ICC Awards

Shivnarine Chanderpaul has become the fifth player to be named as the ICC Cricketer of the Year at the ICC Awards ceremony in Dubai. Chanderpaul, who also made the shortlist last year, fought off competition from other nominees Mahela Jayawardene from Sri Lanka, as well as South Africa’s Graeme Smith and Dale Steyn to take the top award.
Steyn had the consolation of taking the Test Player of the Year award, while India’s one-day captain Mahendra Singh Dhoni won the ODI Player of the Year award.

Yuvraj Singh became the inaugural winner of the Twenty20 International Performance of the Year Award in recognition of his amazing six sixes in one over off Stuart Broad during the ICC World Twenty20 in South Africa last September.

Ajantha Mendis, Sri Lanka’s 23-year-old spin star, won the Emerging Player of the Year award. With his mesmerising brand of spin bowling, Mendis has exploded on to the international scene in recent months. In just three Tests against India in July and August, he claimed an amazing 26 wickets at an average of 18.38.

Australian umpire, Simon Taufel, was named as Umpire of the Year for the fifth successive time. Taufel, 37, received his votes from the captains of the ten Full Member nations, as well as the eight-man elite panel of ICC match referees. “I’m delighted to win this award but I don’t set this as a goal at the start of a season,” he said.

ICC Awards 2008

Yuvraj wins Twenty20 Award – ICC Awards 2008

Yuvraj Singh, became the inaugural winner of the Twenty20 International Performance of the Year Award, in recognition of his amazing six sixes in one over during last September’s ICC World Twenty20 in South Africa.
This new award highlights the most impressive performances by players in Twenty20 Internationals during the 12-month voting period and it marks the advent of this exciting new format of the game at international level.

On September 19, 2007, during a match against England in Durban, Yuvraj Singh smashed every delivery of the 19th over – bowled by Stuart Broad – beyond the boundary rope, in the process registering a 12-ball half-century and putting his team on course for victory.

It was the first time a player had hit six sixes in a single Twenty20 International over. Herschelle Gibbs did it in an ODI during the 2007 World Cup in the West Indies, while Garry Sobers became the first batsman to achieve the feat during a first-class match back in 1968.

ICC Awards 2008 – Yuvraj Singh wins Twenty20 Award

Dhoni is ODI Player of Year – ICC Awards

Mahendra Singh Dhoni, has won the ODI Player of the Year award at the ICC Awards ceremony in Dubai.

Dhoni beat off tough competition from his India team-mate, Sachin Tendulkar, Australia’s fast bowler Nathan Bracken and Pakistan stalwart, Mohammad Yousuf, to take the award.

During the voting period, Dhoni played 39 ODIs and scored 1,298 runs at an average of 49.92 and at a rate of 82.46 runs per 100 balls faced. In that time he hit a century and nine fifties, making sure he led his team from the front.

Also in that time, in his capacity as a wicketkeeper, Dhoni claimed 62 dismissals (46 catches and 16 stumpings), which is almost twice as many as the next best, albeit having played more matches than any other keeper.

He is currently ranked No. 1 in the ICC Player Rankings for ODI batsmen. Dhoni said: “I would like to thank the voting academy for considering me to be deserving of this award. I am really happy to get this – it’s a great privilege.

Mahendra Singh Dhoni is ODI Player of Year