Strauss, Johnson and Gambhir lead ICC nominations

Ashes-winning captain Andrew Strauss, Australian fast bowler Mitchell Johnson and Indian opener Gautam Gambhir have all been shortlisted for both the ICC Cricketer of the Year and the Test Player of the Year awards. MS Dhoni rounds out the Cricketer of the Year nominees and is also in line for retaining the ODI Player of the Year title.

Indian batsmen dominated the race for best ODI player, with Virender Sehwag and Yuvraj Singh also being nominated. West Indian batsman Shivnarine Chanderpaul is the other contender for the award.

Sri Lankan batsman Thilan Samaraweera, who made 1067 runs at 82.07 during the period considered for the awards (August 13, 2008 and August 24, 2009), completes the line-up for Test Player of the Year.

His team-mate Tillakaratne Dilshan didn't make the cut for either Test player or ICC Cricketer awards but was nominated for his blistering 96 against West Indies in the semi-final of the World Twenty20. Another match-winning semi-final performance in that tournament, Shahid Afridi's 51 off 34 balls and two wickets against South Africa, was also shortlisted.

While Johnson, the spearhead of Australia's bowling attack, is line for two major prizes, his support cast during the Ashes, Peter Siddle and Ben Hilfenhaus, are both in the running for the best Emerging player title.

England's all-conquering women's side cornered two of the three slots for the Women's Cricketer of the Year, with captain Charlotte Edwards and their leading batsman Claire Taylor making the cut.

Netherlands allrounder Ryan ten Doeschate got his third straight nomination for the Best Associate and Affiliate Player of the Year, an award he won in 2008.

Another familiar name in the nominees list is the Australian Simon Taufel, who has taken home the Umpire of the Year award for the past five years.

The shortlist for the ICC's sixth annual awards set for October 1 in Johannesburg, were chosen by a 25-member panel from the nominations announced earlier this month. The panel consists of former players, journalists and ICC officials.

This year's awards include eight individual prizes, as well as the Spirit of Cricket award for a team. Apart from this, the Test and ODI teams of the year will also be announced.