England win the Spirit of Cricket Award

The England cricket team were named as the recipients of the Spirit of Cricket Award at the ICC Awards celebration in Sydney on Tuesday. The Spirit of Cricket Award was presented to the Full Member team which, in the opinion of the Emirates Elite Panel of Umpires and Referees and the captains of the ten Test teams, has best conducted itself on the field within the spirit of the game.

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"

Ehsan Mani, the ICC president, said: "On behalf of the ICC I wish to congratulate England for winning the Spirit of Cricket Award. Michael Vaughan's side has enjoyed considerable success on the field during the voting period and this award shows they have done so by upholding the traditional values of the game."

Andrew Flintoff, who also shared the Player of the Year award with Jacques Kallis, said that the credit belonged to his captain, Vaughan. "Over the past two years since he has taken over we have beaten every side we have come up against," said Flintoff. "Vaughny has wanted the lads to have no fear of failure, enjoy playing cricket and enjoy each others company.

"I think we have played the game in the right way. He's brought the best out of me, and is still bringing the best out of me. We are a happy bunch of cricketers, we enjoy playing cricket and I think it shows in the way we play."

England were the second recipients of the Award after it was won by New Zealand in 2004. The Spirit of Cricket Award was one of eight individual and team honours handed out during the ICC awards.