Second ICC Awards ceremony to take place in Sydney on Tuesday 11 October

The ICC today announced that the second annual ICC Awards presented by Hyundai Motor in association with FICA, will take place in Sydney, Australia on Tuesday 11 October.

Following the success of last year's inaugural event in London, the cream of the world's cricketers will convene at one of Australia's most prestigious hotels for the gala ceremony.

Sponsored by global car manufacturer Hyundai Motor, the Awards will be attended by many of the greatest players from around the world who will be hoping to follow in the footsteps of last year's Player of the Year and Test Player of the Year, Rahul Dravid, and ODI Player of the Year, Andrew Flintoff.

ICC Chief Executive Malcolm Speed said that the event would be a celebration of the achievements of the game's best players.

"With seven player-related awards there are opportunities for cricketers in both forms of the game to be recognised," said Mr Speed.

"The winners will be selected by a voting academy comprising many of the greats of the game, making the ICC Awards the `Oscars' of international cricket."

Hyundai reiterated its support of the awards following its sponsorship of the inaugural event in 2004. Mr. BVR Subbu, President Hyundai Motor India, said: "This is the second year of our association with the ICC Awards, which acknowledge and honour excellence in cricket. It is a natural partnership for us because like the awards, we at Hyundai too value high quality standards and technological excellence in our cars."

As well as Hyundai Motor, Platinum partner, LG Electronics has continued its association with the ICC Awards and Swarovski have agreed to produce the coveted trophies for the second year.

The Host Broadcaster for the event will be Sony Entertainment Television and the ceremony will be televised in all major cricket territories.

Chief Executive of FICA, Tim May, said that the ICC Awards were an important part of the international calendar for the world's top players.

"The players entertain so many people in so many different parts of the world and it is only fitting that their contributions should be acknowledged through these Awards in front of a worldwide TV audience," said Mr May.

A voting academy comprising present captains, match officials, former prominent players and respected media representatives will vote on the individual awards, while an elite selection panel will be responsible for picking the team awards.

The Academy will cast votes for the individual awards from a shortlist of players identified on the basis of their performances over the course of the judging period.

Players eligible for the Emerging Player of the Year award must be under 26 years-of-age at the start of the voting period (1 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 Test Team of the Year and the One-Day International Team of the Year will both be World XI sides made up of the best individual international players in the respective forms of the game.

Selection for the World XI teams will be made by an ICC selection panel of five former high profile players to be appointed by the ICC. The teams will include a nominated captain.

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

In addition to the seven player-related awards, an award will be presented to the Umpire of the Year.

The judging period for the ICC Awards is 1 August 2004 to 31 July 2005 and includes all Test and One-Day International matches played during this time.

A full list of the voting Academy will be announced soon.