DUBAI, Aug 26 (UNI): After the inaugural ICC Awards ceremony proved a tremendous success, the second edition of the event dubbed cricket's equivalent of Oscar is slated for October 11 in Sydney.
"Following the success of last year's inaugural event in London, the cream of the world's cricketers will convene at one of Australia's most prestigious hotels for the gala ceremony," an ICC release said here today.
The ceremony is expected to be attended by many of the greatest players from around the world who will be hoping to follow in the footsteps of last year's Player of the Year and Test Player of the Year, Rahul Dravid, and 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," said Speed.
"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," he said.
Chief Executive of the Federation of International Cricketers' Association (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," he said.
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 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.
Players eligible for the Emerging Player of the Year award must be under 26 years-of-age and have played no more than five Test matches and/or 10 One-Day Internationals before the start of the voting period.
The Test Team of the Year and the One-Day International Team of the Year will both be World XI sides made up of the best individual international players in the respective forms of the game.
Selection for the World XI teams will be made by an ICC selection panel of five former high profile players to be appointed by the ICC.
The teams will include a nominated captain.
The Spirit of Cricket award will be presented to one international team determined by the captains and match referees.
In addition to the seven player-related awards, an award will be presented to the Umpire of the Year.
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.Individual awards:Cricketer of the Year; Test Player of the Year; One-Day International Player of the Year; and Emerging Player of the Year.Team awards:Test Team of the Year; One-Day International Team of the Year; and Spirit of Cricket Award.