October 7, 2010

Yet another feather in Tendulkar’s cap

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By Syed Khalid Mahmood

Sachin Tendulkar was adjudged the Cricketer of the Year, receiving the Sir Garfield Sobers Trophy during the 2010 ICC Award ceremony in Bangalore on October 6. He also received the People's Choice Award.

The kind of form Tendulkar has been in during the last season in particular he was tipped to clinch every award on offer. During the period under consideration for the award (August 24, 2009 to August 10, 2010) he Tendulkar scored 1064 runs at an average of 81.84 in ten Tests.

He made 914 runs in 17 ODIs at 65.28, and also scored the format's first double-century against South Africa in Gwalior. Tendulkar is presently third on the ICC's rankings for Test batsmen, and tenth in ODIs.

He faced stiff competition from Virender Sehwag, Hashim Amla and Graeme Swann, the other nominees in the Cricketer of the Year Award. Tendulkar joined the elite club of the Cricketer of the Year winners having Rahul Dravid, Andrew Flintoff, Jacques Kallis, Ricky Ponting, Shivnarine Chanderpaul and Mitchell Johnson.

He, however, lost out in the other major categories he was nominated in. Virender Sehwag won the Test Cricketer of the Year award while AB de Villiers was declared the ODI Cricketer of the Year.

"This last season has been really special for the entire team. I think right from the start of the season, when we won in Sri Lanka and I scored a hundred in the finals, and from there on the season took off for us. We became No. 1 in the Test rankings, something we all wanted to achieve, and we've been able to maintain our performances in the last ten months," Tendulkar remarked on the occasion.

He recognized Gary Kirsten, the Indian coach, for played an important role in the success of all the batsmen.

"He has been instrumental in making all the batters play plenty of deliveries in practice sessions, he himself throws thousands of deliveries. Gary has been able to keep us in the right frame of mind, whatever areas we needed to work on, he is making sure we are addressing that," Tendulkar reflected.

India’s Mahendra Singh Dhoni was named captain of the Test team of the year, which featured Sehwag, Kumar Sangakkara, Swann, Tendulkar, Amla, Simon Katich, Dale Steyn, Jacques Kallis, James Anderson and Doug Bollinger.

Australia’s Ponting earned the honour of captaining the ODI team of the year, having Tendulkar, Shane Watson, Michael Hussey, de Villiers, Paul Collingwood, Dhoni, Daniel Vettori, Stuart Broad, Bollinger and Ryan Harris.

New Zealand’s explosive wicketkeeper-opener Brendon McCullum won the award for the best Twenty20 Performance of the Year, edging out Hussey, Mahela Jayawardene and Ryan McLaren, the others nominated for the Twenty20 award.

The Netherlands all-rounder Ryan ten Doeschate won the Associate Player of the Year Award. While Steven Finn, the England fast bowler, won the award for Emerging Player of the Year.

New Zealand won the ICC Spirit of Cricket Award for the second year running as did Aleem Dar, the Pakistani umpire, who won the Umpire of the Year Award for the second time in a row.

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