Dhoni, Dilshan pick up maximum nominations

MS Dhoni and Tillakaratne Dilshan lead the list of nominations at the sixth ICC Awards. Both have been shortlisted in three categories for their performances between August 13, 2008 and August 24, 2009.

Eighteen players have received at least two nominations for their performances during this period, which includes the 2009 World Twenty20 in England, the 2009 Women's World Cup in Australia, and the 2009 World Cup Qualifiers in South Africa, in addition to the various bilateral Test and ODI series.

Dilshan scored 848 runs in the eight Tests during that period at 70.66 and was also named Player of the Tournament during the World Twenty20 held in England. He was instrumental in Sri Lanka's successful run to the final. His unbeaten 96 off 57 balls against West Indies in the second semi-final, and his quickfire 74 against the same opponents in the league phase are the two performances he has been nominated for in the Twenty20 International Performance of the Year category. He is also in line for the ICC Cricketer of the Year and Test Player of the Year awards.

Dhoni, who was the ODI Player of the Year in 2008, has been nominated for the Cricketer of the Year, Test Player of the Year and ODI Player of the Year. A hugely successful phase resulted in 544 runs from eight Tests at 54.40 and 967 runs in 24 ODIs at 60.43. Among the players nominated for two prizes is Bangladesh's Shakib Al Hasan, who is in contention for the Cricketer of the Year and the Test Player of the Year awards.

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, and one man who could be in the frame for the five-day version is England's captain, Andrew Strauss, who capped a remarkable run of form by leading England to victory in the Ashes, and is one of the 14 players in the frame for the Player of the Year.

"I've really enjoyed the challenge of playing for England over the past 12 months and to be nominated for two ICC Awards is a huge honour," he told ecb.co.uk. "I've been pleased with my form during that time and I've particularly relished the role of England captain more recently. We don't play the game for awards but to be nominated alongside some of the best cricketers in the world is very humbling."

The Emerging Player of the Year nominees include three Australians - Philip Hughes, Ben Hilfenhaus and Peter Siddle - along with the New Zealand duo of Martin Guptill and Jesse Ryder. Indian legspinner Amit Mishra, West Indian fast bowler Kemar Roach and England bowler Graham Onions are the other nominees in the category.

Ireland boasts the most number of nominees in the Associate and Affiliate Player of the Year award with seven names on the list, followed by Netherlands with three. Canada have two names while Kenya and Scotland have one player each.

"The LG ICC Awards are an opportunity for the ICC and FICA to acknowledge and celebrate the remarkable performances of the world's top players," said ICC chief executive Haroon Lorgat while announcing the list of nominations in Mumbai.

"It is also a chance for followers of our great sport to reflect on some of the great cricketing feats they have witnessed over the past year. This will be the sixth time the awards have been handed out and yet again there are so many great performances to recall. Selecting the winners will no doubt test our selectors and voting academy."

The lists were compiled by a five-man ICC selection panel chaired by former West Indies captain and current chairman of the ICC cricket committee, Clive Lloyd. The panel also includes former players such as India's Anil Kumble, Mudassar Nazar of Pakistan, Bob Taylor of England and New Zealand's Stephen Fleming.

The ceremony will take place in Johannesburg on October 1, to coincide with the ICC Champions Trophy 2009. The previous editions were held in London (2004), Sydney (2005), Mumbai (2006), Johannesburg (2007) and Dubai (2008).