THE 2005 West Indies Players' Association (WIPA) awards function will be held on May 31 at the Jamaica Pegasus Hotel in New Kingston.
The top award to be presented is the First Citizen Bank International Cricketer of the Year, WIPA announced yesterday at the Pegasus.
There will also be the Test and one-day cricketers of the year awards, which are being sponsored by Supreme Ventures.
Other top awards will be: First-Class Player of the Year; First-Class Team of the Year; and Emerging Player of the Year.
There will also be Youth Player of the Year and Youth Team of the Year awards, which are sponsored by Trinidad Cement Limited Group.
SPECIAL AWARDS
There will also be two special awards, one of which will go to Brian Lara for his unbeaten 400 against England last year while the other will go to an individual who has made an outstanding contribution to West Indies cricket.
A panel of judges has been selected to pick the winners. It comprises members of the senior selection panel, commentators Ian Bishop and Tony Cozier and the manager of the West Indies team, Tony Howard.
Dinanath Ramnarine, WIPA's president and chief executive officer, has also invited the public to log on to www.wiplayers.com and vote for Cricketer of the Year for 2004.
The criteria for the Inter-national Cricketer are good cricket skills, which will be assessed on performance or measured by the relevant statistics, in batting, bowling and fielding.
The player must have demonstrated leadership qualities, the right attitude and good discipline on and off the field.
