Player of the Year Award

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Player of the Year Award



Ricky Ponting - ICC Player of the Year 2006 © Getty Images

Australia ’s Ricky Ponting was named ICC Player of the Year at the ICC Awards in Mumbai.

Ponting was the winner after the ballots from the 56-member ICC Awards Voting Academy were tallied, thus adding the Sir Garfield Sobers Trophy to the award for Test Player of the Year, won earlier in the evening.

Ponting was also named on both the ICC ODI and Test Teams of the Year which were selected by a five-man Selection Panel consisting of Sunil Gavaskar, Ian Healy, Arjuna Ranatunga, Waqar Younis and Allan Donald.

On winning the award, Ponting said: “It has been a satisfying year personally and also for the rest of the team. For me to be a part of that success has been great for me. To see Mike (Hussey) win an award and so many other Australians to be nominated indicates that the team is doing well at the moment. It’s a great night for Australian cricket.

“To captain Australia is something I love and never take for granted. We had to show a lot of character immediately after (losing) the Ashes. And since then we have managed to do that. We have set a new standard for ourselves, we’ve worked hard and thankfully it’s paying off for us at the moment.”

“It’s a great thrill, even to be nominated on the short-list but to walk away with two awards is something out of this world, something very special. It’s the sort of thing that is very satisfying when you look back on your career in years to come. I’ll be able to spend more time enjoying it then.”

ICC President Percy Sonn said: “On behalf of the ICC I would like to pass on my congratulations to Ricky for winning this award. He has shown over the last year that he is the best and it is great that we have this opportunity to recognise that.

“He is a credit to his team and his country and through his talent and hard work, he is a role model for all aspiring cricketers and sportspeople of all descriptions,” said Mr Sonn.

Arvind Saxena, Vice-President of sales and marketing for Hyundai Motor India, said: "Hyundai is proud to be involved in this initiative, which celebrates excellence in international cricket. Just as Hyundai Motor stands for excellence in design, technology and safety the world over, the awards acknowledge and celebrate the very best in cricket."

During the voting period of 1 August 2005 to 8 August 2006, Ponting played 16 Tests and 20 ODIs. In Tests he scored a phenomenal 1,791 runs at an average of 68.88, including two centuries in his 100 th Test match, against South Africa in Durban.

The Sir Garfield Sobers Trophy was one of ten individual and team honours handed out during the ICC Awards, presented by Hyundai in association with FICA (the Federation of International Cricketers’ Associations).

The event, held at the Taj Lands End Hotel in Mumbai, recognises cricket's star performers over a 12-month period.

Voting for the Player of the Year was completed by the 56-member ICC Awards Voting Academy who cast a 3-2-1 vote (3 votes being the greater value) from the list of nominees, with the votes tallied to produce a winner.

The voting Academy included the 10 ICC Full Member captains, the Emirates Elite Panel of ICC Referees, the Emirates Elite Panel of ICC Umpires and many other legends of the game and respected members of the media.

The other short-listed nominees for the award were Mohammed Yousuf ( Pakistan), Michael Hussey ( Australia) and Muttiah Muralidaran ( Sri Lanka). Last year, the award was shared by Andrew Flintoff of England and South Africa’s Jacques Kallis. In 2004 the top award went to Rahul Dravid of India
 
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