Night of delight for star players

The International Cricket Council (ICC) honoured the outstanding performers of 2008 at a glitzy ceremony here at the Westin Hotel.

Originally scheduled to be held in Lahore to coincide with the Champions Trophy, the event was moved to the ICC headquarters in Dubai after they decided to postpone the tournament due to security fears in Pakistan.

The nominees were voted for by international captains and umpires and the final selection was made by a panel chaired by West Indies legend Clive Lloyd and included former Australia captain Greg Chappell and recently retired South Africa all-rounder Shaun Pollock.



Roll of honour

Associate Player of the Year

Name: Ryan ten Doeschate (Netherlands)

Ten Doeschate: "I'm delighted to have won this award and I'd just like to take this opportunity to thank the Dutch coaching staff and my team-mates. I'd also like to offer a big thank you to the ICC for their continued support of Associate cricket."



Woman cricketer of the Year

Name: Charlotte Edwards (England)

Edwards: "This is a massive night for women's cricket. It's a huge honour for me to be involved with a ceremony like this – I'm so glad that the ICC is recognising the women's game. It's a big moment for the other girls who have been nominated for this and I am honoured to be included in that short-list, let alone win it. Women's cricket has a big year ahead. This is fantastic for the game.""



Umpire of the Year

Name: Simon Taufel (Australia)

Taufel: "I'm delighted to win this award, but I don't set this as a goal at the start of a season. My goals are to be selected for finals and for major championships like the Champions Trophy or World Twenty20. If Ricky and the boys slip up I might get the chance to do a final. Umpiring is essentially a mental exercise. For me, it's about being mentally fit and keeping at the top of my game."



Spirit of cricket award

Name: Sri Lanka

World test team

Team: Graeme Smith (SA, captain); Virender Sehwag (Ind); Mahela Jayawardena (SL); Shivnarine Chanderpaul (WI); Kevin Pietersen (Eng); Jacques Kallis (SA); Kumar Sangakkara (SL); Brett Lee (Aus); Ryan Sidebottom (Eng);Dale Steyn (SA); Muttiah Muralitharan (SL)

World ODI team

Team: Hershelle Gibbs (SA); Sachin Tendulkar (Ind); Ricky Ponting (Aus, captain); Younus Khan (Pak); Andrew Symonds (Aus); Mahendra Singh Dhoni (Ind); Farveez Maharoof (SL); Daniel Vettori (NZ); Brett Lee (Aus); Mitchell Johnson (Aus); Nathan Bracken (Aus)



Cricketer of the year

Name: Shivnarine Chanderpaul (West Indies)

Born: August 16, 1974

Role: Batsman

Tests: 112

Test Runs: 8,001

Test Average: 49.08

ODIs: 235

ODI Runs: 7,573

ODI Average: 40.49

Chanderpaul: "I am honoured to be given this prestigious award and I am very thankful to God for blessing me with the talent that I have. I would like to thank my family – in particular my wife Amy – for their constant support over the years. A special thank you goes out to my manager, my agent and all my supporters in the Caribbean and throughout the world. It's also important that I thank my team-mates without whom this wouldn't have been possible. My congratulations go out to all the other winners – these awards are great for the players and it is an honour even to be nominated. I am thrilled to have won."

What we think: Thoroughly deserving winner. Chanderpaul has had an impressive past couple of years and an average of 147.33 against Australia says it all. Three centuries and six fifties in eight Tests overall in the 2007/2008 season – simply incredible. On top of that, he has shouldered the responsibility of the West Indies batting after Brian Lara's retirement.



ODI Player of the year

Name: Mahendra Singh Dhoni (India)

Born: July 7, 1981

Role: Wicketkeeper/Batsman

Tests: 29

Test Runs: 1,418

Test Average: 33.76

ODIs: 120

ODI Runs: 3,793

ODI Average: 47.41

Dhoni: "I would like to thank the voting academy for considering me to be deserving of this award. I am really happy to get this – it's a great privilege. Also, it feels great to know that I am the first Indian player to get this particular award and it's very special because now I am in the company of a lot of other good cricketers. Some fantastic players have won this award in the past and to be mentioned in their company is truly a humbling experience for me. I would like to thank the ICC, my home cricket board, my family, my team-mates and friends."

What we think: Has captained India superbly in ODIs and led from the front with his performances. His return of 1,298 runs in 39 ODIs at an average of 49.92 coupled with 62 wicketkeeping dismissals this year places him head and shoulders above everyone else. A deserving recipient.



Test player of the year

Name: Dale Steyn (South Africa)

Born: June 27, 1983

Role: Bowler

Tests: 25

Test Wickets: 128

Test Bowling Average: 22.51

ODIs: 18

ODI Wickets: 18

ODI Bowling Average: 39.88

Steyn: "I have had a pretty decent year I suppose, but I didn't think about winning this award until the past few days. I don't really know how I feel. Perhaps tomorrow morning it will have sunk in for me because obviously this is a huge award and it's massive for me. What I would like to do is maybe turn it into a goal for the future. I would like to win this award again and maybe other awards too so it would be something to aim for. I am really enjoying my cricket at the moment – we have been involved in a few great series recently so I count myself as lucky to be a part of this South Africa team. It's a good time for South African cricket even though we lost four one-day matches in England. Winning this award makes up a little for that but I am still going home knowing we were beaten in the one-dayers. But we have some new faces coming into the one-day side and we are still very positive for the future."

What we think: A little lucky to edge it. An unbelivable wicket return, but was not as effective outside South Africa.



Emerging cricketer of the year

Name: Ajantha Mendis (Sri Lanka)

Born: March 11, 1985

Role: Bowler

Tests: 3

Test Wickets: 26

Test Bowling Average: 18.38

ODIs: 13

ODI Wickets: 33

ODI Bowling Average: 10.81

Mendis: "I am delighted to win the award. It is an honour to play for Sri Lanka and I hope to continue playing for my country for a long time to come."

Sri Lanka captain, Mahela Jayawardene: "It's great to have Ajantha in the team now, because Muttiah Muralitharan won't have to bowl as much overs in Tests and we will be able to keep Murali playing for longer. Murali is also delighted that he has someone on the other end to create pressure and give him a chance to take more wickets."

What we think: He was miles ahead of the other contenders. His 26 wickets in three Tests at an average of 18.38 and more importantly his 33 dismissals in just 13 ODIs at 10.81 marks an unbelievable beginning to international cricket for the 23-year old. Murali can retire comfortably.



Twenty20 performance of the year

Name: Yuvraj Singh (India)

Born: December 12, 1981

Role: Batsman/Part-time bowler

Tests: 23

Test Runs: 1,050

Test Average: 32.81

ODIs: 217

ODI Runs: 6,141

ODI Average: 35.91

Singh: "For me it was very important just to get nominated. There were other great performances during the past year. For example Chris Gayle's innings in the World Twenty20 was fantastic. I am very happy to collect this award and I would like to congratulate the other players who were nominated alongside me. It's very important for any player to get his performance recognised. I would like to thank the ICC for recognising the performances of the players – it's an important aspect of the year for us. After the fifth six in that over I remember having butterflies in my stomach and I knew that if I managed to hit it for six it would be very special. It was a great feeling when I saw the ball go over the boundary."

What we think: To hit six sixes in an over in any form of the game is remarkable feat – a worthy winner.