Both were made Officers in the General Division (AO) of the Order of Australia for services to cricket and the community.

Waugh, who says he is 'just an ordinary bloke', has guided his side to the number one spot in the Test rankings and was at the helm for a world record 16 consecutive wins, which ended in March 2001 with a defeat by India in Kolkata.

The Australian batsman has also been active in charity work for young girls from under-privileged backgrounds in Kolkata.

"I guess this award is in part recognition for what I've tried to do in India but really other people do much more than me," Waugh told reporters.

"I'm a little embarrassed by it all, to be honest, but it is nice that this is part of the recognition that has been given to me and it is nice for cricket."

"I don't see myself as being any different to anybody else," added Waugh, who grew up in Bankstown in Sydney's south-west.

"It's only a sport and people do tend to forget that."

Waugh also equalled former West Indies captain Clive Lloyd's world record of 36 Test wins as skipper as Australia scored a 3-1 victory in the Test series in the Caribbean in May.

The 38-year-old captained Australia to victory in the 1999 World Cup but was dropped from the one-day side last year. He is the second-highest scorer in Test cricket with 10,265 runs at an average of 49.83 in a world record total of 160 matches.

Sobers, the finest all-rounder in cricket history, played for South Australia in the 1960s and retains Australian citizenship through marriage.

The 66-year-old played 93 Tests and scored 8,032 runs at 57.78, including a highest score of 365 not out, bettered only by West Indies captain Brian Lara's 375 against England in 1994.

Left-armer Sobers, who could bowl spin and fast-medium, also took 235 wickets averaging 34.03.

Former International Cricket Council chief executive David Richards and former Australian Test players Norm O'Neill and Peter Philpott were honoured with medals in the general division.