New Delhi, September 6 :

Rahul Dravid, Ricky Pon-ting and Mahela Jayawardene have been nominated for four International Cricket Council (ICC) awards, it was announced here on Wednesday.

The Test captains from India, Australia and Sri Lanka dominated the nominations, including the Sir Garfield Sobers Award for the cricketer of the year. Ashes hero Andrew Flintoff of England and Sri Lankan spin wizard Muttiah Muralitharan were the other prominent players in the running for the top award, which included a surprise nominee in young England spinner Monty Panesar.

Dravid, Ponting and Jayawardene were also in contention for three other awards — Test Player of the Year, Captain of the Year and One-Day Player of the Year. The awards, covering performances from August 1, 2005 to August 8, 2006, will be presented on October 23 in Mumbai during the Champions Trophy tournament, ICC chief executive Malcolm Speed said.

The nominations were compiled by five former Test stars led by Sunil Gavaskar of India, who is also the chairman of the ICC’s Cricket Committee. The other selectors were Allan Donald of South Africa, Ian Healy of Australia, Arjuna Ranatunga of Sri Lanka and Waqar Younis of Pakistan.

The final selection will be voted by a 56-member ICC academy comprising the 10 Test captains, 18 members of the umpires and match referees panel and 28 legends of the game and members of the media. The Captain of the Year and Women’s Cricketer of the Year awards have been introduced this year.