The ICC [Images] on Wednesday announced long-lists comprising 34 players in the four individual player categories for next month's ICC Awards presented by Hyundai in association with FICA.

The individual player categories are:

�         Emerging Player of the Year;

�         One-Day International Player of the Year;

�         Test Player of the Year; and

�         Player of the Year.

Players from nine of the ICC's 10 Full Member countries have been nominated for international cricket's most prestigious individual awards which will be presented in Sydney on 11th October.

Last year's ICC Player of the Year and Test Player of the Year, Rahul Dravid [Images], and ODI Player of the Year, Andrew Flintoff [Images], are again among the nominations. Both players have made the seven-strong long-list for the Player of the Year award along with Inzamam-ul Haq (Pakistan), Adam Gilchrist [Images] (Australia), Jacques Kallis [Images] (South Africa), Glenn McGrath (Australia) and Ricky Ponting [Images] (Australia).

Four players - Inzamam, Gilchrist, McGrath and Ponting - have been nominated for all three senior individual awards for their performances during the judging period from 1st August 2004 to 31st July 2005.

Only India and South Africa have players nominated in all four individual categories while Australia has the most nominated players (seven).

England [Images] batting sensation Kevin Pietersen [Images] is the only one of the seven contenders for the Emerging Player of the Year to have been nominated for one of the three other individual awards. Pietersen averaged 87.33 at a strike rate of 99.49 in ODI cricket during the 12 months under review by the ICC Awards Academy, earning him a place among the 18 nominees for the ODI Player of the Year award.

ICC Chief Executive Malcolm Speed [Images] said that it was important to recognise the achievements of the game's best players in an official capacity.

"This is the second year of the ICC Awards after a very successful introduction in London [Images] last year," said Mr Speed.

"The awards provide an opportunity for all players, umpires and teams to be recognised and one of the key strengths of the system we have in place is that this recognition comes from respected voices within the game.

"Today's long-list has been endorsed by a Selection Panel comprising legends of the game of the highest repute. These four individual awards will now be voted on by an Academy comprising current captains, members of the Emirates Elite Panel of ICC Umpires and Referees and esteemed cricketing legends and media."

The five-man ICC Awards Selection Panel comprises Sunil Gavaskar [Images] (chairman), David Gower, Sir Richard Hadlee, Rod Marsh and Courtney Walsh [Images].

Mr Gavaskar explained that selection was based on the players' performances over the course of the 12-month judging period (1st August 2004 to 31st July 2005).

"I congratulate all of the players who have made it onto the long lists. Even drawing up a list of this many names, is a complex task and there are some highly talented players who didn't make the cut," said Mr Gavaskar.

"When you sit down and focus on the matches and series that took place during the 12 month period it strikes you just how broad the talent pool is, in international cricket today.

"Now it is over to the Academy to determine which of these players will win the four prestigious individual awards."

The 50-member ICC Awards Academy - which includes current captains, match officials, respected media representatives and legends of the game - will each cast a 3-2-1 vote (3 votes being the higher value) from the list of nominees in the individual award categories. The voting paper is structured to permit the Academy members to nominate a 'wildcard' player who is not on the long-list should they wish to do so.

Short-lists of five players in each of the four categories will be announced later this month. The winners will be announced in a gala ceremony in Sydney on 11th October.

These four individual awards comprise half of the presentations on the night. There is also three team awards and an award for the Umpire of the Year.

Team awards:

• Test Team of the Year;
• One-Day International Team of the Year; and
• Spirit of Cricket Award.

The Test Team of the Year and the One-Day International Team of the Year will both be sides made up of the best individual international players in the respective forms of the game.

Selection for the Teams of the Year will be made by the five-man ICC Awards selection panel lead by Sunil Gavaskar.

The Spirit of Cricket award will be presented to one international team determined by the captains and match referees.

Players eligible for the Emerging Player of the Year award must be under 26-years-of-age at the start of the voting period (1st August 2004) and have played no more than five Test matches and/or 10 One-Day Internationals before the start of the voting period.

The nominees for the Emerging Player of the Year are:

Aftab Ahmed (Bangladesh)

IR Bell (England)

G Gambhir (India)

KKD Karthik (India)

KP Pietersen (England)

M Rana (Bangladesh)

AB De Villiers (South Africa)

The nominees for the One-Day International Player of the Year are:

R Dravid (India)

A Flintoff (England)

HH Gibbs (South Africa)

AC Gilchrist (Australia)

Inzamam ul Haq (Pakistan)

B Lee (Australia)

GD McGrath (Australia)

JM Kemp (South Africa)

Shoaib Malik [Images] (Pakistan)

KP Pietersen (England) 

DL Vettori (New Zealand [Images])

RT Ponting (Australia)

KC Sangakkara (Sri Lanka [Images])

GC Smith (South Africa)

A Symonds (Australia)

ME Trescothick (England)

WPUJC Vaas (Sri Lanka)

Yousuf Youhana (Pakistan)

The nominees for the Test Player of the Year are:

S Chanderpaul (West Indies [Images])

AC Gilchrist (Australia)

Inzamam ul Haq (Pakistan)

JH Kallis (South Africa)

Younis Khan (Pakistan)

BC Lara (West Indies)

DR Martyn (Australia)

A Kumble (India)

GD McGrath (Australia)

RT Ponting (Australia)

Danish Kaneria (Pakistan)

KC Sangakkara (Sri Lanka)

V Sehwag (India)

Harbhajan Singh [Images] (India)

SK Warne (Australia)

The nominees for the Player of the Year are:

R Dravid (India)

A Flintoff (England)

AC Gilchrist (Australia)

Inzamam ul Haq (Pakistan)

JH Kallis (South Africa)

GD McGrath (Australia)

RT Ponting (Australia)