ICC awards 2006
Jayawardene wins Captain of the Year Award

MUMBAI (India)—Mahela Jayawardene has won the Captain of the Year award at the ICC Awards in Mumbai. He beat Rahul Dravid, Ricky Ponting and Micahel Vaughn to win the award that the ICC has introduced for the first time this year.
Rahul Dravid, though, was chosen to lead the Test team of the year. The team also includes Kumar Sangakkara, Andrew Flintoff, Matthew Hayden, Michael Hussey, Ricky Ponting, Shane Warne, Muttiah Muralitharan, Glenn McGrath and Mohammad Yousuf with Brett Lee as the 12th man. While Karen Rolton, the Australia women’s team captain, won the Women’s Cricketer of the Year Simon Taufel won the Umpire of the Year for the fourth time running.
The Champions Trophy in India has seen several top teams biting dust as the tournament enters its last and the most dramatic phase - the grand finale - between West Indies and overwhelming favourites Australia. The elite tournament has also generated great hype with the World Cup fast approaching as all the Test-playing nations prepare for a gruelling season ahead.
However, in the midst of the buzz surrounding the Champions Trophy and all the controversies that have come along with it, the cricket fraternity readies for an exciting evening on Friday - to honour the best in the business for their contribution to ‘The Gentleman’s Game’ during an eventful year gone by. The prestigious ICC Awards are to be announced in Mumbai at a gala evening later on Friday. This is going to be the third time the best from among all the Test-playing nations will be awarded.
The awards to be given out are for the Cricketer of the Year in ODIs and Tests, Emerging Player and Captain of the Year, Teams (ODI & Test) of the Year, Women’s Cricketer of the Year and the Umpire of the Year. The contenders for the Cricketer of the Year Award in ODIs and Tests include Australian Michael Hussey, Sri Lankan skipper Jayawardene, Australia captain Ricky Ponting, India’s Yuvraj Singh, Pakistan’s Mohammad Yousuf and legendary spinners Shane Warne and Muttiah Muralitharan.
The Australian skipper is also one of the frontrunners for the Captain of the Year Award along with Dravid, Mahela Jayawardene and Michael Vaughan. Alastair Cook looks promising in the Emerging Player of the Year category. Monty Panesar, Ian Bell and banned Pakistan fast bowler Mohammad Asif are the other nominees.
Anjum Chopra, Karen Rolton and Katherine Brunt are the nominees for the Women’s Cricketer of the Year Award, which will be given out for the first time. The criteria for the awards have been the players’ performances in the year 2005-06. In addition, there is the Spirit of Cricket Award, awarded to the team that has adhered to the laws and has kept with the spirit of the game. India, England, New Zealand and Sri Lanka have been sortlisted for the honour.—Agencies