NZC salutes ICC Award winners

New Zealand Cricket has today paid tribute to the BLACKCAPS for receiving the ICC Spirit of Cricket Award, Brendon McCullum for winning the ICC Twenty20 Performance of the Year and Daniel Vettori who was named in the World ODI Team of the Year at last nights the ICC Awards event in Bengaluru.

It is the second year in a row the New Zealand team won the award beating India, Sri Lanka and Zimbabwe who were also nominated.

New Zealand Cricket CEO Justin Vaughan spoke with pride after hearing of the achievements saying: “The BLACKCAPS richly deserved the Spirit of Cricket Award and to receive the accolade three times shows how highly our cricketers respect the game’s traditional values.

“The BLACKCAPS are excellent role models and great ambassadors for the game.

“I am delighted Brendon McCullum was recognised for his unforgettable Twenty20 century against Australia. The trophy will sit nicely on his mantel piece next to the Fans’ Choice Award he won at the NZC cricket awards last month for the same performance.

“It is also great to see Daniel Vettori selected in the World ODI XI. He continues to be a dominant force in world cricket as highlighted by his contribution over the past 12 months.

The award period runs between 24 August 2009 and 10 August 2010. That period includes such high-profile events as the ICC Men’s and Women’s World Twenty20 2010 in West Indies, the ICC Champions Trophy 2009 in South Africa and the ICC World Cricket League Division 1 2010 in the Netherlands, as well as several bilateral Test and ODI series.