England could be candidates for Test team of the year

The ICC Awards will be handed out at Alexandra Palace on 7 September.

"I think it's great world cricket now has an awards ceremony with genuine meaning," Australian captain Ricky Ponting commented.

Prizes will be presented in four individual categories and the Test and one-day team of the year will also be announced, both of them world XIs.

There will also be a special Spirit of Cricket award for an international team chosen by captains and match referees.

The number and nature of any ICC Code of Conduct violations by a team will also be taken into consideration when assessing which team should win the award.

England skipper Michael Vaughan said he was certain the awards, which are supported by the Federation of International Cricketers' Associations (FICA), would be valued highly by players.

"This is a good idea and I'm sure that it will become a fixture in the international cricket calendar.

"I will certainly be giving plenty of thought as to how I cast my votes in the various categories and I think that the awards will really mean something to individual players because their efforts will have been acknowledged by their peers and colleagues."

The individual awards are:

• Cricketer of the Year
• Test Player of the Year
• One-day International Player of the Year
• Emergine Player of the Year

The team awards are:

• Test team of the Year
• One-Day International team of the Year
• Spirit of Cricket award

Players from all 10 Test nations, plus Kenya and the USA, are expected to attend the ceremony.

They will all be in England preparing for the ICC Champions Trophy, which starts on 10 September.

A voting panel of up to 50 people is currently being put together for the individual categories.