Rahul Dravid wins Test Player of the Year honours at ICC Awards

Indian batsman Rahul Dravid was tonight named international cricket's Test Player of the Year at the ICC Awards at Alexandra Palace in London.

The ICC Awards, presented by Hyundai in association with FICA, recognise the game's most outstanding players of the past 12 months.

ICC Chief Executive Malcolm Speed said: "Rahul Dravid has had an outstanding year of cricket, and has played with tremendous skill and passion. He is a highly deserving winner of this award."

Dravid polled 82 votes to claim the Test Player of the Year honour. Australian batsman Matthew Hayden finished second with 53 votes, ahead of England fast bowler Steve Harmison (38) and Sri Lankan spinner Muttiah Muralitharan (30).

In the 12 month voting period (1 August 2003 to 31 July 2004), Dravid scored 1241 Test runs from nine matches.

His batting average of 95.46 was the highest among the group of nine batsmen nominated for the Test Player of the Year.

Dravid, 31, scored a career best 270 against Pakistan in April. His tally of 1241 runs during the voting period was the fourth highest in the nominee group.

The nominees for the Test Player of the Year award included an impressive list of 12 players.

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

The voting Academy included the 10 ICC Full Member captains, the Emirates Elite Panel of eight ICC Umpires, seven members of the Emirates Elite Panel of ICC Referees (the eighth member did not officiate in the voting period), and a combination of 25 former legends and respected members of the media.