Ponting tops CEAT rankings

Ricky Ponting was named Cricketer of the Year 2002-03 in Mumbai on Wednesday.

Ponting topped the International Cricketer of the Year ranking with a tally of 105 points, scoring 1,169 Test runs and 912 LOI runs during the evaluation period from May 1, 2002, to April 30, 2003.

He also collected 97 points to take home the Batsman of the Year Award.

Australia took the CEAT International Team of the Year 2002-03 Award after a string of consistent performances that saw them win the 2003 World Cup in South Africa.

India's Harbhajan Singh was named the CEAT International Bowler of the Year 2002-03, while Virender Sehwag, who pouched 11 catches in Tests and 18 in LOIs, was named the International Fielder of the Year.

Harbhajan Singh, who took 39 Test wickets and 56 LOI wickets, finished ahead of Zaheer Khan and Muttiah Muralitharan.

Sachin Tendulkar, who scored 673 runs in the 2003 World Cup in South Africa, was named the Cricketer of the 2003 World Cup.

Former India captain Vijay Hazare, under whose leadership India registered its first win in a Test, was honoured with the CEAT Lifetime Achievement Award.

The Indian batting duo of Yuvraj Singh and Mohammad Kaif were awarded the CEAT Max Best Winning Performance of the Year 2002-03 for their brilliant batting in the 2002 Natwest Series final against England.

The awards were announced by Harsh Goenka, vice-chairman, CEAT Limited, at a press conference at the Cricket Club of India. Present on the occasion were former Australian captain Ian Chappell and Indian legend Sunil Gavaskar.

The awards based on the CEAT International Cricket Ratings were announced in six different categories, while there were two awards based on nominations by a panel of judges comprising former cricketers Ajit Wadekar and Sanjay Manjrekar and cricket journalists Ayaz Memon and Lokendra Pratap Sahi.

The winners will be presented their awards at a function at Mumbai's Taj Mahal Hotel on October 31, 2003.