Cricket awards to be telecast live

Kingston (Jamaica), June 5 (IANS/CMC): The ceremony that awards the leading cricketers in the Caribbean will be beamed live to television audiences in the region and parts of North American on Thursday.

Caribbean sports cable giant SportsMax says it will air the awards live in the 27 Caribbean markets and in the New York Tri-state and in Ontario from the Jamaica Pegasus Hotel in Kingston, reports CMC.

The awards ceremony is an initiative of the West Indies Cricket Board (WICB) and the West Indies Player Association (WIPA).

The WICB and the WIPA will be awarding cricketers across 12 categories, which include male and female cricketer of the year, emerging player of the year, First-class team of the year, under-19 cricketer and team of the year among others.

The nominees for the coveted cricketer of the year award are Darren Bravo, Sunil Narine, Dwayne Bravo and Devon Smith, with Stephanie Taylor, Deandra Dottin and Shanel Daley in the running for female cricketer of the year.

Other highlights of the ceremony include a special tribute to Chris Gayle ahead of his 100th Test, and the presentation of Lifetime Achievement Awards to two.