Eight up for ICC awards

Andrew Flintoff at the 2005 ICC awards © Getty Images

Andrew Flintoff and Kevin Pietersen are just two of the eight players from England’s representative teams that are up for recognition at the ICC awards during October in India.

Flintoff is up for Test, one-day and cricketer of the year while Pietersen features in the nominations for both Test and one-day categories.

Flintoff won the player of the year award with Jacques Kallis last year and was second to Pietersen for the one-day award.

England also have three players in the running for young player of the year in spinner Monty Panesar, Ian Bell and Alastair Cook, while Panesar also joins Flintoff in the cricketer of the year list.

Injured captain Michael Vaughan is not forgotten - he could win the captain’s category - while Claire Taylor and Katherine Brunt compete for the women’s cricketer of the year title.

ICC chief executive Malcolm Speed hailed India as “the perfect venue for this year’s ICC Awards”.

Speaking in New Delhi, where he announced the long list of nominations for the seven individual awards at October’s ceremony, Speed said: “India has a passion for and interest in cricket that is unmatched anywhere in the world.

Claire Taylor is up for women’s Cricketer of the year © Getty Images

“That passion and interest will only be heightened by the ICC Champions Trophy taking place in the country during October and November.

“And with the ICC Awards happening during the tournament, that should ensure the players and officials recognised gain maximum and appropriate exposure for their excellence during the voting period.”

The ceremony will take place this year at the National Centre for the Performing Arts in Mumbai on 23 October.

The ICC awards ceremony is now in its third year and this will be the first time it has been staged in India. Previous ceremonies were held in London (2004) and Sydney (2005).

This year’s ICC awards will feature the selection of the Test and ODI Teams of the Year and an award to the side that has adhered most to the Spirit of Cricket.

There will also be seven individual awards, including two new ones this year for captain of the year and women’s cricketer of the year.

The captain’s award is designed not merely to recognise the most successful leader but is also intended to reward the player who has displayed excellent tactical awareness, has best fulfilled obligations to the game as set out by the ICC and the Laws of Cricket and has best demonstrated the Spirit of Cricket during the voting period.

The women’s award is designed to recognise the outstanding female player for the voting period and is included for the first time since the integration of the ICC and the International Women’s Cricket Council (IWCC) in 2005

Speed added: “Cricket is not just about runs, wickets and catches.

“It is also about tactics and the way a side conducts itself and the captain plays a pivotal role in those aspects of the game.

“The captain of the year award is designed to recognise the leader’s contribution to the game and to the spirit of cricket we all value so highly.

“The award for women’s cricketer of the year is a welcome and very appropriate addition to this year’s ceremony.

“It will serve to showcase the very best women’s cricketers, something that is vital as the ICC seeks to ensure the continued growth of the game at all levels.”

Speed continued “The ICC Awards highlights all the positives about our great game at the elite level.

“It focuses on the outstanding performances of our players and officials at the top end of the sport and is a means to recognise and reward excellence.

“And the fact the winners are voted for by their peers, current officials and a specially selected group of experts and legends of the game confirms the credibility and primacy of the ICC awards beyond question,” he added.

The long lists of nominations for the men’s awards have been compiled by a group of five selectors, led by former India captain and chairman of the ICC’s cricket committee, Sunil Gavaskar.

The other selectors are Allan Donald, the former South Africa fast bowler, ex-Australia wicket-keeper Ian Healy, Arjuna Ranatunga, the former Sri Lanka captain, and Waqar Younis, the former Pakistan captain and fast bowler and currently the side’s bowling coach.

The selectors will assess players’ performances during the voting period of August 1 2005 – August 8 2006.

The long lists will be reduced to final shortlists on October 14.

The five ICC selectors will also choose the Test and ODI teams of the year.

For the women’s cricketer of the year, each ICC member that played international cricket during the voting period is eligible to nominate two players.

The resultant list is then voted upon by an academy of 12 leading former players and influential figures in the women’s game including members of the media.

ICC Awards 2006 - Long List of Nominees – Individual Awards:

Test Player

Michael Hussey (Aus)
Ricky Ponting (Aus)
Mohammed Yousuf (Pak)
Andrew Flintoff (Eng)
Shane Warne (Aus)
Muttiah Muralidaran (SL)
Kumar Sangakkara (SL)
Rahul Dravid (Ind)
Mahela Jayawardene (SL)
Kevin Pietersen (Eng)
Younis Khan (Pak)
Matthew Hayden (Aus)
Makhaya Ntini (SA)

ODI Player

Yuvraj Singh (Ind)
Michael Hussey (Aus)
Ricky Ponting (Aus)
Shane Bond (NZ)
Irfan Pathan (Ind)
Andrew Flintoff (Eng)
Mahela Jayawardene (SL)
Muttiah Muralidaran (SL)
Rahul Dravid (Ind)
Kevin Pietersen (Eng)
Mohammed Yousuf (Pak)
Herschelle Gibbs (SA)
Brett Lee (Aus)
Shahid Afridi (Pak)
Inzamam ul Haq (Pak)
Adam Gilchrist (Aus)
Kumar Sangakkara (SL)

Emerging Player

Monty Panesar (Eng)
Alastair Cook (Eng)
Denesh Ramdin (WI)
Malinga Bandara (SL)
Mohammed Asif (Pak)
Upul Tharanga (SL)
Ian Bell (Eng)
Shahriar Nafees (BD)

Cricketer of the Year

Ricky Ponting (Aus)
Shane Warne (Aus)
Muttiah Muralidaran (SL)
Michael Hussey (Aus)
Andrew Flintoff (Eng)
Mohammed Yousuf (Pak)
Rahul Dravid (Ind)
Mahela Jayawardene (SL)
Younis Khan (Pak)
Monty Panesar (Eng)
Brett Lee (Aus)
Makhaya Ntini (SA)
Adam Gilchrist (Aus)

Captain of the Year

Michael Vaughan (Eng)
Rahul Dravid (Ind)
Ricky Ponting (Aus)
Mahela Jayawardene (SL)

Umpire of the Year

Simon Taufel
Aleem Dar
Rudi Koertzen

Women’s Cricketer of the Year

Karen Rolton (Aus)
Cathryn Fitzpatrick (Aus)
Anjum Chopra (Ind)
Neetu David (Ind)
Claire Taylor (Eng)
Katherine Brunt (Eng)
Emily Drumm (NZ)