Date:07/09/2006 URL: http://www.thehindu.com/2006/09/07/stories/2006090705002100.htm

Sport - Cricket

Cricketer of Year award: Dravid nominated

New Delhi: Rahul Dravid's consistent performance over the last one year on Wednesday earned him as many as four nominations for cricket's top honours, including the most prestigious Sir Garfield Sobers Award for the ICC Cricketer of the Year.

The Indian captain was nominated along with 12 others for the coveted Cricketer of the Year award and he also found himself listed among nominees for Test Player, ODI Player and Captain of the Year awards. Dravid had bagged this award in its inaugural edition in 2004.

The only other cricketers who figure in four categories are Australian captain Ricky Ponting and Sri Lankan skipper Mahela Jayawardene as per the list released by ICC Chief Executive Malcolm Speed here.

Irfan Pathan and Yuvraj Singh, the only two Indians apart from Dravid in the nominations, will be vying for the ODI Player of the Year award. Captain of the Year is a new award constituted this year along with another, the Women's Cricketer of the Year.

Women's award

Anjum Chopra and Neetu David are the two Indian nominations for the Women's Cricketer of the Year award.

The Hyundai ICC awards, which take into account performance in the period between August 2005 and August 2006, will be presented at the National Centre for the Performing Arts in Mumbai on October 23.

``There have been a great deal of controversies lately. The Awards give an opportunity to ICC to celebrate what is good about cricket,'' Speed said at a press conference.

Test Player of the Year: Michael Hussey (Aus), Ricky Ponting (Aus), Mohammed Yousuf (Pak), Andrew Flintoff (Eng), Shane Warne (Aus), Muttiah Muralitharan (SL), Kumar Sangakarra (SL), Rahul Dravid (Ind), Mahela Jayawardene (SL), Kevin Pietersen (Eng), Younis Khan (Pak), Matthew Hayden (Aus), Makhaya Ntini (RSA).

One-day Player of the Year: Yuvraj Singh (Ind), Michael Hussey (Aus), Ricky Ponting (Aus), Shane Bond (NZ), Irfan Pathan (Ind), Andrew Flintoff (Eng), Mahela Jayawardene (SL), Muttiah Muralitharan (SL), Rahul Dravid (Ind), Kevin Pietersen (Eng), Mohammed Yousuf (Pak), Herschelle Gibbs (RSA), Brett Lee (Aus), Shahid Afridi (Pak), Inzamam-ul-Haq (Pak), Adam Gilchrist (Aus), Kumar Sangakkara (SL).

Emerging Player of the Year: Monty Panesar (Eng), Alastair Cook (Eng), Denesh Ramdin (WI), Malinga Bandara (SL), Mohammed Asif (Pak), Upul Tharanga (SL), Ian Bell (Eng), Shahriar Nafees (Ban).

Captain of the Year: Michael Vaughan (Eng), Rahul Dravid (Ind), Ricky Ponting (Aus), Mahela Jayawardene (SL).

Umpire of the Year: Simon Taufel (Aus), Aleem Dar (Pak), Rudi Koertzen (RSA).

Women's Cricketer of the Year: Karen Rolton (Aus), Cathryn Fitzpatrick (Aus), Anjum Chopra (Ind), Neetu David (Ind), Claire Taylor (Eng), Katherine Brunt (Eng), Emily Drumm (NZ). — PTI