Sanga, Murali among top contenders for ICC awards

Chris DHAMBARAGE

Sri Lanka vice captain Kumar Sangakkara and spin wizard Muttiah Muralitharan could be among the top contenders for the prestigious awards in the fifth edition of the International Cricket Council (ICC) awards ceremony which will take place on September 10 in Dubai.

This annual event of course was earlier scheduled to be staged in Lahore, Pakistan ahead of the ICC Champions Trophy but with the tournament being postponed the event will now be held in Dubai where the ICC has its headquarters.

Left hander Sangakkara is currently among the top three in the ICC Player Rankings for the best batsmen in test matches while Muralitharan has held on to the number one slot in the bowling rankings for most of the time.

Skipper Mahela Jayawardena who won the captain of the year award in 2006 in Mumbai and veteran fast bowler Chaminda Vaas are the other Sri Lankan players who could be among the contenders for top awards. This year’s ICC awards also includes eight individual prizes including a new one for the Twenty20 International Performance of the Year.

The ICC awards will also features the selection of the test and one day international teams of the year and the award to the side that has supported most to the Spirit of Cricket which Sri Lanka had the honour of winning during last years ceremony held in Johannesburg, South Africa.

Based on the 12 months between August 9th 2007 and August 12th 2008, the ICC awards ceremony will take into account performances by players and officials in a remarkable period for the game that includes the inaugural ICC World Twenty20 in South Africa.

Meanwhile Sri Lanka¢s former opening batsman Sidath Wettimuny was named in the five man ICC selection panel which will be chaired by the West Indies legend Clive Lloyd.

The nominations for seven of the awards will be made by this selection panel which also includes former Australia captain Greg Chappell, recently retired South Africa all-rounder Shaun Pollock and former Bangladesh batsman Athar Ali Khan.

This panel will also select the ICC Test and one day international teams of the year. The Spirit of Cricket Award will be voted on by all the international captains as well as all members of the Emirates Elite Panel of ICC Umpires and Emirates Elite Panel of ICC Match Referees.

This year sees the introduction of a new award, the Twenty20 International Performance of the Year Award, which will mark an outstanding individual effort in this newest format of the international game.

The ICC awards ceremony is now in its fifth year and this will be the first time it will be staged in Dubai. The previous ceremonies were held in London (2004), Sydney (2005), Mumbai (2006) and Johannesburg (2007).