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It’s
been hardly one week since Ellen De Generes hosted the
Emmy Awards that another, perhaps not so established
awards night is about to get underway. It’s in a remote
sport for Americans, but cricket is well-understood and
enjoyed the world over nonetheless. In fact, for anyone
doubting the sport’s ability to withstand the current
generation-X demands for quicker ‘returns on
investment’ (blame it on shorter attention spans, if you
will), traditional test cricket got its biggest boost with
perhaps the most exciting test series in recent history
– the 2005 Ashes Test series. It was not only a
phenomenal advertisement for the sport at it’s
breathtaking best, but it also resurrected cricket in the
very country of its origin.
In
fact, just last year the International Cricket Council (ICC)
held their first ever ‘Awards night’ in
London
. It’s one of several new concepts that the ICC has
recently developed in an attempt to broaden cricket’s
reach and appeal across the globe. (Other ventures include
a ranking system for both Test and ODI teams. Twenty20 to
further encourage that short attention span.). And now
cricket’s equivalent of
Hollywood
’s Academy Awards.
The
Awards night features two categories of awards: Individual
player and Team awards. In the former category there are
–
- Emerging
player of the year
- ODI
player of the year
- Test
player of the year
- Player
of the year
Th is
year, the awards will be held on October 11th
in
Sydney
,
Australia
, and you can be sure that the who’s who of the
cricketing world will light up the savvy Four Season’s
Hotel. Last year’s winners Rahul Dravid and Andrew
Flintoff have again been nominated. In fact, the ICC
announced long-lists comprising 34 players in the four
individual player categories.
Besides Dravid (
India
) and Flintoff (
England
), Inzamam ul Haq (
Pakistan
), Adam Gilchrist (
Australia
), Jacques Kallis (
South Africa
) Glenn McGrath (
Australia
) and Ricky Ponting (
Australia
) comprise the seven short-listed for Player of the year.
Dravid features again in
the ODI player of the year list and is the only Indian to
do so. Other Indians nominated for awards include Virender
Sehwag, Anil Kumble and Harbhajan Singh for Test player of
the year. Test match specialists Gautam Gambhir and Dinesh
Karthik feature in the Emerging player of the year nominee
list.
The five-man ICC Awards Selection Panel comprises Sunil
Gavaskar (chairman), David Gower, Sir Richard Hadlee, Rod
Marsh and Courtney Walsh. Selection was based on the
players' performances over the course of 1 August 2004
through 31 July 2005. Speculations abound as to the
outcome of the night’s winners, but it seems unlikely
that Rahul Dravid will be able to repeat last year’s
double-bag of awards (Test player and Player of the year).
In fact, Australians Glenn McGrath, Adam Gilchrist and
skipper Ricky Ponting hold the distinction of being
nominated in all three senior categories (except Emerging
player of year), and look set to walk away with awards
between them. Also,
England
’s batting sensation Kevin Pietersen, averaging an
incredible 87.33 in ODI’s, seems the top candidate for
Emerging player of the year.
The
second category of Team awards is comprised of –
1.
Test team of the year
2.
ODI team of the year
3.
Spirit of cricket award
The
Test Team of the Year and the One-Day International Team
of the Year will both be sides made up of the best
individual international players in the respective forms
of the game. The Spirit of Cricket award will be presented
to one international team determined by the captains and
match referees. It is difficult to see
Australia
lose its position as both Test team and ODI team of the
year, although
England
’s phenomenal run of test match wins in the previous
year does leave the door open for an upset. Alternatively,
the judges may decide to hand them the Test team of the
year award next year, in light of their outstanding Ashes
win, and may look to reward
India
’s steady climb up the test rankings to #3 instead.
Intriguingly, the Spirit of cricket award is hardest to
predict, and while Stephen Fleming’s
New Zealand
side are inevitable candidates,
Zimbabwe
’s incredible resolve through their political
tribulations does warrant recognition. Although, here
again it will be difficul t
to ignore the rejuvenated English side as beneficiaries of
this award under the refreshing leadership of Michael
Vaughan.
But
perhaps a final note for those that have dedicated the
better part of their lives in service to the game. David
Shepherd, best known for his superstitious one-legged
hopping on scores of 111, 222, etc., commanded a respect
and authority that serves as the benchmark for aspiring
umpires.
Perhaps the ICC can also create an additional category to
applaud the umpires, referees, and staff that help run the
show and bend their backs behind the scenes to provide us,
and this fantastic sport of cricket, continuity and
harmony. And now, it’s all eyes on
Sydney
!
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