Sydney to host ICC Awards

The ICC have announced that the second annual ICC Awards presented by Hyundai Motor in association with FICA, will take place in Sydney, Australia on Tuesday October 11.

Following the success of last year’s inaugural event in London, the cream of the world’s cricketers will convene at one of Australia’s most prestigious hotels for the gala ceremony.

Sponsored by global car manufacturer Hyundai Motor, the Awards will be attended by many of the greatest players from around the world who will be hoping to follow in the footsteps of England all-rounder Andrew Flintoff, who was named ODI Player of the Year.

Andrew Flintoff was named ODI Player of the Year in 2004

India’s Rahul Dravid was named Player of the Year and Test Player of the Year.

ICC chief executive Malcolm Speed believes the event will be a celebration of the achievements of the game’s best players, saying: “With seven player-related awards there are opportunities for cricketers in both forms of the game to be recognised.

“The winners will be selected by a voting academy comprising many of the greats of the game, making the ICC Awards the ‘Oscars’ of international cricket.”

India batsman Rahul Dravid was Player of the Year

Chief executive of FICA, Tim May, feels the ICC Awards are an important part of the international calendar for the world’s top players.

He said: “The players entertain so many people in so many different parts of the world and it is only fitting that their contributions should be acknowledged through these Awards in front of a worldwide TV audience.”

A voting academy comprising present captains, match officials, former prominent players and respected media representatives will vote on the individual awards, while an elite selection panel will be responsible for picking the team awards.

The individual awards are:

• Cricketer of the Year
• Test Player of the Year
• One-Day International Player of the Year
• Emerging Player of the Year

The team awards are:

• Test Team of the Year
• One-Day International Team of the Year
• Spirit of Cricket Award

The Academy will cast votes for the individual awards from a shortlist of players identified on the basis of their performances over the course of the judging period.

Players eligible for the Emerging Player of the Year award must be under 26 at the start of the voting period (August 1 2004) and have played no more than five Test matches and/or 10 one-day internationals before the start of the voting period.

The Test Team of the Year and the One-Day International Team of the Year will both be World XI sides made up of the best individual international players in the respective forms of the game.

Selection for the World XI teams will be made by an ICC selection panel of five former high-profile players to be appointed by the ICC. The teams will include a nominated captain.

The Spirit of Cricket award will be presented to one international team determined by the captains and match referees.

In addition to the seven player-related awards, an award will be presented to the Umpire of the Year.

The judging period for the ICC Awards is August 1 2004 to July 31 2005 and includes all Test and one-day international matches played during this time.