And the nominees for the ICC Awards were……..

The ICC today announced the nominees in the four individual player categories for next month's ICC Awards, presented by Hyundai in association with FICA.

The individual player categories are:

A total of 29 players from nine of the ICC's 10 Full Member countries have been nominated for awards, with the inaugural presentation to take place at London's Alexandra Palace on Tuesday 7 September.

Six players - Andrew Flintoff (England), Matthew Hayden (Australia) Jacques Kallis (South Africa), VVS Laxman (India), Muttiah Muralitharan (Sri Lanka) and Ricky Ponting (Australia) have scooped the nominations, with each being nominated for the three senior individual awards.

Australia have the most number of players nominated for individual awards (six), followed by India (five), while the West Indies and Pakistan each have four players in contention to win awards.

Only Australia, India and the West Indies have players nominated in all four individual categories.

In a strong sign for the future strength of their sides, Pakistan have three players nominated for Emerging Player of the Year - Imran Farhat, Umar Gul and Yasir Hameed - while the West Indies have two players in contention - Tino Best and Devon Smith.

ICC Chief Executive Malcolm Speed said it was encouraging to see players from nearly all countries nominated for Awards.

"It is certainly encouraging and it heightens the interest and anticipation ahead of the ceremony to have so many different players in contention to win awards," said Mr Speed.

"The strength of the ICC Awards is that all players, umpires and teams have the chance to be recognised.

"Players in both forms of the game, as well as the best young player in the world have the opportunity to win an award and of course the night is capped off by naming the world's best Player of the Year.

"The cricket world is looking forward with excitement and enthusiasm to the ICC Awards in September."

The players nominated for the individual awards were chosen by the five-man ICC Awards selection panel comprising Richie Benaud (chairman), Ian Botham, Sunil Gavaskar, Michael Holding and Barry Richards.

Selection was based on the players' performances over the course of the 12-month judging period (1 August 2003 to 31 July 2004), and the experience, judgment and knowledge of the panel members.

Benaud acknowledged the enormity of the task ahead, but confirmed the panel's commitment to approaching it with diligence and responsibility.

"The first thing about being on a five-person panel of this kind is for us to realise what degree of difficulty lies ahead," said Mr Benaud.

"The main problem will be in excluding players from the short-list, even though they are brilliant cricketers. It is a challenge, and one approached by Ian, Sunil, Michael, Barry and me, with considerable anticipation."

Voting for the awards will be complete by Monday 23 August.

The 50-member Voting Academy - which includes current captains, match officials, respected media representatives and legends of the game - will each cast a 3-2-1 vote (3 votes being the higher value) from the list of nominees in the individual award categories.

The winners will be announced in a gala ceremony at London's Alexandra Palace on the evening of Tuesday 7 September. All international players who are in London at the time of the event preparing for the ICC Champions Trophy, are invited to attend.

A total of eight awards will be presented on the night in two categories - five individual awards and three team awards:

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 the five-man ICC Awards selection panel lead by Richie Benaud.

The Spirit of Cricket award will be presented to one international team determined by the captains and match referees.

Players eligible for the Emerging Player of the Year award must be under 26-years-of-age at the start of the voting period (1 August 2003) and have played no more than five Test matches and/or 10 One-Day Internationals before the start of the voting period.

In addition to the seven player-related awards, an award will be presented to the Umpire of the Year. This will be judged from the marks awarded by captains and referees over the course of the year.

Tino Best (West Indies)
Michael Clarke (Australia)
Imran Farhat (Pakistan)
Umar Gul (Pakistan)
Yasir Hameed (Pakistan)
Hamish Marshall (New Zealand)
Irfan Pathan (India)
Devon Smith (West Indies)

Stephen Fleming (New Zealand)
Andrew Flintoff (England)
Chris Gayle (West Indies)
Adam Gilchrist (Australia)
Jason Gillespie (Australia)
Matthew Hayden (Australia)
Jacques Kallis (South Africa)
VVS Laxman (India)
Muttiah Muralitharan (Sri Lanka)
Shaun Pollock (South Africa)
Ricky Ponting (Australia)
Abdur Razzaq (Pakistan)
Sachin Tendulkar (India)
Heath Streak (Zimbabwe)
Andrew Symonds (Australia)
Chaminda Vaas (Sri Lanka)
Daniel Vettori (New Zealand)

Rahul Dravid (India)
Andrew Flintoff (England)
Adam Gilchrist (Australia)
Jason Gillespie (Australia)
Steve Harmison (England)
Matthew Hayden (Australia)
Brian Lara (West Indies)
VVS Laxman (India)
Jacques Kallis (South Africa)
Muttiah Muralitharan (Sri Lanka)
Ricky Ponting (Australia)
Virender Sehwag (India)

Rahul Dravid (India)
Andrew Flintoff (England)
Steve Harmison (England)
Matthew Hayden (Australia)
Jacques Kallis (South Africa)
Brian Lara (West Indies)
VVS Laxman (India)
Muttiah Muralitharan (Sri Lanka)
Ricky Ponting (Australia)
Virender Sehwag (India)

Limited tickets for the ICC Awards are still available. For more information, visit www.icc-cricket.com.