Ashes stars collect ICC Prizes

England's Andrew Flintoff shared the World Player of the Year Award with South Africa's Jacques Kallis © Getty Images

England’s rise to the higher echelons of world cricket was recognised at the International Cricket Council Player of the Year Awards with Andrew Flintoff and Kevin Pietersen picking up the main honours.

Flintoff’s position as the most valuable cricketer on the planet was rubber-stamped when he shared the main award with Jacques Kallis despite the qualification period excluding his outstanding performances in the last four Ashes Tests.

International colleague Pietersen inherited the one-day award Flintoff picked up at the inaugural awards ceremony in London last year, beating his international colleague into second place, and was the obvious choice in the emerging player category.

With Michael Vaughan absent, Flintoff - named in both Test and one-day teams of the year - also got up on stage to collect the Spirit of Cricket Award bestowed upon the Ashes winners.

All-rounder Flintoff admitted he didn't expect to receive an award © Getty Images

Both Flintoff, 27, and Kallis polled 86 votes from a 50-strong panel, including all 10 Test captains, former players and international referees and umpires, who cast a 3-2-1 vote in each section.

“I was just here for the food!” Flintoff modestly joked.

“I honestly didn’t know what to expect. I thought I had a chance of sneaking into one of the teams but I wasn’t expecting to receive anything.

“The Ashes has been such a rollercoaster ride of emotions during the summer I can’t remember too much before them.”

However, Pietersen will not forget the precursor to England’s first Test series victory over Australia since 1986-87, a baptism of fire in South Africa, which included wholesale booing from Proteas supporters.

Having spent a four-year qualification period to play for the country of his mother Penny’s birth, Pietersen admitted: “It is the best decision I have made in my life.

Batsman Kevin Pietersen believes qualifying to play for England is the best decision he ever made © Getty Images

“I knew to get the best out of myself I had to make a huge decision, leave my friends, my family and everything in South Africa.

“I hope I have become a pretty nice guy who will talk to anybody, who is successful at the moment. Long may it continue.

“I thought I had a pretty good go at the first award but the one-day player of the year award really got me. I took my blazer off and was just ready to carry on drinking.

“To be in the world one-day team was a dream come true because if someone had said to me 14 months ago I would be selected for England I would have said 'yeah right'.”

Life has certainly changed dramatically in that time for Pietersen, who was accompanied to the ceremony by his new model girlfriend Caprice.

This second year of an international career, which already boasts four hundreds including that Ashes-deciding effort at The Oval, has the potential to be a difficult one but Pietersen insists he thrives when the stakes are at their highest.

Hampshire star Pietersen arrived at the awards with his new model girlfriend Caprice © Getty Images

“If you look at most innings when I have scored my runs, I have been under the most extreme pressure you can ever imagine,” he said.

“I had to go to South Africa, my homeland where I was born and raised for 20 years and got myself three hundreds.

“I went home and proved myself in one-day internationals against Australia, got selected and did well in the first couple of Test matches and then on D-day, the 12th of September, when someone needed to stand up, with the pressure on every single batsman of the England team, I stood up to be counted.

“So I don’t think the pressure is a huge issue. I don’t care how big the occasion is, I don’t blow things out of proportion, I just enjoy myself doing something I love.

“All I wanted to do in my life was play cricket, it is my passion, my hobby and something I love.

“No matter whether it be in the Ashes, in Pakistan, county cricket, wherever I play every morning you wake up it’s a different circumstance. That is what I love about it.”

ICC AWARDS - WHO WON WHAT

Joint Players of the Year: Andrew Flintoff (England) & Jacques Kallis (South Africa)

Test Player of the Year: Jacques Kallis

One-Day Player of the Year: Kevin Pietersen (England)

Emerging Player of the Year: Kevin Pietersen

Spirit of Cricket Award: England

Umpire of the Year: Simon Taufel (Australia)

World Test Team of the Year: Virender Sehwag (India), Graeme Smith (South Africa), Ricky Ponting (Australia, captain), Jacques Kallis (South Africa), Brian Lara (West Indies), Inzamam-ul-Haq (Pakistan), Andrew Flintoff (England), Adam Gilchrist (Australia), Shane Warne (Australia), Chaminda Vaas (Sri Lanka), Glenn McGrath (Australia). 12th man: Anil Kumble (India).

World One-Day Team of the Year: Marvan Atapattu (Sri Lanka, captain), Adam Gilchrist (Australia), Rahul Dravid (India), Kevin Pietersen (England), Inzamam-ul-Haq (Pakistan), Andrew Flintoff (England), Andrew Symonds (Australia), Daniel Vettori (New Zealand), Brett Lee (Australia), Naved-ul-Hasan (Pakistan), Glenn McGrath (Australia). 12th man: Jacques Kallis (South Africa)