CEAT Sri Lanka Cricket Awards 2011 on 29/11

Sri Lanka’s cricketers, whose heroics have rewritten the record books and entertained cricket lovers around the world, are to be honoured once again at the third CEAT Sri Lanka Cricket Awards gala to be held on Tuesday, 29 November 2011, at Water’s Edge.

A total of 81 awards are to be presented at the 2011 edition of this annual event supported by top tyre brand CEAT, a name associated with cricket on the international stage and an active sponsor of sport in the local arena.

From the stars who illuminated international playing fields to the hardworking club cricketers who kept the domestic scene alive, the awards will recognise excellence in all disciplines of the game. Performances from July 2010 to June 2011 will be taken into consideration for this year’s awards, Sri Lanka Cricket and the Players Association, the joint organisers of the event announced at a press conference in Colombo.

The assessment period spans a busy and highly eventful year for Sri Lanka’s national cricketers, whose exploits brought the country tantalisingly close to securing the prestigious ICC World Cup trophy, the pinnacle of the 50 over format of the game, for a second time.

“CEAT is delighted and proud to felicitate Sri Lanka’s heroes in the cricket field as their performances have demonstrated values embodied in the CEAT brand, such as high performance, consistency and perseverance,” Managing Director and CEO of CEAT Sri Lanka N. C. Venugopal said. “Even under enormous pressure Sri Lanka’s cricketers managed to raise the bar in terms of performance, which is at the very essence of the CEAT brand. We believe they richly deserve to be rewarded for their gallant and spirited efforts.”

Upali Dharmadasa - Chairman of the Interim Committee of Sri Lanka Cricket (SLC) said: “CEAT’s contribution to this event, which apart from recognising the performances of the stalwarts of the game, also seeks to motivate a new generation of cricketing heroes, is much appreciated. The company’s support to this awards programme demonstrates how the corporate sector can play an important role in raising the profile of cricket and cricketers to a higher level.”

Sri Lanka’s national Vice Captain Angelo Mathews said “Performance in cricket involves a great deal of hard work. Awards such as these are appreciated by the players who devote many years to perfecting their skills.”

Awards for performances at the international level this year will recognise the Best Batting and Bowling Performances in Tests and One Day Internationals, the Debutante/Emerging Player of the Year, Best International Woman Cricketer of the Year and the Best Junior Player of the Year.

The awards for performances at the local level will go to club cricketers from the Under 23 and Women’s Divisions and performances at the Premier League Tiers A and B, Premier League Limited Over Tiers A and B, Sara Trophy Limited Over and Sara League Tournaments.

One of the most eagerly anticipated awards and a highlight of the awards programme, the ‘CEAT Peoples Player of the Year’ as in previous years will be given to the player who receives the highest number of SMS votes from the public. SMS voting will commence on 22nd October and run for five weeks till 25th November.

CEAT has been present in Sri Lanka since 1992 as an international Tyre brand with manufacturing facilities in Kalutara and Kelaniya. The country’s market leader in the commercial Tyre segment and the highest selling brand in the radial tyre market, CEAT supported the revival of the Sri Lanka Cricket Awards in 2009. The CEAT Cricket Ratings programme launched in 1995 was the first international cricket rating system to recognise and reward performances on an annual basis. Besides cricket CEAT also supports motor racing in Sri Lanka.