ICC awards

As part of the ICC's celebration of the game's heroes and role models, it stages the annual LG ICC Awards ceremony to recognize the major individual and team achievements in world cricket.

The LG ICC Awards ceremony is now in its sixth year and in 2009 the Awards took place in Johannesburg. Previous ceremonies were held in London (2004), Sydney (2005), Mumbai (2006), Johannesburg (2007) and Dubai (2008).

The LG ICC Awards in 2009 included eight individual prizes, including the prestigious Sir Garfield Sobers Trophy for the ICC Cricketer of the Year. The winners of seven of these individual awards were voted upon by a 25-person panel from around the world, made up of renowned former players, respected members of the media, and an elite umpire and elite match referee. Meanwhile, the nominations for the Women's Cricketer of the Year Award were voted on by a separate 16-person voting academy featuring former players and other experts on the women's game.

The other three awards were the ICC Test Team of the Year, the ICC ODI Team of the Year and the Spirit of Cricket Award.

Based on the 12 months between August 2008 and August 2009, the LG ICC Awards 2009 - presented in association with FICA - took into account performances by players and officials in a remarkable period for the game.

Lists of nominees- Individual Awards

Cricketer of the Year
Mahendra Singh Dhoni (Ind)
Gautam Gambhir (Ind)
Mitchell Johnson (Aus)
Andrew Strauss (Eng)

Test Player of the Year
Gautam Gambhir (Ind)
Mitchell Johnson (Aus)
Thilan Samaraweera (SL)
Andrew Strauss (Eng)

ODI Player of the Year
Shivnarine Chanderpaul (WI)
Mahendra Singh Dhoni (Ind)
Virender Sehwag (Ind)
Yuvraj Singh (Ind)

Emerging Player
Ben Hilfenhaus (Aus)
Graham Onions (Eng)
Jesse Ryder (NZ)
Peter Siddle (Aus)

Associate and Affiliate Player of the Year
Rizwan Cheema (Can)
Ryan ten Doeschate (Ned)
William Porterfield (Ire)
Edgar Schiferli (Ned)

Twenty20 International Performance of the Year
Shahid Afridi (Pak) for scoring 51 off 34 balls and taking 2-16 against South Africa during the ICC WT20 semi-final in Nottingham on 18 June
Tillakaratne Dilshan (SL) for scoring 96 not out off 57 balls against the West Indies in the semi-final of the ICC WT20 at The Oval on 19 June
Chris Gayle (WI) - for hitting 88 off 50 balls against Australia during the ICC WT20 at The Oval on 6 June
Umar Gul (Pak) for taking 5-6 against New Zealand during the ICC WT20 at The Oval on 13 June

Women's Cricketer of the Year
Charlotte Edwards (Eng)
Shelley Nitschke (Aus)
Claire Taylor (Eng)

Umpire of the Year
Aleem Dar
Tony Hill
Asad Rauf
Simon Taufel

Spirit of Cricket
Australia
England
New Zealand
Sri Lanka
 
This list was arrived at after a long list of nominees was announced earlier.. Surprisingly, South Africans were missing from the short list of nominees.. CSA chairman Gerald Majola was surprised and shocked at the absence of South Africans from the final list especially after having a great year in both the test and the ODI formats and being No.1 in the ICC rankings too..

On October 1, in Johannesburg, the awards were given away..

Cricketer of the Year-     Mitchell Johnson
Test Player of the Year-  Gautam Gambhir

ODI Player of the Year-  Mahendra Singh Dhoni

Emerging Player-             Peter Siddle

Associate and Affiliate Player of the Year -            William Potterfield

Twenty20 International Performance of the Year - Tilakaratne Dilshan

Women's Cricketer of the Year - Claire Taylor

Umpire of the Year -                     Aleem Daar

Spirit of Cricket-                           New Zealand


ICC ODI and Test team captain - MS Dhoni

Johnson - Impressive performances against SA in both home and away series.. Played a hand with both bat and ball, integral part of the Aussie team which is rebuilding after the loss of its stalwarts..

Gambhir- Scored more than 1000 runs, dream run for him. 5 centuries including a double century against the visiting Australia..

Dhoni- Retained his ODI player award, highly consistent.. Averages above 50 and his average increases by 7 when India chase more than 275.. (remarkable to note that in the same period of consideration Sachin's average dips by 7 when India chase high totals)

Dishan- Has a shot named after him, Dilscoop which he used effectively in the T20s.. Scored 96 of 57 balls in the T20 WC semi final against Windies.. Afiridi's performance was more effective and it lifted the entire team against the Proteas.. Gayle's 88 against Aussies deserved an award too..

Siddle- Emerging player of the year award, he had to fill in the gap left by McGrath and an injured Lee. Truly a better choice from the nominees..Never easy to make your debut in the absence of Lee and having to lead the bowling attack and perform so superbly..

Claire Taylor- England woman's team captain, only in the woman's cricket have they won a major ICC tournament.. This year they won the 50 over championship and the 20-20 championship in which Taylor played a great role with the bat..

Aleem Daar- First time I have seen Simon Taufel being pipped for the award.. Aleem Daar, Asad Rauf, Taufel have been the better umpires..

William Potterfield- First seen in Ireland's T20 campaign, made it to the super 8s.. They have also won 9 of the 11 ODIs they played..

Spirit of Cricket- Switched hands from Sri Lanka to New Zealand this year, Vettori was pretty startled as to what this award was for..

Panel:Clive Lloyd, Anil Kumble, Mudassar Nazar,  Stephen Fleming and Bob Taylor
ICC ODI Team of the year-
Virender Sehwag (Ind),
Chris Gayle (WI),
Kevin Pietersen (Eng),
Tillakaratne Dilshan (SL),
Yuvraj Singh (Ind),
Martin Guptill (NZ),
MS Dhoni (Ind, captain, WK),
Andrew Flintoff (Eng),
Nuwan Kulasekara (SL),
Ajantha Mendis (SL),
Umar Gul (Pak),
12th man: Thilan Thushara (SL)

The team has one batsman too many.. The line up cannot be determined.. Martin Guptill may be a misfit and the balance is missing..

World Test Team of the Year:

Gautam Gambhir (India),

Andrew Strauss (England),

AB de Villiers (South Africa),

Sachin Tendulkar (India),

Thilan Samaraweera (Sri Lanka),

Michael Clarke (Australia),

MS Dhoni (India, capt & wk),

Shakib Al Hasan (Bangladesh),

Mitchell Johnson (Australia),

Stuart Broad (England),

Dale Steyn (South Africa),

Harbhajan Singh (India, 12th man)

This team is very strong.. No.10 can bat too.. But lacks the 5th bowler..

Future of Cricket

Not a prediction, but just observations..

ICC have chalked up plans for 4 day test matches, day-night test matches, two tier test matches to "SAVE" the longest oldest and best form of cricket..

Players like Symonds will now be a part of Deccan Chargers alone and not be playing for his country while the likes of Gayle have made it clear that he likes T20 more than the boring Test matches, the poor crowd turn out for test matches also are having a say in the future of cricket..

Where are we heading?

Test cricket is suffering because the Windies,Bangladesh,New Zealand,Zimbabwe and Pakistan are either at their lowest ebb or weakened teams. The problem lies in politics(Pak,Zim),inexperience(Bangladesh)and more lucrative sport choices(Windies).. It would not be debated if I were to say that IND-PAK test matches have lost their fervor.. Two-tier system may be the answer to this.. But it would be such a sorry state to see Windies relegated to 2nd tier., now that puts the 2nd question in our minds.- What will be the motivation for these players then ? Will there be any crowd pulling after all India, Australia, South Africa are not going to play test cricket with them? Will the teams in tier-1 be willing to tour tier-2 nations for just 5ODIs and an odd T20Is ? Will this then reduce the standard of game that Windies play and if at all they come to the tier-1 will they be found wanting ? These are some serious questions to be answered..

4 day test matches may see more tame draws one feels.. But there is a challenge for the captains here, the lost art of captaincy may be brought back to the fore un-intentionally I must add.. Its the team with a pro-active captain that is going to win matches off 4 days.. The captain's role is going to be all the more important in deciding when the team must declare their innings, when to attack and when to defend.. In all probablity, we would be witnessing the likes of the Ranatungas, the Mark Taylors, Stephen Flemings, Steve Waughs, MSD, Ganguly, Nasser Hussains, Hansie Cronje.. These were the captains who had brought a world of change for their teams with their then innovative thinkings and bowling changes.. I guess we will all go back to this era which only augers well for the game..

The T20s and the IPL have shown that the teams are now more likely to be bowled out inside 20 overs than they are inside 50 says something profoundly rotten about the state of techniques, temperaments and concentration spans, something that augurs horribly ill for the future of Test cricket.. Well, the undiminished productivity of Gilchrist, Kumble and Matthew Hayden has shown that there is life - and a vibrant life  - after international retirement. As Richie Richardson recently remarked, what on earth was Dwayne Bravo doing playing in the IPL when he should have been helping West Indies avoid humiliation in England? Tony Cozier had said that Bravo was playing for the wrong "Indians" ... How long before board contracts are torn up in admission of an unwinnable battle? How long before the notion of the freelance cricketer takes hold?

The advantage T20 has is that since the duration is so short, it brings teams of lesser quality closer to the genuinely talented teams.. ODI needs reforms.. I would suggest playing with 12-13 players, 11 at any given time.. Its not the silly substitution that was followed where the captain gives in writing as to who would be substituted for whom.. This can be dynamic, say Harbhajan has bowled poorly for 5 overs call in Ojha to bowl for some overs.. You can always call Harbhajan back at any time.. Its not a one-time substitute.. A runs for a front foot no ball, 2 runs for the subsequent no-ball in the same over.. Have a eight run hit.. Do away with leg-byes.. Let the powerplays be more dynamic that it needn't be a block of 5 overs but can be split into 2+3 and to be chosen as and when desired.. Negative runs for getting out, a -2 ! -5 to the team if a player gets out on a duck; and all these negatives to hold good only till the target is achieved.. Not that you achieve the target and still are unsure of winning or losing as you could lose a wicket and get ducked by 2 runs..

Need for innovation in ODI.. Tests shall stay as long as the teams are competitive and the pitches are responsive.. Sporting pitches as they call is the need of the hour.. An English wicket should seam around, an Australian one bounce, and an Indian one to turn square.. That would really be the essence of "TEST"..

Latest cricket news

No Indians ICC World twenty20 XI

Former World twenty20 Champions India faced another decline in world cricket when ICC announced the best twenty20 XI with no player from India. The ICC on Monday named its eleven and not surprisingly, after losing three consecutive matches in the Super Eights, no Indian player made the cut.

In the best XI picked by ICC, four players from Pakistan, three from South Africa, two players from each West Indies and Sri Lanka is included in the squad. Younis Khan was named captain for the team announced by ICC.

However, there was one Indian face figuring in the Women's XI announced by ICC and it was that of bowler

ICC World XI: 

Chris Gayle (West Indies), 

Tillakaratne Dilshan (Sri Lanka), 

Jacques Kallis (South Africa), 

AB de Villiers (South Africa), 

Younis Khan (Pakistan, Captain), 

Dwayne Bravo (West Indies), 

Shahid Afridi (Pakistan), 

Kamran Akmal (Pakistan, Wicketkeeper), 

Wayne Parnell (South Africa), 

Umar Gul (Pakistan), 

Ajantha Mendis (Sri Lanka). 

12th man: Lasith Malinga (Sri Lanka)

Younis Khan quitting Twenty20 Cricket on a high

After leading his team to World cup glory, Pakistan Captain Younis Khan quits twenty20 cricket. Younis Khan used Cricket’s grand stage to announce his retirement from twenty20 Cricket. He said he is not getting younger anymore at 34 he wants to focus only on ODI and Test cricket. Younis dedicated Pakistan's World Twenty20 triumph to his former coach Bob Woolmer, who died during the 2007 World Cup in the Caribbean.

Now after his retirement from the shortest version of the game Shahid Afridi, Misbah-ul-Haq and Kamran Akmal is the front runner for leading Pakistan in twenty20 cricket.

Under his captaincy this is for the second time Pakistan able to win major ICC Events after 1992 50-over World Cup.

Md. Ashraful sacked from captaincy Job

Bangladesh Captain has been sacked from the captaincy job after poor show with bat in the recently concluded twenty20 World Cup. His team was also beaten by Ireland at Group stage that didn’t allow Bangladesh to make it to the Super Eights of ICC World Twenty20.

His deputy Mashrafe Mortaza, a fast bowler, is likely to take the Captaincy job.

Md. Yusuf and Abdul Razzaq back in Test Squad for Sri Lanka tour

Pakistanis selector on Monday announced the 15 member squad for the tour of Sri Lanka. Stylish right hand batsman Md.Yusuf and Abdul Razzaq recalled in the team. 

Yousuf, who has played 79 Tests, was delighted to be back. Pakistan cricket team will leave on Saturday to play three test match series followed by five ODI’s and a Twenty20 International.

Shahid Afridi was also not included in the test squad since he wanted some rest before going into ODI series.

Pakistan 15 Member Squad: Younis Khan (Captain), Salman Butt, Khurrum Manzoor, Mohammad Yousuf, Misbah-ul-Haq, Shoaib Malik, Kamran Akmal (WK), Umar Gul, Saeed Ajmal, Mohammad Aamir, Danish Kaneria, Abdul Razzaq, Abdul Rauf, Faisal Iqbal, Fawad Alam.

No place for Vaughan and Harmision in England Training Ashes Squad

Michael Vaughan, the former England captain, and Steve Harmison have both been left out of England's pre-Ashes camp ahead of the much-anticipated series against Australia which begins later this month. However England selectors included three spinners Adil Rashid, Panesar and Swann in the squad.

M.Vaughan was expected to make return to international arena but now he may have to wait little longer after selector’s ignorance from Ashes squad.

England selector will pick the final squad on July 6 two days before the first test match.

England Test squad for pre-Ashes camp: Andrew Strauss (Captain), James Anderson, Ian Bell, Ravi Bopara, Tim Bresnan, Stuart Broad, Paul Collingwood, Alastair Cook, Andrew Flintoff, Graham Onions, Monty Panesar, Kevin Pietersen, Matt Prior, Adil Rashid, Ryan Sidebottom, Graeme Swann.

How the groups were made ?

Numbers in the brackets indicate rankings of previous year..


Group A            Group B                 Group C                Group D
India (1)            Pakistan (2)          Australia (3)            New Zealand (4)
Bangladesh (8)  England (7)           Sri Lanka (6)           South Africa (5)
Ireland (9)         Netherlands (10)   West Indies (11)     Scotland (12) 

The teams in the Super Eight will be designated as A1, A2, B1, B2, C1 C2, D1, D2 depending on which group they qualified from. If the top two seeds from a group qualify, they will be seeded 1 and 2 respectively for the Super Eight regardless of which team actually finished first and second in a group during the first round. 

For example, if Bangladesh are first and India are second in Group A, Bangladesh will still be A2 while India will remain A1 for the Super Eight because India were seeded 1 while Bangladesh were 8. However, if the third seeded team in the group knocks out a higher seed, it will take the place of the knocked-out opponent. For example, if Bangladesh and Ireland qualify from Group A, then Ireland will be A1 for the Super Eight stage. If India and Ireland qualify, then Ireland will be A2. 

During the Super Eight, the teams will be split into two groups of four - A1, B2, C1 and D2 are in the first group, while A2, B1, C2 and D1 are in the second. Each team will play the others in its pool with the top two from each group qualifying for the semi-finals.

•  If two teams in a group have equal points at the end of the super8, the one with more wins will be placed higher.
• If they have equal points and the same number of wins, then the team with the higher NRR will be ranked higher. 
• Should net run-rate also fail to separate the sides, then the one with the higher number of wickets taken per balls bowled in the stage will be preferred.
• And if the teams remain in a deadlock, then the winner of the group match between the sides will prevail. 
• If all of the aforementioned tie-breakers fail, the teams will be separated by drawing lots.

'Catch the Spirit' match

ICC designates India v Pakistan warm-up game as 'Catch the Spirit' match

Proceeds to go to education fund to support families of the victims of Lahore terror attack and Peace and Sport community projects across the Asian subcontinent. Cricket stakeholders will be encouraged to support the cause. 
 
The International Cricket Council (ICC) today announced that the ICC World Twenty20 2009 warm-up encounter between India and Pakistan at The Oval on 3 June had been designated as a ‘Catch the Spirit’ match. Funds raised through a variety of means during the game will go to support the families of the victims of the attack on the Sri Lanka team and match officials in Lahore in March, as well as Peace and Sport projects across the Asian subcontinent.

Commenting on the initiative, ICC President David Morgan said: “The decision to designate the India – Pakistan encounter as a ‘Catch the Spirit’ match follows a recommendation by the ICC Board at its most recent meeting, in Dubai in April. “The Board wanted to do something to assist the families of the victims of the terror attacks on the Sri Lanka team and match officials in March, and using this high-profile match with a sell-out crowd as a vehicle to do that makes excellent sense.

“‘Catch the Spirit’ is one of the themes of the ICC’s ongoing centenary year of 2009 and it highlights the respect with which the game is played around the world. “We are extremely grateful to the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI), the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) and the hosts, the England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB) and Surrey County Cricket Club, for allowing the match to take place under this banner.
“And we are also grateful to ESPN STAR Sports, the ICC’s global broadcast partner, which is covering the match, for providing an excellent vehicle for the fund-raising efforts.

“We hope this match, watched by millions both at the ground and around the world will portray cricket in a positive light, make a positive contribution to the lives of those affected by those terrible events in March and contribute to assisting community-based projects across the Asian subcontinent that promote peace through cricket.”

Fund-raising methods on the day will include requests for contributions from spectators inside the ground, donations from appeals via broadcast and internet coverage of the match and contributions from cricket stakeholders and other parties.

Latest ICC and player news

Johan Botha's 'doosra' delivery found to be illegal

     The ICC confirmed that an independent test has found the ‘doosra’ delivery of South Africa bowler Johan Botha to be illegal and the player has been warned against bowling that particular delivery in international cricket. A comprehensive analysis revealed that his action for the ‘doosra’ exceeded the 15-degree level of tolerance permitted under regulations. But the same assessment found that Botha’s off-break and arm-ball deliveries were bowled within the tolerance level and so the 27-year-old can continue to bowl those types of deliveries at international level.

Concept of day/night test matches

     ICC-cricket committee agreed the concept of day/night Test cricket should be explored with the possibility of a trial match in 2010 providing key factors were established beforehand. These factors included successful tests of an appropriate colour ball, research on what the spectators and broadcasters would want and successful trials at first-class level. The red ball currently used for Tests would not be of use at night and there remains an issue concerning the lasting qualities of the white ball.

Stricter punishment for slow over rates

   The committee also agreed to recommend stricter penalties for players and captains guilty of failing to maintain an acceptable over-rate. Host boards, umpires and match referees should also take responsibility for ensuring that everything within their control was done to ensure over-rates remained as high as possible. Doubling of fines for a failure to maintain the required over-rates. It also recommended that if a captain led a team that received three over-rate fines in the same format of the game in any 12-month period then he should automatically face a suspension.

UDRS has positives

   It has been agreed that the URDS Umpire Decision Review system has positives and the number of bad decisions have come down in the series where it was tried.. Suggestions for improval have been looked into and the umpires have been asked to train to use it effectively and develop consistency ..

( which was lacking, IND vs SL )

Six teams begin journey towards qualification for ICC CWC 2015

    Six ICC Members will take its first step on the road to qualification for the ICC Cricket World  cup 2015 when it takes part in the Pepsi ICC World Cricket League (WCL) Division 7 tournament gets underway in the Channel Island of Guernsey( home team ). The other competing teams taking part in this competition are Bahrain, Gibraltar, Japan, Nigeria and Suriname.

ICC Chief Executive Haroon Lorgat said “ICC Board has removed Pakistan as host location, not the PCB as joint host for the event”..

Flintoff may miss ICC World Twenty20

  The all-rounder injured his right knee while playing for his franchise, Chennai Super Kings, in the Indian Premier League. He subsequently underwent keyhole surgery on April 28. However, the all-rounder is yet to start running and regain complete fitness.. Well, another reason for the English to balme the IPL for their ever miserable performances in ICC events..

Australia hopeful of Watson recovery

  Watson returned home from the recent trip to the UAE with a groin strain and was forced to miss the opportunity to play in the IPL, but Cricket Australia officials believe that he is recovering well.

Chanderpaul loses his place at the top of batting rankings (finally!!!)

  West Indies’ Shivnarine Chanderpaul has lost his number-one position in the latest Reliance Mobile ICC Player Rankings for Test batsmen after his side’s 10-wicket defeat to England at Lord’s. The Guyanese left-hander made just four runs in the match and, as a result, has fallen back to second position, level with Kumar Sangakkara of Sri Lanka. 

Clarke and Afridi fly up the Reliance Mobile ICC

  After great performances in the recently concluded AUS vs PAK series in Dubai, Clarke and Afridi have jumped places in the ICC ODI rankings.. MSD still heads the list..