The Hindu : Muralitharan gets CEAT Award

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Monday, Mar 25, 2002

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Sport - Cricket

Muralitharan gets CEAT Award
By Our Special Correspondent

MUMBAI, MARCH 24. Muttiah Muralitharan was given the 6th CEAT International Cricketer of the Year 2000-2001 in Mumbai on Saturday, the latest addition to a list of cricket achievers Brian Lara, Venkatesh Prasad, Sourav Ganguly, Jacques Kallis and Sanath Jayasuriya.

The Sri Lankan off-spinner, who also walked away with the International Bowler award, remembered his Sri Lankan teammates and parents in his hour of glory. ``It is an honour to get the CEAT awards. I wish to thank my teammates, all of them in Sri Lanka, and my parents, without whom I wouldn't be here today,'' said the Lankan great.

He topped the CEAT Cricket Rating for 2000-2001 with 111 points, inclusive of 110 for bowling alone and is followed by teammate Marvan Atapattu, Sanath Jayasuriya, Jacques Kallis and Sachin Tendulkar in the first five ratings positions.

A fusion of cricket and Bollywood, India's two passions, was the theme of the awards ceremony at the Brabourne stadium. The Sri Lankan national flag, waved by team cheerleader Percy Abeysekara, fluttered proudly, surrounded by the Indian tricolour, the climax of a sound-n-light show.

South Africa was the International Team of the Year, the award received on behalf of Shaun Pollock's squad by Dennis Lindsay, the ex-South African batsman and ICC Match Referee. ``It is with much pride that I am receiving the best team award on behalf of the side,'' he said.

Muralitharan's teammate Atapattu was chosen as the world's best batsman for the CEAT year 2000-2001, while Australia's sensational Mark Waugh was named the Best Fielder, the award accepted on his behalf by Eknath Solkar, one of India's peerless close-in fielders.

The awards are based on a cricket rating system devised by Sunil Gavaskar, Ian Chappell and Clive Lloyd. This year, the list of categories has been increased to include the International Fielder (Mark Waugh), Match-winning Performance (V.V.S. Laxman), Best Umpire (Srinivas Venkataraghavan), Best Commentator (Harsha Bhogle), Best Coach (Balwinder Sandhu), Lifetime Achievement (Sunil Gavaskar), Viewer's Choice (Sachin Tendulkar) and Best Cricket Journalist (Ayaz Memon).

Laxman's epic 281 against the all-conquering Australians in the second Test of the 2001 series at Kolkata, the highest individual score by an Indian in Test cricket, gained him the Sandpiper CEAT Best Match-winning Performance award. The Indian's innings not only inspired a 171-run victory in the Test, but also fired up his teammates to win the series.

``One of the most memorable days of my cricket career, more satisfying than my innings was the way the boys played to come back into the game to win not only the Test, but then the series, one of the best-ever series viewed on television,'' Laxman said.

Sunil Gavaskar, chosen the Lifetime Achiever for enriching the game with his contribution as a competitor, captain, writer, administrator and beyond, remarked: ``It is a surprise, because lifetime achievement awards are generally given to people in the 70's. I have some years to go before reaching there. I will achieve something more for Indian cricket,'' said the Little Master, whose award came in the form of a painting by Yusuf Arakkal, depicting the batting maestro at the crease.

Sri Lankan off-spinner Muttiah Muralitharan who won the `CEAT International Cricketer of the Year 2000-01 Award'

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