained DW Peoples Choice to the domestic cricket title while helping Jamaica’s senior women’s team to a second-place finish in the regional tournament.

“There was no difficulty for me in awarding Stephanie cricketer of the year,” said Jamaica Cricket Association (JCA) president Paul Campbell.

“In a year that we celebrated excellence if it is a female cricketer that excels then we are going to really celebrate… and that was exactly what Stephanie did,” he added.

However, Taylor’s rivals made a strong claim too in a league superior to women’s cricket.

Brown was Jamaica’s most successful bowler in the regional four-day competition with 52 wickets – the most by a Jamaican in regional cricket – at an average of 21.98, which placed him third on the overall list.

Meanwhile Lambert, who was later controversially dropped by the selectors for the just-concluded regional 50-over contest, was the country’s best batsman last season.

The stocky right-handed batsman, who captained the side in the absence of West Indies skipper Chris Gayle, came in at No 7 for most runs scored, averaging 34.50 with four 50s and a superb solitary century of 143 against Barbados at Bridgetown.

But with both Lambert and Brown missing out coveted prize, along with cash prize of $100,000, despite their performances at an exceedingly more competitive level, it’s a cause for concern, especially among the purists.

Nicole Francis, treasurer at St Catherine Club, which ironically is the local club of Lambert and Brown, disagreed with the decision to give Taylor the award.

“Stephanie has done well and her performance should be recognised, but not at the expense of Odean (Brown),” said Francis.

She contends that her view, shared by many, is neither sexist nor biased in any form and is calling for a separation by gender.

“The awards should have been separated,” she told the Observer in a telephone interview yesterday.

“Female Cricketer of the Year, Stephanie Taylor; Male cricketer of the year, Odean Brown. Both awards are not of the same and must not be bonded,” she contends.

2009 has been a monumental year for female cricketers in a male-dominated sport as Taylor’s unprecedented achievement also follows that England’s Claire Taylor, who was chosen among the five Wisden Cricketers of the Year.

“It’s a great honour for Stephanie and it’s great maturity of the Jamaica Cricket Association to recognise (her),” noted cricket analyst Dr Akshai Mansingh.

“She has surpassed what any of our males have ever done, which I think is perfectly deserving.”

Added Dr Mansingh: “Unfortunately, she can only play at the standard that she is allowed to play. But she has excelled in what she has been allowed to excel in and you can’t take that away from her.”

Veteran sport administration Pat Anderson, now president of the Manchester Cricket Association, had no qualms about Taylor getting the nod ahead of the males.

Said Anderson: “One award is good enough for me… nuh man ‘an nuh woman business. I am satisfied that she was the best. All things are equal, and she has been good at the international level. She has proven herself.”