Pietersen shortlisted for two awards
Pietersen has had a stellar year in 2006/07
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Thursday, 06, Sep 2007 10:20
England batsman Kevin Pietersen has made the shortlists for two of the annual International Cricket Council (ICC) awards this year.
The big-hitting middle-order star is one of four batsmen nominated for the prestigious cricketer of the year prize, alongside Australia captain Ricky Ponting, West Indies star Shivnarine Chanderpaul and Mohammad Yousuf of Pakistan.
Pietersen is also on the four-man list up for the Test player of the year award – a list that also includes Ponting and Yousuf, and Sri Lanka spinner Muttiah Muralitharan who needs only two more Test wickets to surpass Shane Warne as the all-time wicket-taker.
The awards are based on performances between August 9th 2006 and August 8th 2007, during which time Pietersen has made four Test centuries and his maiden double-century against West Indies in the series earlier this summer.
As the outstanding batsman in world cricket during the period however, Ricky Ponting is rightfully nominated in four categories – Test player, one-day international player, cricketer of the year and captain of the year.
Among his achievements was a successful Ashes series in which he guided his side to a 5-0 whitewash of England to reclaim the urn lost on the 2005 tour.
The ICC presentation will be made next Monday, September 10th, on the eve of the inaugural Twenty20 World Championships in South Africa.
And chief executive Malcolm Speed said he was looking forward to the event.
"The players that have made it through to the short-lists are all exciting talents who performed exceptionally during the year under review," Speed remarked.
"The fourth annual ICC awards night promises to be a fantastic evening with some very interesting decisions set to be announced."
Other notable inclusions on the shortlists are Ravi Bopara earning recognition as an emerging player of the year and England captain Claire Taylor nominated for the women's cricketer of the year award.
In recognition of their achievements at the 2007 World Cup, the Ireland team have also been named alongside Australia, New Zealand and Sri Lanka for the spirit of cricket award.
Full list of nominees for:
Cricketer of the year
Shivnarine Chanderpaul (West Indies)
Kevin Pietersen (England)
Ricky Ponting (Australia)
Mohammad Yousuf (Pakistan)
Test player of the year
Muttiah Muralitharan (Sri Lanka)
Kevin Pietersen (England)
Ricky Ponting (Australia)
Mohammad Yousuf (Pakistan)
ODI player of the year
Matthew Hayden (Australia)
Jacques Kallis (South Africa)
Glenn McGrath (Australia)
Ricky Ponting (Australia)
Emerging player of the year
Ravi Bopara (England)
Saqibul Hasan (Bangladesh)
Shaun Tait (Australia)
Ross Taylor (New Zealand)
Associate ODI player of the year
Ashish Bagai (Canada)
Ryan ten Doeschate (Netherlands)
Thomas Odoyo (Kenya)
Steve Tikolo (Kenya)
Women's cricketer of the year
Jhulan Goswami (India)
Lisa Sthalekar (Australia)
Claire Taylor (England)
Umpire of the year
Mark Benson
Steve Bucknor
Simon Taufel
Captain of the year
Mahela Jayawardene (Sri Lanka)
Ricky Ponting (Australia)
Teams for Spirit of Cricket Award
Australia
Ireland
New Zealand
Sri Lanka