Swann, Sehwag, and other nominees

The list of nominations for the ICC Awards 2010 is out, and it's time to delve deeper into the numbers to see how the nominees have fared, and if some deserving names have missed out. The late inclusion of Graeme Swann in the Cricketer of the Year category is obviously welcome, but are there others who should have made the cut as well, and some who are lucky to be there? This column takes a look at the performances of those in the shortlist (if you can call it that), as well as those who've missed out on these nominations. The period under consideration is August 24, 2009 to August 10, 2010.

A look, first, at those who were nominated in the Test Player of the Year category: of the 16 in this list, nine have made it largely for their batting, two - Shane Watson and MS Dhoni - for their multiple skills, and five largely for their bowling.

At first glance the criteria seem to have been rather simple: among those who've scored 750 or more during this period, the top eight in terms of averages have all made the cut, with Tamim Iqbal in eighth place. Thilan Samaraweera has scored fewer than 750, but then his has been a remarkable story of fighting back from a bullet wound sustained during the attack on the Sri Lankan team in Lahore in March 2009, and then scoring a bucketful of runs on his return. The captaincy and wicketkeeping skills of Dhoni have obviously helped him win a place, but a couple of batsmen who'll feel hard done by are VVS Laxman and Michael Clarke. Laxman scored 49 runs more than Samaraweera at an average that was six points more than Samaraweera's, but doesn't find a place in the list. In 12 innings, Laxman topped 50 eight times and scored two centuries, including a match-winning unbeaten 103 against Sri Lanka earlier this month, and averaged nearly 85.

Clarke's was a marginal case: in 10 Tests he scored 862 runs, averaged more than 57, and had two innings of more than 150 in consecutive matches. Among the others who missed out were Ian Bell and Rahul Dravid: both averaged more than 60, but neither had an aggregate of more than 750. (Click here for the full list of batsmen who scored at least 500 runs during this period.)

Among the bowlers, only six took more than 40 wickets during this period. Five of them have made the list, with Mitchell Johnson the only one to miss out, with some justification - his 44 wickets have come at a cost of 29.06 each - higher than the averages of the other five. Swann's exclusion would have been a travesty, for he has taken 49 wickets during this period - the second-highest, after Mohammad Asif's 51. Swann has also taken six five-fors, which is twice as many as the next-best bowler.

In terms of averages, though, the outstanding Dale Steyn heads the list: his 41 wickets have come at 20.78 each. Watson has been superb too, with a bowling average that is less than half his batting one, thanks largely to two five-fors against Pakistan earlier this summer.

The six batsmen who've scored more than 1000 runs in ODIs have all been nominated in that category and deservedly so, for they've all averaged more than 40 at a strike rate of over 80. Tillakaratne Dilshan has the stand-out numbers among these six, averaging more than 57 at a strike rate of more than 107, but there are three other batsmen who've scored less than 1000 runs at an outstanding rate: Sachin Tendulkar, Hashim Amla and AB de Villiers have all averaged more than 60 at excellent strike rates. (Click here for the top run-getters during this period.)

Among the bowlers, Daniel Vettori and Ryan Harris have terrific stats: Vettori's economy rate of 3.74 alone makes him a deserving candidate, while Harris has averaged two-and-a-half wickets per match, with three five-wicket hauls. Like in the Tests category, Johnson is among the highest wicket-takers in this format too, with 41, but his average (28.07) and economy rate (5.10) are both among the higher ones. Watson too has been outstanding in ODIs - he is the second-highest run-getter and the highest wicket-taker during this period, with 48 scalps at an average of less than 22.

The surprise candidate in this list is Sehwag. No one doubts his merits in the Test list, but his merits as an ODI batsman are somewhat dodgy. In 18 innings he has only one 50-plus innings, and an average of less than 30. His strike rate is admittedly superb, but even taking that into account, his inclusion is a surprise. Shahid Afridi would be justified in feeling aggrieved at his exclusion, as he has a higher average and strike rate than Sehwag. Plus, he has contributed more as a bowler.

Which brings us to the nominations for the Cricketer of the Year. The revised list has 17 names, after the late inclusion of Swann. Three of those players - Johnson, Clarke and Morne Morkel - have made that list without finding themselves in either the Test or ODI lists. Johnson and Clarke have been among the wickets and runs in both formats - Johnson is also the fourth-highest wicket-taker in Twenty20 internationals during this period, but Morkel's credentials are not as compelling: his Test stats are pretty good - 37 wickets in nine Tests at 24.62 - but he has only played seven ODIs and five Twenty20 internationals during this period. Similarly, Harris has been terrific in ODIs but has played only two Tests and three Twenty20 internationals, which makes his inclusion in the Cricketer of the Year category quite perplexing - even more so since the ICC had initially left out Swann, the second-highest wicket-taker in all categories combined during this period.

One player who deserved a spot ahead of Harris and Morkel is Mahela Jayawardene. Apart from his Test average of 70.75, he averaged 40.20 at a strike rate of 88 in ODIs, and almost 35 at a strike rate of 153 in Twenty20 internationals, in the process also scoring a hundred at the World Twenty20. Was that another oversight by the ICC?