Andrew Flintoff and Jacques Kallis share main award

Jacques Kallis and Andrew Flintoff: joint Players of the Year © Getty Images

Andrew Flintoff and Jacques Kallis were named joint Players of the Year at the ICC Awards in Sydney after a tie. Both players finished level on 86 votes after the votes of the 50-member ICC Awards voting Academy were tallied, leading to the first tie in the short history of the awards.

For both players, receiving the Sir Garfield Sobers Trophy, the most prestigious individual award in world cricket, capped a fantastic night. Flintoff was earlier named in both the ODI and Test teams of the Year and all three honours served as recognition of his dynamic displays during the voting period. Kallis was also named the Test player of the Year, and he was therefore naturally chosen in the Test team of the Year. He also made it into the 12th man for the ODI Team of the Year.

"I just came here for food," beamed Flintoff. "I honestly didn't know what to expect I was in the running for the one-day player as well but wasn't expecting to receive anything. Maybe sneak into one of the teams but to receive an award such as that, I had no idea it I would get it."

Ehsan Mani, the ICC president, said: "On behalf of the ICC, I congratulate Andrew Flintoff and Jacques Kallis as joint winners of the Player of the Year Award. These two players made outstanding all-round contributions to the fortunes of their sides so it is wholly appropriate they should both receive the Sir Garfield Sobers Trophy, named after the greatest allrounder of all-time. The fact they finished level, both polling more than twice as many votes as the player in third place, reflects their massive contributions to international cricket during the voting period.

"Andrew Flintoff consistently demonstrated his all-round excellence and his ability to turn a game with both bat and ball marked him out as a real crowd-pleaser. Jacques Kallis became the most sought-after wicket in Test cricket and scored more runs than any other player during the voting period as well as remaining a danger with the ball when called upon. Not content to contribute with bat and ball, both players also remained in the thick of the action in the field and proved outstanding catchers, especially in the slip cordon.

"The fact this award was voted for by the players' peers and colleagues is an illustration of the high regard in which they are held within the cricket community and Jacques and Andrew are worthy recipients of this award."

During the voting period of August 1, 2004 to July 31, 2005, Flintoff played 10 Tests and 16 ODIs (click here for Stats Guru data). In Tests, he scored 366 runs at an average of 30.50, including four scores of 50 or more, captured 44 wickets at an average of 24.68 and took six catches. Flintoff took a wicket every 45.43 balls, a mark bettered by only four bowlers, Andre Nel, Muttiah Muralidaran, Glenn McGrath and Mathew Hoggard, all of them specialists rather than an allrounder like Flintoff. He scored 464 runs in ODIs at an average of 38.66 including one hundred and two other scores of 50 or more and those runs were made at a strike-rate of 92.98 while with the ball he took 25 wickets with an economy rate of just 4.32 runs per over.

Kallis played 15 Tests and 19 ODIs during the voting period and during that time he was comfortably the most prolific Test batsman in the world (click here for Stats Guru data. In those 15 Tests he scored 1497 runs at 71.28, including six hundreds, the most by any player, and a total of 14 scores of 50 or more. With the ball, he took 20 Test wickets and, usually to be found in the slip cordon, he pouched 16 catches. In ODIs he proved a model of consistency with 697 runs at an average of 41.00, including one hundred and six other scores of fifty or more and those runs were made at a strike-rate of 70.76. Additionally, he took eight wickets.

Voting for the Player of the Year was completed by the 50-member ICC Awards voting Academy who cast a 3-2-1 vote (three votes being the greater value) from the list of nominees, with the votes tallied to produce a winner or winners.

The Top five players in the poll were:

1. = Andrew Flintoff (England) - 86 votes
1. = Jacques Kallis (South Africa) - 86 votes
3. Glenn McGrath (Australia) - 39 votes
4. Adam Gilchrist (Australia) - 29 votes
5. Ricky Ponting (Australia) - 19 votes

The other nominees for the award were Inzamam-ul-Haq of Pakistan and India's Rahul Dravid. Dravid was the previous recipient of this award, in 2004.

Flintoff and Kallis received their trophies from Richie Benaud, the former Australia captain, allrounder, member of the voting Academy and Chairman of the ICC Awards Selection Panel in 2004.