Shiv in shortlist for top ICC award
West Indies middle order batsman Shiv Chanderpaul is among four international cricketers shortlisted for the top honour at this year's ICC Awards.Chanderpaul joins Ricky Ponting, Mohammad Yousuf and Kevin Pietersen in the running to receive the Sir Garfield Sobers Trophy as the Cricketer of the Year, to be presented at a gala function in Johannesburg, South Africa on 10 September.
Ponting secured the top award last year along with the prize for being the top Test player, and this time around he is the only player to make the short-list in four categories.
The Australia captain, who enjoyed another stellar 12 months in 2006/07 as his team won the ICC Champions Trophy and the ICC Cricket World Cup (the latter for an unprecedented third time) and also regained The Ashes, is in the frame for Test Player of the Year, ODI Player of the Year and Captain of the Year as well as the Cricketer of the Year awards.
Pakistan’s Mohammad Yousuf is potentially in line to collect two prizes, having made the short-list for Cricketer of the Year and Test Player of the Year, while Kevin Pietersen of England is also short-listed for those two awards.
Chanderpaul is the fourth player in contention to win the coveted Sir Garfield Sobers Trophy as he completes the short-list for Cricketer of the Year.
The short-lists have been compiled from long-lists of nominations after votes were submitted by members of the 56-member ICC Academy.
The ICC Academy is made up of captains from the ten ICC Full Members, the ten Emirates Elite Panel ICC Umpires and eight Emirates Elite Panel ICC Match Referees, together with 28 legends and media, comprising journalists and outstanding past players.
The nominations for five of the individual awards – Emerging Player of the Year, Captain of the Year, Test Player of the Year, ODI Player of the Year, Cricketer of the Year – and were made by a five-man ICC selection panel led by former India captain Sunil Gavaskar.