21 August 2006

South African cricket commentator Kass Naidoo has been appointed by the International Cricket Council to serve on the voting academy that will choose the 2006 Women's Cricketer of the Year.

The SABC TV commentator joins 11 other influential figures in the women's game, including leading former players and members of the media, to select the first recipient of the award.

The announcement will be made at this year's ICC awards ceremony in Mumbai on Monday, 23 October.

'New dimension to cricket commentary'
"Kass Naidoo has brought a new dimension to cricket commentary in South Africa, and she is an asset to the game," said Cricket South Africa CEO Gerald Majola.

"She is to be congratulated on this international recognition of her outstanding talents."

The women's voting academy
The women's voting academy includes six national captains among a total of seven former players, as well as female journalists and a leading administrator.

Each academy member will cast three votes for the player they believe has performed best over the season, two votes for the next best, and one vote for their third preference.

South Africa and the West Indies will not submit nominations as neither side played international cricket during the voting period.

The voting academy members are:

Janette Brittin – Former England batsman. No player in the history of the game has played more Tests (27), scored more Test runs (1935) or more Test hundreds (5).

Sonali Chander – Leading Indian media commentator on cricket through her appearances on ND-TV.

Diana Edulji – Former India captain. She holds India's record for most Test wickets (61) and played in India's first ever Test match, against the West Indies in Bangalore in 1976.

Gwen Herat – President of the Women's Cricket Association of Sri Lanka.

Rachel Heyhoe-Flint – Former England captain, only Jan Brittin has scored more Test runs (1 594); she was one of the instigators of the first Women's World Cup.

Debbie Hockley – Former New Zealand captain who was the first female to play 100 ODIs and score 4 000 ODI runs. Played in five Women's World Cups and in 1997 was named as NZC's Player of the Year, the first time a woman won the country's top cricketing honour.

Lyn Larsen – Former Australia captain. A batting all-rounder, Lynn was part of the side that won the 1989 Women's World Cup. After retiring as a player she managed the Australia side in series against Pakistan, England, South Africa and New Zealand.

Lesley Murdoch – Former New Zealand captain whose career spanned four decades. Lesley also represented her country in field hockey in the 1984 Olympics in Los Angeles.

Kass Naidoo – South African television commentator on cricket and the face of SABC's cricket coverage.

Donna Symmonds – A lawyer from Bridgetown, Barbados, Donna is a world-renowned expert on the game and has worked as a broadcaster for more than 20 years.

Jenny Thompson – Journalist and assistant editor of Cricinfo.com.

Sharon Tredrea – Former Australia captain who led the side to victory in the 1989 Women's World Cup final. An all-rounder, she represented her country in four Women's World Cups.

SouthAfrica.info reporter

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