London, Aug 28: The ICC today announced its Test Team of the Year, as chosen by a specially appointed selection panel chaired by West Indian batting legend Clive Lloyd.
The announcement was made at the media conference to announce the short-lists for the LG ICC Awards 2011 which are due to be held in London on 12 September 2011. Presented in association with FICA, the LG ICC Awards recognise the best international players of the past 12 months.
The ICC Test Team of the Year is (in batting order): Alastair Cook (Eng), Hashim Amla (SA), Jonathan Trott (Eng), Sachin Tendulkar (Ind), Kumar Sangakkara (SL - wicketkeeper/captain), AB de Villiers (SA), Jacques Kallis (SA), Stuart Broad (Eng), Graeme Swann (Eng), Dale Steyn (SA), James Anderson (Eng), Zaheer Khan (Ind) (12th man)
Four countries are represented in the 12-man line-up and South Africa's Dale Steyn has earned a place in the ICC World Test Team of the Year for the fourth successive year. He was also a member of the ICC World Test Team of the Year 2008, 2009 and 2010.
India's Sachin Tendulkar makes the line-up for the third year in a row - having appeared in the ICC World Test Team of the Year 2009 and 2010 while South Africans Hashim Amla and Jacques Kallis, along with Sri Lanka's Kumar Sangakkara, and England duo of Graeme Swann and James Anderson all appearing for the second year in a row.
Former Sri Lanka skipper Sangakkara is named as captain of the team.
The Chairman of the LG ICC Awards selection panel, Clive Lloyd, said: "The selection of this year's Test team was a difficult one with so many worthy candidates available to fill just 12 places. The team has a formidable line-up that bats well down the order and has bowlers with the ability and form to dismiss any opposition twice on any surface."
"The selection was a difficult process with so many outstanding performances available to look back on. All the top performers during the voting period were discussed at length and various combinations were considered."
"While selecting the squad, the selectors didn't rely only on statistics only but took into account all other factors like the opposition, pitch conditions, match situation etc. But when you have only 12 places to fill from a big group of world-class players, there will always be a few who will miss out.
"In the panel's expert opinion, it has selected the best team based on performances over the past 12 months."
Lloyd was joined on the panel by former South Africa spin bowler Paul Adams, former Pakistan batsman Zaheer Abbas, former New Zealand bowler-turned-commentator Danny Morrison and former England batsman Mike Gatting. Statistics were available as a guide but were not necessarily the overwhelming factor in the choices made.
The ICC Test Team of the Year is one of two teams selected by the ICC selection panel along with the ODI line-up which will be announced at a special function the morning of the LG ICC Awards.
