Players donned their best suits and walked the red carpet for the ICC awards function in Johannesburg.
Indian players made their way out of South Africa in two batches on a day when there was no action but a lot at stake for cricketers. Teams have fought tooth and nail over the past nine days and now that the dust has settled ahead of the semifinals, Thursday provided the opportunity for players to wear their best suits and appreciate each others’ success.
All four semifinalists held their training sessions on Thursday ahead of their last-4 round games, to be played on Friday and Saturday but the buzz at the practice sessions was the ICC awards in the evening. Teams, over the next few days, will fight it out for glory and the grand $2 million prize money the winners take home and the recognition some of these fine players receive on Thursday will spur them on to greater heights.
For the South Africans, who have been knocked out of the event, the awards would only rub more salt into their wounds. It was clear ahead of the Champions Trophy that none of their cricketers was in the shortlist.
Their argument of representation in the shortlist by virtue of being the No.1 team in the world in both forms of the game was justified on some counts. But once again they failed to fire in a big tournament, that too at home. Among the Indians, leg-spinner Amit Mishra, Ishant Sharma and Gautam Gambhir were present at the Sandton Sun Convention Centre next to the Nelson Mandela Square.
The Indians shared the table with Andrew Strauss’ England side, while the Pakistani team, on a roll in the ongoing Champions Trophy, shared space at a table beside the Indian trio.
The red carpet welcome, now a regular feature at the ICC awards, was the early highlight of the evening. Yuvraj Singh, nominated in the ODI Player of the Year category, was refreshingly casual as he walked in without his jacket.
The Champions Trophy is being considered a litmus test for the ODI game and the fact that three of the four nominees are Indians meant the game was alive and kicking in our part of the world.
A scintillating tap dance show kick-started the entertainment. Ravi Shastri, the master of ceremonies, spoke about why it is important to recognise the achievements of cricketers.
The evening started off well for Australia, set to play England in the first semifinal at the Wanderers. Fast bowler Peter Siddle won the ICC Emerging Player of the Year award to start off things.
And the award goes to...
Emerging Player of the Year: Peter Siddle (Australia)
Associate and Affiliate Player of the Year: William Porterfield (Ireland)
T20 International Performance of the Year: Tillakaratne Dilshan (Sri Lanka)
Umpire of the Year: Aleem Dar (Pakistan)
Spirit of Cricket: New Zealand
Mahendra Singh Dhoni heads ODI, Test teams
At the time of going to press, the above-mentioned awards were announced. There was good news for India as Mahendra Singh Dhoni was named captain of both the ICC ODI and Test teams of the Year. Virender Sehwag and Yuvraj Singh were in the ODI team, while Sachin Tendulkar and Gautam Gambhir found a place in the Test side alongside Mahi.
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