England trio shortlisted for awards

8 September 2008

Stuart Broad took his best ODI figures of 5-23 against South Africa at Trent Bridge

England fast bowler Stuart Broad and women’s captain Charlotte Edwards plus team-mate Claire Taylor have been nominated for prestigious titles at the International Cricket Council awards in Dubai on Wednesday.

Twenty-two-year-old Broad, who made his England debut in 2006, is one of four names shortlisted in the Emerging Player category along with India paceman Ishant Sharma, Sri Lanka spin sensation Ajantha Mendis and South Africa seamer Morne Morkel.

Taylor is in the final four for Women’s Player of the Year for the second consecutive year, with Edwards, Australia skipper Lisa Sthalekar and New Zealand’s Nicola Browne also named.

Edwards, whose side are unbeaten in 15 matches and retained the Ashes earlier this year, said: “It’s been a memorable year so far and to top it off with a nomination for this award is a great honour.

“To have two players shortlisted from England demonstrates what we have achieved over the last 12 months and it’s great to get recognition for that.”

Taylor, who played a crucial role in the NatWest Women’s Series victory over India, added: “It’s a great honour to be shortlisted for the ICC Women’s Player of the Year award again. I’ve really enjoyed the last 12 months playing some competitive cricket and winning games for my country.

“For Charlotte and me to finish our tour in Dubai with a series win over India, will be a great end to a brilliant year.”

The 2008 awards are the fifth staging of the event which was established in 2004.

Three players – Shivnarine Chanderpaul of West Indies, Sri Lanka captain Mahela Jayawardene and South Africa’s Dale Steyn – have been nominated for Cricketer of the Year and Test Player of the Year categories.

The other nominee for the Cricketer of the Year prize is South Africa captain Graeme Smith, while his team-mate Jacques Kallis is a further nominee in the Test category.

None of the four players shortlisted for the Cricketer of the Year award has previously lifted the Sir Garfield Sobers Trophy.

Claire Taylor and Charlotte Edwards are among the four nominees for the Women’s Player of the Year

Andrew Flintoff, who shared the award with Kallis in 2005, is among those who have secured the game’s top individual honour along with Rahul Dravid of India (2004) and Australia captain Ricky Ponting (2006 and 2007).

India’s one-day and Twenty20 international captain Mahendra Singh Dhoni is also nominated for two prizes – ODI Player of the Year and Twenty20 International Performance of the Year, the latter for his captaincy in leading India to the inaugural title in South Africa last September.

The Twenty20 International award is new this year and recognises the newest form of the game at international level.

Dhoni leads his country’s charge in this year’s shortlists as he is one of four India players in with a chance of taking home a prize from cricket’s night of nights.

Also nominated are Sachin Tendulkar (ODI Player of the Year), Yuvraj Singh (Twenty20 International Performance of the Year) and Sharma.

In the Twenty20 International Performance of the Year, Dhoni and Yuvraj are up against Chris Gayle of the West Indies and Australia’s Brett Lee.

Lee is one of three Australians nominated this year, along with Nathan Bracken in the ODI Player category

Thomas Odoyo of Kenya is aiming for back-to-back success in the Associate Player of the Year category, but faces opposition from team-mate Alex Obanda, Ryan ten Doeschate of the Netherlands and Niall O’Brien of Ireland.

And Simon Taufel has a chance of an unprecedented five successive Umpire of the Year awards after being nominated alongside Mark Benson, Aleem Dar, Steve Davis and Rudi Koertzen.