Ricky Ponting was crowned the ICC Cricketer of the Year for the second year running.
Australian rewarded for outstanding 12 months
Ricky Ponting was crowned the Cricketer of the Year for the second year running at the International Cricket Council's annual awards dinner with returning England captain Michael Vaughan earning a surprise place in the Test team of the year.
The Australian skipper and his side unsurprisingly dominated proceedings with Ponting picking up two individual awards as well as being named in both the Test and one-day teams of the year.
The 32-year-old, who led his side to a 5-0 Ashes whitewash during the winter and lifted the Champions Trophy and World Cup, also claimed the Captain of the Year gong as he was rewarded for an outstanding 12 months.
"To win the Cricketer of the Year award for a second time is special," Ponting stated. "It's the sort of thing you can look back on at the end of your playing career and be very proud of - you must have done something right to win that award twice."
Vaughan's unexpected honour proved the highlight of an otherwise disappointing night for England who did not win any of the individual awards.
They did have nominations in no fewer than five different categories, but Kevin Pietersen - despite being named in both the Test and one-day sides - failed to claim either the Test Player of the Year or Cricketer of the Year as he lost out to Mohammed Yousuf and Ponting respectively.
Ravi Bopara also lost out to an Australian in the Emerging Player of the Year category with fast bowler Shaun Tait walking away with the prize.
Claire Taylor, nominated for the Women's Cricketer of the Year award, was overlooked in favour of India's Jhulan Goswami, while Mark Benson was also disappointed in the Umpire of the Year category, which was won by Australia's Simon Taufel for the fourth year in a row.
