ICC announces list for Cricketer of the Year awards

[Lahore_Real_Estate]

LONDON: Graeme Swann was the most notable omission as the International Cricket Council (ICC) announced the long list for their Cricketer of the Year awards.

Eight players each up for three awards as part of the ICC's annual ceremony designed to honour Test, one-day international and combined performances.

But no England player was up for the top prize of Cricketer of the Year.

Hashim Amla and Jacques Kallis from South Africa, Mahendra Singh Dhoni, Sachin Tendulkar and Virender Sehwag from India, Shane Watson and Doug Bollinger from Australia and Sri Lanka's Mahela Jayawardene are all candidates for the Test, ODI and player of the year categories.

Swann though failed to make the 16-strong list for the player of the year despite having taken 49 Test wickets at 27.55 and 28 one-day wickets at 23 in the qualification period.

But the off-spinner, currently ranked the number three bowler in the world, is on the Test long-list alongside England seamer James Anderson.

The long-lists of nominations were made by a five-man ICC selection panel chaired by former West Indies captain and current chairman of the ICC cricket committee Clive Lloyd.

The panel included former international players Angus Fraser of England, Matthew Hayden of Australia, Ravi Shastri of India and Zimbabwe's Duncan Fletcher, also the former England coach.

Short-lists for each award will be produced before the ceremony in Bengaluru, India on October 6.

Long list of nominees for leading 2010 ICC awards:
Cricketer of the Year:
Hashim Amla (SA), Doug Bollinger (AUS), Michael Clarke (AUS), Mahendra Singh Dhoni (IND), Ryan Harris (AUS), Mitchell Johnson (AUS), Jacques Kallis (SA), Morne Morkel (SA), Ricky Ponting (AUS), Kumar Sangakkara (SL), Virender Sehwag (IND), Dale Steyn (SA), Sachin Tendulkar (IND), Daniel Vettori (NZ), AB de Villiers (SA), Shane Watson (AUS)

Test Player of the Year:
Amla, James Anderson (ENG), Mohammad Asif (PAK), Bollinger, Dhoni, Tamim Iqbal (BD), Mahela Jayawardene (SL), Kallis, Simon Katich (AUS), Sangakkara, Thilan Samaraweera (SRI), Sehwag, Steyn, Graeme Swann (ENG), Tendulkar, Watson

ODI Player of the Year:
Amla, Bollinger, Dhoni, Tillekeratne Dilshan (SL), Harris, Michael Hussey (AUS), Kallis, Ponting, Sehwag, Tendulkar, De Villiers, Vettori, Watson, Cameron White (AUS).