Two Pakistan players short-listed for ICC Awards

Two Pakistan players short-listed for ICC Awards 2009

LAHORE: Two Pakistan players – all-rounder Shahid Afridi and fast bowler Umar Gul – have been nominated for the International Cricket Council (ICC) Awards 2009 to be held in South Africa next month. The players have been short-listed in the category of Twenty20 International Performance of the Year. The duo are joined by West Indies’ Chris Gayle and Sri Lanka’s Tillakaratne Dilshan in the said category. Two Pakistan umpires – Aleem Dar and Asad Rauf – have also been short-listed for the Umpire of the Year Award.

India’s Gautam Gambhir and Mahendra Singh Dhoni, Australia’s Mitchell Johnson and England’s Andrew Strauss have all been short-listed for the Cricketer of the Year Award. The awards are based on the performance between August 13, 2008 and August 24, 2009. This period includes such high-profile events as the ICC World Twenty20 2009 in England, the ICC Cricket World Cup Qualifiers 2009 in South Africa, as well as several bilateral Test and ODI series. In addition, Gambhir, Johnson and Strauss are also short-listed for the Test Player of the Year along side Sri Lanka’s Thilan Samaraweera at the sixth annual ICC Awards, presented in association with the Federation of International Cricketers’ Associations (FICA). This year’s awards include eight individual prizes and also features the selection of the Test and ODI Teams of the Year and the award to the side that has adhered most to the Spirit of Cricket.

The long-lists of nominations were made by a five-man ICC selection panel chaired by former West Indies captain and current chairman of the ICC cricket committee Clive Lloyd. The panel also included former players such as India’s Anil Kumble, Mudassar Nazar of Pakistan, Bob Taylor of England and New Zealand’s Stephen Fleming. The short-lists were created after the individual player awards were voted for by an academy of 25 highly credentialed cricket personalities from around the world. The academy includes a host of former players, respected members of the media as well as representatives of the elite panels of ICC umpires and ICC match referees.

Short-lists of nominees

1: Cricketer of the Year

Mahendra Singh Dhoni (Ind)

Gautam Gambhir (Ind)

Mitchell Johnson (Aus)

Andrew Strauss (Eng)

2: Test Player of the Year

Gautam Gambhir (Ind)

Mitchell Johnson (Aus)

Thilan Samaraweera (SL)

Andrew Strauss (Eng)

3: ODI Player of the Year

Shivnarine Chanderpaul (WI)

Mahendra Singh Dhoni (Ind)

Virender Sehwag (Ind)

Yuvraj Singh (Ind)

4: Emerging Player

Ben Hilfenhaus (Aus)

Graham Onions (Eng)

Jesse Ryder (NZ)

Peter Siddle (Aus)

5: 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 June 18.

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 June 19.

Chris Gayle (WI) – for hitting 88 off 50 balls against Australia during the ICC WT20 at The Oval on June 6.

Umar Gul (Pak) for taking 5-6 against New Zealand during the ICC WT20 at The Oval on June 13.

6: Umpire of the Year

Aleem Dar

Tony Hill

Asad Rauf

Simon Taufel

7: Spirit of Cricket

Australia

England

New Zealand

Sri Lanka.