Sri Lanka wins ICC Spirit of Cricket Award

Mahela Jayawardene accepts the Spirit of Cricket award on behalf of the Sri Lanka team, Johannesburg, September 10, 2007 © Getty Images

The Sri Lanka cricket team was named as the recipients of the Spirit of Cricket Award at the ICC Awards celebration in Johannesburg tonight.

The Spirit of Cricket Award was presented to the team which, in the opinion of the Emirates Elite Panel of Umpires and Referees and the captains of the 10 Test teams, has best conducted itself on the field within the spirit of the game.

The award was presented to Sri Lanka captain Mahela Jayawardena by former South Africa batsman Jonty Rhodes.

Upon receiving the award on behalf of his team Jayawardena said: "I think it's important to remember the Spirit of Cricket. We try to enjoy what we do, playing against other countries. That was shown in the World Cup with Ireland - they really enjoyed themselves there and it was great to play against that team too.

"We are there to win a match but we are also entertainers as well. The most important thing we can do is enjoy the game. We are very lucky to do what we do and it is vital that we remember that.

"We play a different brand of cricket and we all enjoy playing. There is so much pride to wear the cap for our country. Spirit of Cricket can be explained in many different ways."

This Spirit is described in the preamble to the Laws of Cricket: "Cricket is a game that owes much of its unique appeal to the fact that it should be played not only within its Laws but also within the Spirit of the Game. Any action which is seen to abuse this spirit causes injury to the game itself."

The preamble goes on to say: "The Spirit of the Game involves respect for:

This is the first time Sri Lanka has won this award. Previously, England won it in 2005 and 2006 while New Zealand took the honour at the inaugural ICC Awards in 2004.

Sri Lanka was one of several teams that demonstrated the Spirit of Cricket to great effect over the past 12 months and it narrowly defeated Ireland and New Zealand to win this award.

The Spirit of Cricket Award was one of 11 individual and team honours handed out during the ICC Awards in association with FICA (the Federation of International Cricketers' Associations). The event, held at the Sandton Convention Centre in Johannesburg, recognises cricket's star performers over a 12-month period.