ICC may scrap home-and-away compulsions

With player burnout becoming a major concern, International Cricket Council President David Morgan says mandatory home-and-away series over a six-year cycle could be scrapped from the post-2012 Future Tours Programme.

Under the current FTP, all teams must play a Test and one-day series against each other twice over a six-year cycle. But Morgan said the structure could be relaxed in the new draft to address the issue of player burnout.

"I can't elaborate, but at the moment it's a requirement that in any six year cycle each full member has to play the other home and away in a minimum of two Tests and three one-day internationals. I believe there will be a relaxation of that," Morgan said about the draft FTP.
"Perhaps not in the number of games, but there's the possibility of instead having to play everybody home and away in a fixed cycle, you may either play them away or home," he told a cricket website.

Morgan said such a manoeuvring would address concerns about too much cricket, being raised by the Federation of International Cricketers' Association (FICA).

"I firmly believe that it is very important to consult with the players. Where FICA is recognised, which is in the majority of countries, we are very happy to liaise and discuss things with Tim May and his team. I find them a responsible body," Morgan said.
FICA had urged the ICC to cut down the number of international games to give players reasonable breaks between series.

"We believe that the model of bilateral ad hoc series that have been cricket's structure for the past century (and again from 2012-2020) is fast becoming an outdated model, and will be unable to cater for the changing cricket landscape," FICA chief Tim May had written.

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PCB counting on ICC Task Force for international cricket revival

LAHORE: The Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) said Thursday it hoped a Task Force set up by the game’s governing body would help revive its international cricketing reputation, which has been battered by security fears. The International Cricket Council (ICC) earlier this year set up the Task Force to ensure that international cricket is played in Pakistan in future, subject to security conditions in the insurgency-hit nation. The Task Force meets in Dubai on Friday (today) and Saturday (tomorrow). The PCB was at first reluctant to accept the help of the Task Force when the idea was floated in February, but is now pinning its hopes of recovery on the efforts of the governing body.

“PCB chairman Ijaz Butt will be apprising the Task Force about the issues being faced in our cricket and hopes that through the efforts of the Task Force the best possible solutions can be worked out for Pakistan,” a spokesman for the PCB said. “The efforts of ICC president David Morgan, and other members are greatly appreciated by the PCB at a time when Pakistan cricket is facing its toughest challenges,” added the spokesman. The Task Force is headed by England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB) chairman Giles Clarke. Other members include former Pakistan captain Ramiz Raja, former England captain Mike Brearley, and former Sri Lankan captain Ranjan Madugalle.

Several countries have refused to tour Pakistan due to security fears amid a fierce and violent insurgency by militants. Cricket in Pakistan was dealt a severe blow when the Sri Lankan team bus was attacked in Lahore on March 3, killing eight people and injuring seven visiting players and their assistant coach. The brazen attacks ended all hopes of Pakistan staging international cricket in the foreseeable future. A month later, the ICC stripped the country of its share of World Cup 2011 matches.

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India can rise in ICC ODI rankings

India stand to regain the second spot in ICC one-day rankings if England beat SA in a five-match series starting on Friday.

India had slipped to third after losing a seven-match home series against Australia 2-4 a few weeks ago.

In individual rankings, South African captain Graeme Smith has the opportunity to put pressure on top ranked Indian counterpart Mahendra Singh Dhoni and second-placed Michael Hussey in the list for ODI batsmen.

An all-out victory for the sixth-placed England would see them rise to third and leave the second-placed hosts fifth.

But if Smith's side manages to win the series 5-0 it will close the gap with Australia to just two points. However, if the Proteas win 3-2, their victory margin will not be enough to maintain second place and they will slip to third behind India.
If Andrew Strauss' side win the series 3-2, it would rise to fifth in the rankings and South Africa would drop to third, again providing India with second place.

No victory scenario can see either team putting any pressure on the current table toppers Australia.

In the Rankings for ODI batsmen, Smith is still the highest-ranked player of either side at the third spot.

Further down the top 20, South Africa's AB de Villiers (fifth), Jacques Kallis (10th) and England's Kevin Pietersen (17th) and Paul Collingwood (18th) will be hoping for a strong series to further secure their places among the top ODI batsmen in the world.
South Africa's Dale Steyn will be looking to work his way up from sixth place in the rankings for ODI bowlers and put some pressure on the likes of leader New Zealand captain Daniel Vettori and second-placed Shakib Al Hasan of Bangladesh.

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"Every cricketer wants to win WC"

ICC Chief Executive Haroon Lorgat said winning the World Cup is a dream which every player aspires to realise in his career.

With the International Cricket Council on Monday making public the fixture of 2011 World Cup, Lorgat said that the preparations for the cricketing extravaganza was on track and the announcement of the schedule would give the staging associations ample time to get ready for their share of matches.

"A year ago we were concerned about the slow progress of the preparations. But things have started to move speedily and we are on track. Now every staging centre knows the schedule and will be in a position to prepare for the matches," he told reporters in Mumbai after announcing the World Cup schedule.

"Players will say they will play for nothing (prize money) in the World Cup. The World Cup is a prestigious trophy and it is one medal all cricketers aspire to win," he said.

Tournament Director Ratnakar Shetty said the organising committee had to do a lot of hard work after it was decided to host all the matches involving Pakistan during the league in Sri Lanka.

"It was an important day for the preparation of the event. We can now say preparations have taken off in right earnest," said Shetty, who is also the Chief Administrative Officer of the BCCI.

"It was a tough job for logistical reasons to schedule these matches as it not only involved teams to travel from city to city but from country to country too," he said.
ICC Vice-President and Chairman of the Central Organising Committee Sharad Pawar said the sub-continent offers great facilities for the game, sponsors, spectators as well as the media.

Asked about the possibility of Pakistan playing a match in India if they reach the knock-out stages, Pawar said the cricket-loving population of the country would welcome anyone to play irrespective of the political situation.

"I am confident the sports-loving population will welcome anyone and there's no exception," he said.

Pawar also expressed confidence that all the infrastructure would be ready in time to hold the World Cup.

"I'm confident all the infrastructure would be ready," he said, adding that the ticket prices would be on the lower side.

"I can assure you that ticket prices will be lowest irrespective of inflation or no inflation."
ODI vs T20

Asked about the relevance of the 50-over game in the wake of the Twenty20 revolution, Lorgat said the public would have devoid of witnessing a great innings like the one played by Sachin Tendulkar at Hyderabad against Australia recently had ODI been not there.

"If 50 over game would never have happened we would not have seen Sachin's exceptional knock in the Hyderabad match.

"Fifty-over matches are definitely here to stay irrespective of the other formats. If you go and ask cricketers like (Kumar) Sangakkara and Mahendra Singh Dhoni they would say they enjoy this format more than the 20-20 game," the ICC CEO said.
"There's nothing wrong with the 50 over game," he insisted.

Shetty too echoed his views and said the way the crowds have assembled to watch the India-Australia series shows that ODIs would never die.

India captain Dhoni, who was present at the function to announce the schedule, said the World Cup was all about how well the players can handle pressure.

"I don't have good memories of my first World Cup in 2007 (in the West Indies when India made an early exit). I have a side which is good.

"It's all about how well you handle the pressure," he said.

Dhoni also said that most of the youngsters of Indian team have gained valuable experience of playing in and around 50 ODIs which is a good sign keeping in mind the World Cup.

"Most of the younger guys have played 50-odd games with one year to go for the World Cup. By then they would have played a 100 games. It will help them in handling pressure situations better," he said.

He also said he would not be surprised if Tendulkar was goes on to play the 2015 edition of the World Cup.

"The way he's playing it would not be a surprise if he's around for the 2015 World Cup," Dhoni said.

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ICC & MCC Discuss Landscape Of The Game

Representatives of the ICC Cricket Committee and the MCC World Cricket Committee have concluded a workshop in Dubai where they discussed the landscape of the game.

The two parties came together to discuss ways in which both Test and One-Day International cricket could be enhanced, agreeing that the five-day game must remain as the pinnacle of the sport.

Enhancements for Test cricket such as a world championship, the use of different coloured balls and day/night matches were discussed.

It was accepted that international cricket can and should sustain all three formats of the game but that the balance between bat and ball in ODI cricket should be considered.

“It was a very productive and interesting meeting held in a good spirit of cooperation,” Clive Lloyd, the Chairman of the ICC Cricket Committee commented.

“The MCC has some great cricketing minds on its committee, people with a huge amount to offer the game. And so do we at the ICC. It was fascinating to hear those views expressed in such a positive and engaging forum as this,” said Mr Lloyd.

MCC World Cricket Committee Chairman Tony Lewis added: “I want to thank the ICC for the invitation to meet in this way. Some of the many things we at the MCC have worked on over the past 12 months – such as a Test match championship, umpire referrals and research into pink balls – we were able to share and express our opinions. It has been an excellent, rewarding workshop that has produced some good ideas.”

Observations from the meeting will now be presented to the ICC Chief Executives' Meeting in Dubai from 30th November to 1st December.

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Dope is more harmful for cricketers: ICC

New Delhi: Cricket and tennis were thought to be the sports where performance-enhancing drugs would not work. The myth has been broken in tennis and cricket, too, has had its share of doping cases leading to the International Cricket Council (ICC) signing the re-drafted World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) code in January.

There was a furore when Indian cricketers, like many of world's top athletes rejected WADA's whereabout clause. But, David McDonagh, a member of ICC's anti-doping tribunal, attributes the controversy to the lack of awareness about the undesirable effects of drugs on the sportspersons.

"There is not much awareness among not only Indian cricketers, but also among players in general," McDonagh, here to attend an international congress on sports medicine, told IANS.

"Cricketers need to be educated on doping, they don't need to dope. Good thing is that we hardly had any doping cases coming to the ICC."

"If you increase your bulk, you run the risk of tearing your tendons. Doping is not a long-term solution for cricketers. Fast bowling is one of the most toughest aspects of cricket and you will only be prone to more injuries if you are on drugs," said the Irishman.

Asked whether WADA would drop the whereabouts clause in view of the opposition from top sportspersons, McDonagh would only hint that to catch cheats all sorts of methods need to be used.

McDonagh, who has been associated with various international federations as well as the Olympic movement, agrees that the whereabouts clause is "harsh" on the players, but in the same breath said: "Random testing is the unfortunate price we have to pay for doping. We all have the responsibility to clean up sport and this is where WADA comes in. The registration and whereabouts clause is hard on the athletes, one cannot take chances if sport has to be dope-free."

The testing process today is far more advanced and tighter than it was in 1997, when Andre Agassi took banned substance crystal meth and and got away lying. The honest revelation of eight-time Grand Slam winner in his autobiography 'Open' has shocked the tennis world.

Asked whether Agassi would have been caught had he committed the offence today, McDonagh said: "You never know. We now have a far stricter testing methods."

"In the 90s the drugs control was only at the Olympics and not at other events. The effect of WADA influence was felt only recently. The level of testing now is far more superior. The tests are widespread now, but dope, too, has found newer methods."

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Ponting for points system to stop ODI dead rubbers

The reinvention of one-day cricket has been a hot topic of discussion over the past few months and Ricky Ponting, the Australian captain, has joined the debate by calling for a points system to give the format "significant meaning". Speaking ahead of Australia's departure for India for a seven-match ODI series, Ponting gave the example of the 6-1 win over England recently as proof that dead rubbers hurt the game.

"The way that one-day cricket is played at the moment with one-off series like this … until there is a points system in place then it might get to the same sort of situation as it did in the UK," he said. "We were 4-0 up after four games and all of a sudden there is talk of teams rotating players in and out and doing all sorts of things.

"So the important thing I think is we make sure that every game of 50-over cricket has some significant meaning."

The ICC is considering a trial splitting of one-day matches into two innings of 25 overs for each team, a proposal Sachin Tendulkar had mooted earlier. Graeme Smith and Kumar Sangakkara felt the ICC Champions Trophy would be crucial in directing the future of the ODI as a viable format in international cricket. Other trials in international cricket include hosting day-night Tests, which the England board plans for next summer if approved by the ICC.

Mitchell Johnson, the Australian allrounder, backed 50-over cricket to survive the threat posed by Twenty20 cricket. "Test cricket is number one for me but then it's followed by 50-over cricket," he said. "I prefer 50-over cricket [over Twenty20]. I hope it doesn't die, because I love the game."

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Problems hamper USA preparations

USA's senior and Under-19 teams are scheduled to compete in several major tournaments over the next five months. However, USACA is currently struggling to figure out the best way to prepare them.

USACA is planning on having its National Championship in Fort Lauderdale, Florida from November 13 to 15. The tournament was originally scheduled to take place from October 9 to 11 in Houston, Texas, but officials wanted to move the event to Florida to give players competing for spots on the national teams the opportunity to play on turf pitches, as opposed to the matting wickets used in Houston and around most of the country.

Florida's venues would provide them necessary preparation for when the United States travels to Dubai for the 2010 World Twenty20 Qualifier from February 9 to 13 as well as to Nepal for the World Cricket League Division 5 from February 20 to 27.

The National Championship will pit four regional teams, which qualified through USACA's Eastern and Western Conference tournaments, against each other in 50-over matches on November 13 and 14 to determine the national champion.

November 15 was intended to be used as an opportunity for players from these squads to be selected to face teams from Jamaica and Trinidad & Tobago in Twenty20 matches, but those plans are now on hold because a financial agreement hasn't been reached to lure the teams from the Caribbean to play on US soil.

"We would have picked the best team we have and played Jamaica and Trinidad," said Krish Prasad, chairman of USACA's cricket committee. "Seeing that that is not likely to happen, we will have to come up with a different structure, because we're going to Nepal and Dubai to play Twenty20 and Nepal to play 50 overs. We've got to come up with a plan to facilitate both teams' preparations."

Another problem in selecting the senior team is trying to get the entire short list of 40 probables an opportunity to play and be evaluated when some of them belong to regional squads that were eliminated in the tournaments leading up to the nationals.

"Hopefully we have, I think 90% of the players in the four regional teams," said Prasad. "We've already selected 40 players to get there. We're going to have to somehow get all those 40 players there. The ones that are not from the regions that's going to be contesting in the national tournament will also be invited there to participate maybe in the Sunday tournament or something like that.

"But we have to come up with a way of getting these guys there. The original plan we had was going to work well, but unfortunately that's not going to work. So we're going to have to get everybody there because we can't select 40 guys and then don't take them to a trial to see who's the best team that we can send to Dubai and Nepal."

Other financial issues are also a consideration in the planning process of the weekend. The matches for the USACA National Championship will most likely be played at Brian Piccolo Park rather than Central Broward Regional Park because USACA is reluctant to pay for the Broward stadium's rental fees for a non-revenue generating event.

"If the stadium was available, we could have used the lights in there and played two night games also," said Prasad. "That was the plan if the Jamaican team was going to come, because that would be a revenue generating opportunity." According to Prasad, it would cost $2,500 per match to rent the facility.

USACA's financial constraints are also having an effect on the Under-19 squad, which is set to compete in the 2010 ICC Under-19 World Cup in New Zealand from January 16 to 30. A training camp had been planned to take place concurrently with the senior tournament in Florida, but those plans have been shelved for the time being.

"The junior team, we were hoping to get them there at the same time," said Prasad, "but because of the funding situation, we are just going to sort of keep them on hold for now and hopefully get them into some sort of practice sessions, playing a couple of games and fitness because I think our major problem with the Under-19 has been their fitness.

"Living in the United States, they don't play cricket every day in the summer and when they went to that tournament [Under-19 World Cup Qualifier in Toronto], it showed that nine games in 13 days was a little bit too much for our boys. We learned that we need to get them physically fit for this tournament that's going to be starting in New Zealand in January."

There is hope that the situation will change in the near future though as USACA is currently trying to lock in a commercial partnership to generate significant funding to be used for improvements both on and off the field.

"We are looking at these commercial programs, which the CEO [Don Lockerbie] is pursuing as we speak," said Prasad. "So if that comes through in a couple of weeks, we could be in a very good position financially to start some very good programs. But like everything else, we have always been hampered by financial problems and once again we are encountering the same thing."

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ICC suspends WADA's whereabouts clause

Johannesburg: The International Cricket Council has decided to "suspend" the 'Whereabouts Clause' of the World Anti-Doping Agency until the concerns of Indian players' about it are resolved.

"We need to find a solution to the practical problem India is having, which is a constitutional issue of the country, which is why we decided to suspend the 'whereabouts' clause," ICC CEO Haroon Lorgat was quoted as saying by 'Cricinfo' after an Executive meeting of the world body here.

The ICC will soon discuss the code with WADA and in a Board meeting scheduled three months from now, it will decide whether to implement the code or not. Until then, the ICC will continue testing players without using the contentious clause.

The clause requires players to give their whereabout details a month in advance for out of competition testing and the Indian players have opposed it, saying it infringes on their privacy and poses a threat to their security. The Indian Board (BCCI) has also backed the players and has reportedly got support from its counterparts in Australia, South Africa, England, New Zealand, Sri Lanka and Bangladesh.

The BCCI wants the ICC to either persuade WADA to scrap the clause or make a cricket-specific code. Asked about the latest on row, ICC President David Morgan said, "The doping question is best described as a work in progress. We will have further meetings with WADA and we hope to have a situation that is acceptable to WADA and all the cricket-playing nations."

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Itinerary announced for 2011 World Cup

India have been placed in Group B -- along with England and South Africa -- for the 2011 World Cup in the sub-continent.

The International Cricket Council (ICC) announced the itinerary on Wednesday after a Board meeting in Johannesburg.

"In Group A there will be Australia, Pakistan, New Zealand, Sri Lanka, Zimbabwe, Canada and Kenya. In Group B there will be India, South Africa, England, West Indies, Bangladesh, Ireland and Netherlands," the ICC said in a statement.

The meeting also approved the schedule for next year's Under-19 World Cup scheduled in January in New Zealand.

"The full schedule will be posted on the ICC website shortly," the statement read.

Apart from this, the meeting also discussed ways to promote cricket and decided to have more research on the concept of day/night Tests.

"A competitive analysis of other sports and entertainment products will be carried out by a working group and there will be further research carried out into various proposals for product development and variation of Test cricket, such as day/night Test matches," the ICC said.

"The working group will be chaired by ICC Chief Executive Haroon Lorgat and will include a representative from each Full Member as well as the ICC General Manager Commercial, Campbell Jamieson and ICC General Manager Cricket, David Richardson," it added.

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ICC rubbishes fixing allegations

The ICC has rubbished match-fixing allegations against the Pakistan team in the just-concluded Champions Trophy.

The International Cricket Council Chief Executive Haroon Lorgat also gave a clean chit to Australian umpire Simon Taufel who was officiating the semi-final match between Pakistan and New Zealand.

"It is not worthy of spending any energy on that. We are very comfortable with Simon Taufel," Lorgat told a television channel from Johannesburg.

"We are quite pleased with the way the game was played. It was played in great spirits. We all know the reputation of Simon Taufel," he added.

Match-fixing returned to haunt Pakistan cricket after the national team's semifinal defeat in the Champions Trophy with the Chairman of the National Assembly Standing Committee on Sports MNA Jamshed Dasti accusing the players of being involved in match-fixing.

Dasti subsequently back-tracked saying he never accused the players of fixing matches.

A senior Sindh minister had accused India of influencing umpires to get Pakistan ousted from the Champions Trophy semifinal in South Africa.

Muhammad Ali Shah, the minister for Sports and a member of the Pakistan Cricket Board governing council, suspected the role of Indian mafia in the sub-standard umpiring.

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ICC looking at four 25-over innings in ODIs

The ICC is considering a trial splitting of one-day matches into two innings of 25 overs for each team, Dave Richardson, the ICC's cricket manager, has said. The idea was mooted by Sachin Tendulkar last week.

"I quite like that idea, I believe South Africa may trial something along those lines," Richardson told BBC Sport. "This might work in day-night cricket where one team has to bat in day and the other at night. It provides something different and reduces the effects on the team who loses the toss and has to bat first on a damp wicket, for example."

Richardson believed the concept, discussed during the ICC's cricket committee annual meeting at Lord's in May, could breathe life into the 50-over format, which has been increasingly threatened by the rise in popularity of Twenty20 cricket.

Though two innings of 25 overs could lead to new strategies and even reduce the influence of winning the toss in favourable conditions, Richardson was eager to prevent results becoming predictable. His concern was that splitting the innings could take away scoring opportunities for the batsmen.

"I don't necessarily like the idea of playing two matches of 25 overs each with the openers batting again," he said. "The charm of one-day cricket is seeing someone batting at four and scoring a good hundred. If you bat in the middle order of a Twenty20 or a new 25-over innings, you're not to get much of an opportunity to hit three figures, one downside of the Twenty20 game."

The clamour for a fresh approach to the one-day game has grown considerably with players including Tendulkar 50-over games be played over two innings to provide similar overhead conditions for both teams. Tendulkar said the contests were becoming too predictable because results of "close to 75% of matches" could be predicted after the toss.

The England and Wales Cricket Board recently agreed to scrap the domestic Friends Provident Trophy, the only 50-over domestic cricket tournament, in favour of an expanded Twenty20 competition along with a 40-over format. Cricket South Africa are also likely to join the bandwagon as it considers changes to its 45-over competition.

However, Richardson said the experiment would have to be successful at the domestic level before changes could be made to the international game. "The bottomline is if we can come up with a product that is better than the existing one, then everyone would like to look at it," he said. "If it has been trialled successfully at domestic level, it may give the trial to give it the go-ahead at international level.

"The ICC has been proactive with ideas and innovations, like the powerplays. The idea of the 'super-sub' (scrapped in March 2006) wasn't as successful and got rid of quite quickly. One of the criticisms was that we trialled things at international as opposed to domestic level. Our tactics going forward are member countries trial changes first domestically and if they are successful, then we can take them on board at the international level."

The ICC's cricket committee is set to meet again in 2010 when the results of the experiment will be discussed.

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Dilshan wins Twenty20 award

Sri Lankan batsman Tillakaratne Dilshan has won the Twenty20 International Performance of the Year award in recognition of his breezy 96 off 57 balls against West Indies in the semi-final of the 2009 World Twenty20 in England. Dilshan's performance at The Oval included two sixes and 12 fours and helped steer his side into the finals of the tournament.

This is the second year the award has been given to recognise the most impressive performance by a player in Twenty20 internationals during the 12-month voting period, continuing to mark the advent of the shortest format of the game.

The award rounds off a good year of Twenty20 cricket for Dilshan who took the World Twenty20 by storm after showcasing his astonishing 'Dilscoop' - a flick-shot over his head - and also being named as Player of the Tournament, having scored 317 runs at 52.83.

According to the ICC Awards 25-member voting academy Dilshan's effort was the most impressive in the voting period between August 13, 2008 to August 24, 2009.

His performance beat competition from West Indies' Chris Gayle for his 88 off 50 balls against Australia, also during the 2009 World Twenty20 at the Oval; Umar Gul's 5 for 6 for Pakistan against New Zealand in the same tournament, as well as twin efforts from Shahid Afridi - a blitzkreig 51 off 34 balls and 2 for 16 against South Africa in the semi-final.

Collecting his award from last year's winner, Yuvraj Singh, Dilshan said: "This is a great feeling for me. I can't forget about that innings - it was so important and I was really happy about my overall performance in that tournament. It was a thrill for me to do well in England and do well for my team.

"I'm really proud of myself for having a new shot named after me (the Dilscoop). That shot has given me confidence. If I am under pressure I can play that shot and put the pressure back on the bowlers."

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Dar is Umpire of the Year

Pakistan's Aleem Dar was named Umpire of the Year at the ICC Awards in Johannesburg. Dar, 41, was voted for this award by the 10 Full-Member captains as well as the eight-man Elite Panel of match referees, based on his decision statistics over the last 12 months.

It was the first time he had received an ICC award, and he collected the trophy from ICC chief executive Haroon Lorgat. "I am very pleased to get this award," Dar said. "Thanks to the PCB and ICC, as well as my friends and family and of course my wife, who I have to leave for long periods of time.

"Normally I am quite calm and so the pressure is not big for me. It is important to stay cool and if you make a mistake you can't let it get to you. You have to concentrate all the time."

Dar, who made his international debut as an umpire in 2000, joined the Elite Panel in 2004. He beat strong competition from his colleagues Asad Rauf, Tony Hill and five-time ICC Umpire of the Year Simon Taufel. In the voting period of these awards, Dar stood in seven Tests and eight ODIs, as well as the World Twenty20 in England.

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New Zealand win Spirit of Cricket award

The New Zealand cricket team was named the recipient of the Spirit of Cricket Award at the ICC Awards ceremony.

It is the second time New Zealand has won this award (the first being in 2004) which is presented to the team which, in the opinion of the Elite Panels of ICC Umpires and Match Referees and the ten Full Member captains has best conducted itself on the field within the spirit of the game.

The award was presented to New Zealand captain Daniel Vettori by Haroon Lorgat, the chief executive of the ICC.

Upon receiving the award on behalf of his team Vettori said: "I think most teams within world cricket aspire to the intangible notion of the Spirit of Cricket. It's not easy to define but I think when you get out on the field of play most guys know where that line is and most play the game in the right way.

"If we can couple the Spirit of Cricket award with the ICC Champions Trophy then we will be very happy indeed."

This Spirit is described in the preamble to the Laws of Cricket: "Cricket is a game that owes much of its unique appeal to the fact that it should be played not only within its Laws but also within the Spirit of the Game. Any action which is seen to abuse this spirit causes injury to the game itself."

The preamble goes on to say: "The Spirit of the Game involves respect for: * Your opponents
* Your own captain and team
* The role of the umpires
* The game's traditional values
The award has previously been won twice by Sri Lanka (2007 and 2008), England won it in 2005 and 2006 while New Zealand took the honour at the inaugural ICC Awards in 2004.

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Johnson and Gambhir scoop top awards

Mitchell Johnson capped a tumultuous year by becoming the sixth winner of the prestigious Sir Garfield Sobers Trophy, after being named as the ICC World Player of the Year at cricket's annual awards ceremony in Johannesburg. Johnson, who shot to prominence during Australia's memorable series win in South Africa in February and March, claimed the title ahead of his fellow nominees, Gautam Gambhir, Andrew Strauss and Mahendra Singh Dhoni.

Johnson was a surprise choice for the title, not least because of the massive and very public crisis of confidence he suffered during Australia's Ashes defeat in England, particularly in the pivotal second Test at Lord's which England went on to win after Johnson's first-day figures of 2 for 107 in 19 overs. But when he got his game right he was nigh on unplayable, as his sensational performances against South Africa demonstrated. With 80 wickets in 17 matches, he was the most prolific strike bowler of the year, and he also recorded his maiden Test century and an unbeaten 96 against South Africa.

"I'm really blown away," said Johnson. "I am just surprised to be up here. It has been a great 12 months for our side. We have lost some wonderful players in recent years and we have been rebuilding with some young guys in the team and we have played together well."

India's star opener, Gambhir, was named as Test Player of the Year, after an impressive haul of 1269 runs at 84.60 in the eight Tests during the qualification period. "It's been a dream run for me. I never thought it could be like this but life has changed for me and I am very happy," said Gambhir. "As a unit we have played very well and I am just glad to contribute to the overall success of the team."

Mahendra Singh Dhoni retained his title of ODI Player of the Year, seeing off competition from his team-mates, Yuvraj Singh and Virender Sehwag, as well as West Indies' Shivnarine Chanderpaul. Dhoni played 24 ODIs during the voting period, scoring 967 runs at an average of 60.43 and strike-rate of 86.63, and also claimed 26 dismissals as he led India to 17 victories including a 5-0 demolition of England.

Tillakaratne Dilshan was a worthy winner of the Twenty20 International Performance of the Year award, after capping a sensational World Twenty20 tournament in England in June with a show-stealing 96 off 57 balls against West Indies in the semi-final. His performance at The Oval, in which no other Sri Lanka batsman managed more than 24, included two sixes and 12 fours, and though Sri Lanka went on to lose the final to Pakistan, Dilshan was nevertheless named as the Man of the Tournament, with a total of 317 runs at 52.83.

Dilshan is perhaps most notable for his signature "Dilscoop" shot - a flick-shot over his, and the keeper's, heads - and as he accepted his award he was equally proud to have coined a new term in cricket's lexicon. "I'm really proud of myself for having a new shot named after me," he said. "That shot has given me confidence. If I am under pressure I can play that shot and put the pressure back on the bowlers."

Australia's fast bowler, Peter Siddle, was named as the Emerging Player of the Year, after claiming 49 wickets at 28.93 in the 12 matches since his debut at Mohali in October 2008, including five-wicket hauls against South Africa at Sydney and England at Headingley, both of which led to memorable victories. Siddle beat his fellow Australia seamer, Ben Hilfenhaus, to the award, as well as England's Graham Onions and New Zealand's Jesse Ryder.

New Zealand's cricketers were considered to have conducted themselves better on the field than any other nation in 2008-09, as they claimed the Spirit of Cricket award for the second time, having also won during the inaugural Awards ceremony at Alexandra Palace in London in 2004. The judgement was made by the ICC's umpires and match referees, in conjunction with the ten full-member captains, and Daniel Vettori accepted the accolade on behalf of his colleagues, only 48 hours after reversing a run-out appeal against Paul Collingwood in their must-win group match against England.

"I think most teams within world cricket aspire to the intangible notion of the Spirit of Cricket," said Vettori. "It's not easy to define but I think when you get out on the field of play most guys know where that line is and most play the game in the right way. If we can couple the Spirit of Cricket award with the ICC Champions Trophy then we will be very happy indeed."

Pakistan's Aleem Dar ended Simon Taufel's monopoly to claim the Umpire of the Year award. It was the first time that anyone other than Taufel had picked up the accolade in the six years that the ceremony has taken place.

South Africa's spearhead, Dale Steyn, is the only player to retain his place in the World Test Team of the Year, with last year's captain, Graeme Smith, missing the cut to accommodate World Player of the Year nominees Gambhir and Strauss at the top of the order. Dhoni takes over as captain; AB de Villiers, Sachin Tendulkar and Thilan Samaraweera make up the middle-order, while Bangladesh's impressive allrounder, Shakib al Hasan, is chosen as the spin option alongside three quicks in Johnson, Steyn and Stuart Broad.

Six countries were also represented in the World ODI team, and just as with the Test side, there's only one survivor from the XI named 12 months ago. Dhoni was last year's wicketkeeper, and now he is captain as well, having been picked alongside his team-mates Virender Sehwag and Yuvraj Singh.

Three Sri Lankans - Dilshan, Ajantha Mendis and Nuwan Kulasekara - also feature, as well as two Englishmen, Andrew Flintoff and Kevin Pietersen, neither of whom have played a part in the side's remarkable revival during the Champions Trophy. West Indies' Chris Gayle, Pakistan's death-overs specialist Umar Gul, and New Zealand's surprise package, Martin Guptill, make up the numbers.

England's women - World Champions in 50-over and 20-over cricket this year, were rewarded for their dominance when their star player, Clare Taylor, was named as the Women's Player of the Year. Taylor, 33, scored 565 runs in 18 ODIs an average of 70.62, and 230 runs at a lofty 115.00 in England's six-match World Twenty20 campaign.

Ireland's captain, Will Porterfield, was named as the Associate Player of the Year, after leading his side to nine ODI victories in 11 fixtures in a memorable season that also included qualification for the Super Eights stage of the World Twenty20.

World Test Team of the Year: Gautam Gambhir (India), Andrew Strauss (England), AB de Villiers (South Africa), Sachin Tendulkar (India), Thilan Samaraweera (Sri Lanka), Michael Clarke (Australia), MS Dhoni (India, capt & wk), Shakib Al Hasan (Bangladesh), Mitchell Johnson (Australia), Stuart Broad (England), Dale Steyn (South Africa), Harbhajan Singh (India, 12th man)

World ODI team of the year: Virender Sehwag (Ind), Chris Gayle (WI), Kevin Pietersen (Eng), Tillakaratne Dilshan (SL), Yuvraj Singh (Ind), Martin Guptill (NZ), MS Dhoni (Ind, captain, WK), Andrew Flintoff (Eng), Nuwan Kulasekara (SL), Ajantha Mendis (SL), Umar Gul (Pak), 12th man: Thilan Thushara (SL)

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Dhoni leads Test Team of Year

Indian skipper MS Dhoni has been named as captain of the Test Team of the Year, as he was for the ODI team of the year. Twelve players from six countries were included in the line-up, chosen by a specially appointed selection panel chaired by former West Indies captain Clive Lloyd. South African fast bowler Dale Steyn was the only player making the cut from the 2008 Test Team of the Year.

Lloyd was joined on the panel by former Indian captain Anil Kumble, ex-Pakistan allrounder Mudassar Nazar, former New Zealand captain Stephen Fleming and ex-England wicketkeeper Bob Taylor.

World Test Team of the Year: Gautam Gambhir (India), Andrew Strauss (England), AB de Villiers (South Africa), Sachin Tendulkar (India), Thilan Samaraweera (Sri Lanka), Michael Clarke (Australia), MS Dhoni (India, capt & wk), Shakib Al Hasan (Bangladesh), Mitchell Johnson (Australia), Stuart Broad (England), Dale Steyn (South Africa), Harbhajan Singh (India, 12th man)

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Three neutral umpires for Tests

The ICC is all set to adopt the new policy of nominating all three "neutral" umpires from its two panels for all Test matches.

According to the Dubai-based sources in ICC, the present system of nominating two neutral umpires for Test series will be replaced by this new policy with immediate effect. The experiment was found successful when all three neutral umpires were tried out in Sri Lanka's last home Test series against India.

The concept is also to be discussed in a first three-day Umpires Seminar to be held in Dubai on October 8,9 and 10, it is also understood.

The umpires attending the seminar will also be guided about the Decision Review System (DRS), which comes into force from to-day(i.e. Octobe 1). In this system, which is to be implemented for Test matches only, the players will be allowed to appeal against an umpire's decision. To eliminate the "obvious error factor" from umpires' decisions, the DRS system is being tried out.

In order to give training to those umpires who would not be able to attend this seminar due to their postings in inaugural Champions League (CL) to be played in India and also co-hosted by Cricket Australia and Cricket South Africa, another such seminar is scheduled to take place in Dubai on 26, 27 and 28th October.

The first Test series to be played under this new DRS system will be between Pakistan and New Zealand. Pakistan is hosting its "home" series against New Zealand, where three Test matches are to be played (November 24 to December 15). The next Test series in Australia against West Indies will continue to have three neutral umpires in three Test matches to be played between November 26 to December 20).

All three neutral umpires nominated for the Test series will be officiating on rotation basis in the Test matches. Thus the TV umpire will also get a chance to officiate on field in the same series and more exposure would be sought by them.

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Waugh, Akram in ICC Hall of Fame

Former Pakistan captain Wasim Akram and former Australian skipper Steve Waugh were inducted into the ICC Cricket Hall of Fame.

Herbert Sutcliffe, Clarrie Grimmett and Victor Trumper, are the other three cricketers who were added, bringing the total number of players in that club to 60.

The trio is no more.

"It is a great honour"

"It is a great honour to be inducted into the ICC Cricket Hall of Fame and to see my name feature alongside such greats of the game including the likes of Don Bradman," Steve Waugh said.

Akram said the induction is an acknowledgment of "decent" career.

"This honour is the perfect icing on the cake of a decent career. It is a great feeling to know your contribution and achievements in this fascinating sport are being acknowledged in such a way," he said.

Looking back, Akram said he would always cherish the matches played against India.
"Matches against India have always been the most memorable ones for me, especially our victory at Chennai in 1999 where more than 40,000 spectators gave us a standing ovation," he said.

Victor Trumper was the first Australian to score a triple century in England with 300 not out against Sussex at Hove.

In 1902, he became the first of only four players to score a century on the first morning of a Test match, making 103 not out before lunch against England at Old Trafford.

Englishman Herbert Sutcliffe has the fourth highest Test batting average of all time (of those players with 2,000 runs or more) with 60.73 in 54 Tests. The three players above him (Don Bradman, Graeme Pollock and George Headley) are already in the ICC Cricket Hall of Fame.

Australian Clarrie Grimmett averaged 5.83 wickets per Test ? 216 wickets from 37 matches. He is the only bowler in the history of the game to have taken more than 200 Test wickets in fewer than 40 Tests played. Grimmett reached 200 Test wickets in his 36th match.

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ICC seeks support for Test Championship

The FICA says the ICC is likely to seek support of all Test playing nations for the Test championship.

According to Tim May, the FICA CEO, the ICC will present before the members the other model prepared by the overseas company, as the original model was not backed by at least one of the Test playing nations.

"I understand that the one Test playing nation was not supportive of the Test Championship model that ICC put before them some time last year - this was based on a paper prepared by the Boston Consulting Group. I am not aware why they did not support this model. It was easily the best model that I have seen in regards to having a global vision of the game and producing benefits to all", said May from USA.

"FICA have seen the model and whilst agreeing to the principle of implementing a Test Championship, our preliminary views is that the model to be proposed to the CEC is significantly inferior to the BCG model and falls well short of creating global context for all of Test cricket", May further added.

"FICA will be conducting its Annual Meeting in Johannesburg on 1 and 2 October and a large part of that meeting will be dedicated to consideration of the Structure of the Game, and related issues such as a Test Championship format. We will be communicating our detailed thoughts to ICC following our meeting", May further added.

"In terms of what ICC will do if the concerned Test nation refuses to give a Test Championship the green light - I would suggest it would be hoping that it could galvanise enough support from the other countries to ensure that the concerned board's opposition is irrelevent", May signed off.

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