One dream team to select another

Kevin Pietersen collects his ODI Player of the Year trophy from Sunil Gavaskar © Getty Images

The process of selecting the winners of the ICC Awards is not a simple one. Some of the most knowledgeable and accomplished people in the game have been assembled to make sure that every avenue is explored and no name is forgotten. Every decision has been debated, checked, debated again and finally, when everyone has had their say, the names are finalised.

The Selection Panel reads like the first few names on someone's dream team of the late 20th century. Allan Donald and Waqar Younis to open the bowling with Ian Healy keeping wicket and ICC Cricket World Cup winner Arjuna Ranatunga there to score the runs in the middle order. And leading them is perhaps the finest opening batsman of all time, Indian legend Sunil Gavaskar.

Few former players could command the level of universal respect that Sunny brings to the onerous position of chairman of the Selection Panel. In 125 Tests, he scored 10,122 runs at an average of 51.12, including 45 fifties and 34 centuries. Enough said.

No doubt had these awards been around when he was tormenting the world's best bowlers, his name would have been among those taking home a prize but as these are just the third year of their existence they clearly came a little too late for the original Little Master. But he is happy to be involved in the selection process and he thinks the awards are a great recognition for the best players.

"While the biggest award that a player looks forward to is the applause from his own dressing room and the crowd, this is a great achievement for the top performers and very welcome for them," he said.

"What is important is that the ICC Awards have universal respect. The fact that they are chosen by so many people who know the game so well is vital and it means that who ever wins an award can be justifiably proud of their achievement," he said. "You have former players who have performed at the highest level, you have coaches, TV commentators and highly respected journalists who have been following the game for many years."

Sunny was chairman of the Selection Panel that chose the ODI and Test teams of the year and he knows it is a difficult task.

"It's never easy to pick the best teams - there are so many quality players. Last year, we only had to pick a team to play Australia so that was a bit easier. This time, we have to include the Aussies in the team and they have so many good players, it is very difficult to choose," he said.

"When I look back on 2006, I don't think it is quite as good as 2005 but it has still given us some fine contests and outstanding performances. The batting of people like Ricky Ponting and Rahul Dravid have stood out for me, as well as the bowling of Brett Lee, Muttiah Muralitharan and Shane Warne.

"That amazing one-day international in Johannesburg back in March was incredible. For two teams to break the 400 barrier in the same game was brilliant. The fact that it was the deciding match of the series made it even better."

Sunny played his final Test match in 1987, against Pakistan at Bangalore, and although he was 37 at the time, the fact that he scored 96 in the second innings against such bowlers as Imran Khan, Tauseef Ahmed, Iqbal Qasim and Wasim Akram suggested that he was still more than capable of performing at the highest level.

Since then, he has noticed how much the game has changed with one-day cricket becoming more and more a batsman's domain.

"Well I am not going to feel too sorry for bowlers but everything in one-day cricket is geared towards the batsmen. It's all about entertainment. People want to come and see big shots and they want to see the batsmen dominate so as a batsman I won't have too much sympathy for the bowlers," he said.

"It is important that Test cricket maintains the traditions of cricket but the changes in the one-day game have also made the Test format more attractive. More runs are being scored in Test cricket, there are fewer dot balls and more results. People are enjoying that influence. "Another big difference is the fielding. There are no poor fielding teams anymore. It is much more athletic now and it all adds to the entertainment, seeing these guys sliding around, throwing underarm and diving when they're within 15 yards of the stumps. We didn't really go in for all that sort of thing."

The ICC Awards are designed to recognise, in an official way, the great feats of strength or skill that entertain cricket fans all over the world. To have the likes of Gavaskar and his panel of experts on board as the judges means that that recognition will be a genuine honour for those who are named in the two ICC World XIs.