Hyundai gala cricket awards in Sydney

The awards function, presented by Hyundai Motors in association with Federation of International Cricketers Associations (FICA), will take place in Sydney on Tuesday October 11.

Many of the greatest players from around the world will attend the ceremony, hoping to follow in the footsteps of last year’s Player of the Year and Test Player of the Year, Rahul Dravid, and One-Day International (ODI) Player of the Year, Andrew Flintoff.

ICC Chief Executive Malcolm Speed said that the event would be a celebration of the achievements of the game’s best players.

"With seven player-related awards there are opportunities for cricketers in both forms of the game to be recognised," Speed said.

"The winners will be selected by a voting academy comprising many of the greats of the game, making the ICC Awards the ‘Oscars’ of international cricket."

Chief Executive of FICA, Tim May, said that the ICC Awards were an important part of the international calendar for the world’s top players.

"The players entertain so many people in so many different parts of the world and it is only fitting that their contributions should be acknowledged through these awards in front of a worldwide TV audience," said May.

A voting academy comprising present captains, match officials, former prominent players and respected media representatives, will vote on the individual awards, while an elite selection panel will be responsible for picking the team awards.

The individual aw-ards are: Cricketer of the Year; Test Player of the Year; One-Day International Player of the Year; and Emerging Player of the Year.

The team awards are: Test Team of the Year; One-Day International Team of the Year; and Spirit of Cricket Award.

The academy will cast votes for the individual awards from a shortlist of players identified on the basis of their performances over the course of the judging period.

In addition to the seven player-related awards, an award will be presented to the Umpire of the Year, the ICC announced.

The judging period for the ICC Awards is August 1, 2004 to July 31, 2005 and includes all Test and One-Day International matches played during this time.