ICC Awards to be held in Dubai

The fifth ICC Awards will be held in Dubai on September 10, after plans to stage the event in Lahore fell through with the postponement of the Champions Trophy. The tournament, originally scheduled to be held in September, has been deferred to 2009 after a decision was taken by the ICC following security concerns.

"It is of course unfortunate in the circumstances that we had to change the venue because we were all looking forward to a great awards night in Pakistan,"

David Morgan, the ICC president, said on Thursday.

"However, it is good to bring such a prestigious event to the home of the ICC."

A new award has been instituted this year - the Twenty20 International Performance of the Year - honouring the most outstanding individual effort in the newest format of the game. The Associate ODI Player of the Year Award has been replaced by the Associate Player of the Year Award, which will serve to recognise excellence among cricketers representing Bermuda, Canada, Ireland, Kenya, Netherlands and Scotland.

The awards, presented in association with FICA, will take into account the performances by players and officials between August 9, 2007 and August 12, 2008. Clive Lloyd, Greg Chappell, Shaun Pollock, Sidath Wettimuny and Athar Ali Khan will be on the ICC selection panel this year and will be making the nominations in the various categories and also select the ICC Test and ODI teams of the year.

The winners of the individual awards will then be voted upon by a 25-strong global panel comprising former players, members of the media, and an umpire and match referee from the Elite Panel.

This will be the first time the ceremony is held in Dubai, with the previous editions taking place in London (2004), Sydney (2005), Mumbai (2006) and Johannesburg (2007).

"The LG ICC Awards are an opportunity to pay homage to the remarkable performances of the world's top players,"

Morgan said,

"and a chance for lovers of the sport around the globe to reflect on some of the great cricketing feats they have witnessed over the previous 12 months."