Usain Bolt crowned male World Athlete of the Year for 2013

Jamaican sprinters Usain Bolt and Shelly-Ann Fraser-Pryce were crowned male and female World Athletes of the Year for 2013 by the sport's governing IAAF at a ceremony in Monaco on Saturday.

Bolt won gold in the 100 meters, 200 and 4x100 relay at the Moscow worlds in August to take his all-time tally to eight golds and two silvers at the championships, making him the most successful athlete in their history.

Shelly-Ann Fraser-Pryce and Usain  Bolt

The 27-year-old, who also has six Olympic gold medals and holds the 100 and 200 meters world records, won the IAAF (International Association of Athletics Federations) award for the third season in a row and the fifth time in six years.

"This season will be the one to go for the (200m) world record," said Bolt, hinting that a time below 19 seconds was the target. His current world record is 19.19 seconds.

Compatriot Fraser-Pryce claimed gold medals in the same three events in Moscow, having previously won two golds and two silvers, and is also the Olympic sprint champion.The 26-year-old Fraser-Pryce collected her first female World Athlete of the Year award, and it was also the first time since Britain's successes in 1993 that two athletes from the same country have won the awards in the same year.

"I'm shocked and excited. It's something that has been a dream of mine," said Fraser-Pryce, who becomes the second Jamaican woman to win the award after Merlene Ottey in 1990.

Bolt and Fraser-Pryce also receive a prize of $100,000.

The other male nominees were Ukraine high jumper Bohan Bondarenko and British distance runner Mo Farah, while New Zealand shot-putter Valerie Adams and Czech hurdler Zuzana Hejnova were short-listed for the women's prize.

NSJF Pulsar Best Player of the Year Nominations unveiled

Popular Player of the Year nominees -- national cricket captain Paras Khadka, swimmer Shirish Gurung and wushu player Jharana Gurung -- were shortlisted in one additional category each of Pulsar Sports Awards on Tuesday. Cricket and football players dominated the nominations for four differerent awards unveiled during a function at Kupandol, Lalitpur.
Khadka was nominated for the Male Player of the Year award while Jharana and Sirish were shortlisted for the youth and female player of the year awards respectively. Earlier, the three along with athlete Keshari Chaudhary and Jagjeet Shrestha were nominated for the popular player award.

Nepal Sports Journalist Forum (NSJF), the organizer of Sports Award, shortlisted five players each for male, female and youth player of the year and coach of the year awards. Among the eight categories of the Sports Award, lifetime achievement award, special award and para-athlete award won´t have nominations.
According to Prakash Timalsina, coordinator of the player selection committee and secretary of NSJF, the players were picked by a seven-member committee of sports journalists based on their performances and achievements at the international and domestic levels throughout the year 2069 BS.
The winners of three categories -- popular, male and female player of the year -- will be given a Pulsar motorbike each, while the winners of other five categories will be awarded Rs 50,000 along with gift hampers, said Nabin Khatiwada, spokesperson for the selection committee during the unveiling ceremony.

Male Player of the Year
Paras Khadka (Cricket): National cricket team skipper Khadka led Nepal to the ICC World Cricket League Division 4 and ACC Trophy Elite titles. He scored 291 runs and took nine wickets in the ACC Trophy Elite and was adjudged the man of the series during the ACC T20 Cup for his 274 runs and 4 wickets that guided Nepal to the second position.

Basanta Regmi (Cricket): Regmi was declared the man-of-the-series in Nepal´s title victory at the World Cricket League Division 4. Regmi claimed 21 wickets in the tournament to become the highest Nepali wicket taker in a single tournament. Regmi also took 41 wickets in a single season in domestic cricket, the highest by any Nepali cricketer so far. 

Tilakram Tharu (Athletics): Bettered his own national record in 200 m during London Olympics. The Armed Police Force (APF) staffer remained in top positions in all domestic events winning six golds and bettering 200 m national record in Golden Sprint.
Bharat Khawas (Army): Scored the fourth international hat-trick and the first at home ground for Nepal during group stage match of the AFC Challenge Cup at Dasharath Stadium, Kathmandu. The forward of Nepal Army Club was adjudged the best player of the tournament in A division league. 

Sunil Lama (Karate): Claimed twin golds in the year including one each in the 13th Asia-Pacific Siterio Championship, Hong Kong, and Invitational Championship, Bangladesh.
Female Player of the Year
Ganga Devi Adhikari (Karate): Three international gold medals in the year including one each in the Asia Pacific Siterio Championship, Hong Kong, and Invitational Championship, Singapore Open, and Fujil Tumbe Mujib, Bangladesh.

Anu Lama (Football): Scored highest nine international goals including four against Kuwait friendly. The footballer of the APF scored five and assisted for as many goals in SAFF Championship, Colombo. Lama equalized the highest 25 international goals with teammate Jamuna Gurung.
Jamuna Gurung (Football): The skipper of national team scored highest eight goals as Nepal finished runner up in SAFF Championship, Colombo. Scoring 10 goals in the Gurung led APF to title of the league and won best player award.

Jharana Gurung (Wushu): The first Nepali wushu player to win Asian-level bronze after 18 years. She finished with bronze in 56 kg sansau in the Asian Wushu Championship, Vietnam.
Shreya Dhital (Swimming): She is Nepal ace swimmer, who represented Nepal in three international swimming events including the London Olympics. Dhital bettered her own record of 100 m freestyle in Olympics and in 50 m butterfly in domestic level. She won 13 golds in National swimming throughout the year.
Youth Player of the year
Sirish Gurung (Swimming): Claimed 32 golds throughout the year and set six national records earning 13 golds in the NSA Cup including five with record timing. The 15-year-old broke 28-year-old record in 1500 m freestyle.
Chahana Bamjan Lama(Wushu): Won bronze medal in the World Junior Wushu Championship, Macau, defeating US opponent. But lost in the semifinal after picking injury.
Akash Bista (Cricket): Claimed 19 wickets in ACC U-16 helping Nepal finish as runner-up. Scored 109 in six matches during his international debut and was declared the man-of-the-series.
Niru Thapa (Football): The midfielder of the national team scored two goals for national team, netted 15 goals for Police in the domestic tournament with two hat-tricks.
Ratnajeet Tamang (Badminton): Won all three major men´s singles title, two men´s doubles title and a mixed doubles title.
Coach of the Year.
Pubudu Dassanayake: The most successful coach of Nepali cricket who guided Nepal team to the title of Division 4 and ACC Trophy Elite. He helped Nepal finish runner-up in ACC T20 final and played vital role in setting up National Cricket Academy.
Yubaraj Gurung (Wushu): Coach of Chahana Gurung, he won bronze medal in the World Junior Wushu Championship, Macau, and is still an active wushu player.
Akbar Shah (Karate): The coach of Nepali team that won two gold, four silver and seven bronze medals in the Asia-Pacific Siterio Championship, Hong Kong. It was Nepal´s first gold medals in the Asian level after 18 years.
Wangden Lama (Swimming): Coach of top swimmers Sirish Gurung and Shreya Dhital. Gurung set six national records and Shreya two under Gurung´s guidance.
Nara Bahadur Shahi: Coach of Keshari Chaudhary, who set three national records, and Tilakram Tharu, who set one record. Shahi guided the Police team to nine gold, three silver and four bronze medals in the 38th National Athletics.

ICC Champions Trophy 2013: India won the Final against India

What will Indian Captain Mahendra Singh Dhoni expect more as he was the only captain to receive the entire Trophy that is given by ICC? The latest Trophy India won was ICC Champions Trophy 2013 as India beats England by five runs in nail-biting finish to Champions Trophy final after rain reduces game to 20-overs-a-side affair. 

Indian Players Celebrating after Victory

After nearly six hours spent watching dark clouds spit down on Edgbaston, a voluble India-centric crowd was treated to a frenetic 20-over final of the ICC Champions Trophy 2013 in which the team they supported squeaked home in the tightest of twilight finishes. Mahendra Singh Dhoni became the first captain to have led his team to victory in all major ICC tournaments – the 50-over World Cup, the World Twenty20 and the Champions Trophy – buttressing his credentials as a leader of men, when his side won by five runs, successfully defending 129. 

Shikhar Dhawan, Dhoni and Jadeja with their respective Trophy

When the toss happened as scheduled at 10am on a windy Sunday (June 23) morning, it appeared that the weather boffins had got it wrong, and with a full 50-over game on the cards under cloudy skies Alastair Cook put India in. From that moment on, the players had to be content watching from the confines of the dressing room till a 20-over game – made possibly by the extension of the cut off time to 8.30pm – got underway at 4.20pm.

From then on, though, there was no shortage of action. England’s bowlers, James Anderson and Stuart Broad first up, were sharp, and Rohit Sharma was the first to suffer, losing his stumps to an airy drive. Two brief interruptions for rain ensured that the batsmen did not have a chance to settle, but Shikhar Dhawan showed that he was up for the big final, rising in the air to uppercut Broad for the first six of the game.

While Dhawan continued his remarkable run in the tournament, Ravi Bopara triggered an unlikely collapse and India went from 50 for 1 to 66 for 5. Dhawan (31 from 24) slapped one to cover, and Suresh Raina and Dhoni fell off a double-wicket maiden. Raina holed out to mid-on and Dhoni carved one to third man.

At that point, England was well on top, and it took an innings of high quality from Virat Kohli and one of remarkable composure from Ravindra Jadeja to revive India. Kohli was at his beautiful best, drilling the ball all along the turf through cover, and when he picked a Broad short ball early and smacked it deep into the stands at square-leg, he set Jadeja off. A full ball from Anderson was met with the cleanest of Jadeja swings and the ball disappeared over long-off.

Kohli, with his 43, and Jadeja, with a late unbeaten 33 from only 25 balls, pushed India along to 129 for 7, a total that gave India a fighting chance.

And how they fought: fielders in the circle swarmed all over the England batsmen, attacking everything that came their way, and after the pace and swing of Umesh Yadav had accounted for Cook, the spinners put a lid on the scoring and applied pressure. With the ball gripping the surface, turning sharply, and affording the odd bit of extra bounce, R Ashwin set to work, having Jonathan Trott stumped down the leg side off the second ball of his spell. Joe Root, who was stifled by close-in fielders and worked over by Ashwin, top-edged a pull to fine-leg. When Jadeja won the tightest of decisions from third umpire Bruce Oxenford to send Ian Bell back stumped, England was 46 for 4 in the ninth over.

In their first spells, Ashwin and Jadeja had combined figures of 5-1-14-3, and it was only the introduction of Raina’s part-time offbreaks that released the pressure.

A 64-run partnership between Eoin Morgan and Bopara briefly threatened India’s sub-par score, but when Ishant Sharma dismissed both batsmen in the 18th over, England choked, losing four wickets for three runs in the space of eight balls, leaving it with 15 to get from the final over, bowled by Ashwin. England’s lower order swung at everything, and when six were needed off the last ball, the game had gone the complete distance. James Tredwell heaved at one that Ashwin held back, and the turn took the ball past the bat, leaving England stranded at 124 for 8.

NSJF announced Nomination for Popular Player Award

Nepal Sports Journalists Forum (NSJF) announced the nominees of Popular Player of the Year for this year’s Bajaj Pulsar Sports Award on Sunday.

Paras Khadka, Captain of National Cricket Team along with Shirish Gurung(Swimming), Jharana Gurung(Wushu), Jagjit Shrestha(Football) & Keshar Chaudhary(Athletic) are in the competition. “The players were selected after their performance in 2069(2012/2013)”,NSJP told. Player receiving the highest votes through SMS Voting among the players would be awarded the title.

The winner will receive a Bajaj Motorcycle, said Prakash Timalsina, secretary of NSJF. The award ceremony will be held on July 2 (Ashar 18), the World Sports Journalists´ Day. According to the sources there is also a provision of liking the players picture is facebook and that will coun twenty percent of the total votes.

 

Virat Kohli nominated for Arjuna Award

The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) has nominated middle-order batsman Virat Kohli for the Arjuna Award for 2012.Former legendary batsman Sunil Gavaskar's name has also been proposed for Dhyanchand Award for his lifetime achievement.

Virat Kohli

None of India's top international cricketers was nominated for the prestigious Arjuna Award for their performance during the last season, apparently due to a major communication gap between the sports ministry and the BCCI. BCCI did not send any names despite the fact that in 2011 the senior cricket team won the World Cup and Virat Kohli was one of the top run-getters in ODI cricket.

Sandip Rai Bags Ncell Player of the Year 2069 Title

Sandip Rai was gifeted Hyundai Eon Era+ car as he was nominated the best player of the year award. Sandip was voted by 111317 times while he was given 912 points by the coaches and 439 points by different media personnel.Similarly second placed Bharat Khawas was voted 61408 times by Ncell users while he remained coaches’ favorite with 1256 points and 758 points by journalist.

Sandip Rai Receiving Award from Ganesh Thapa and Sanju Koirala

Third placed Anil Gurung received 85970 sms votes, 664 points by national coaches and 410 points by media persons. There were total 111 license holders coach who were able to cast their vote out of which 73 votes were counted and remaining remained invalid. Similarly 54 media houses were able to post their nominations out of which 40 votes were counted. The sms period started from Falgun 28 and ended on chaitra 27 on which 519069 sms votes were casted. The winner bagged Hyundai Eon car while all three finalist were awarded with Ncell gift hamper.

Players	Ncell SMS Votes	Coaches Points	Media Points
3. Anil Gurung	85970	664	410
2. Bharat Khawas	61408	1256	758
1. Sandip Rai	111317	912	439

Thanks to those who voted me and also thanks coaches and Media houses. I got respective votes from coaches which makes me proud. I have no words to say Saandip Rai said after receiving the award

Ncell Player of the Year:Vote for Your Ncell Player of the Year

As ANFA has announced that the Ncell player of the year will be announced through voting, you can now cast your vote for best player of 2069.

                   

Vote for Ncell Player of the year. Advertisement as see on kantipur Daily.

ANFA has nominated 23 players for the best player of the year award and now users can vote for their best player. Following are the SMS codes for players.

Type ‘ Player code’ and send SMS to 2069 to vote for your favorite player. Only SMS votes from Ncell networks are counted.

Voting has opened from March 11 and it will close at mid night on April 9 while the best player will be announced on April 12, 2013.

S.No	FIRST NAME	LAST NAME	SMS CODE NAME
1	AMAR	DANGOL	AMAD
2	ANIL	GURUNG	ANIG
3	BHARAT	KHAWAS	BHAK
4	BHOLA	SILWAL	BHOS
5	BIJAY	DHIMAL	BIJD
6	BIJAY	GURUNG	BIJG
7	BIKESH	KUTHU	BIKK
8	BIRAJ	MAHARJAN	BIRM
9	BIKRAM	LAMA	BIKL
10	CHETAN	GHIMIRE	CHEG
11	JAGAJEET	SHRESTHA	JAGS
12	JITENDRA	KARKI	JITK
13	JUMANU	RAI	JUMR
14	KIRAN	CHEMZONG	KIRC
15	NIRAJAN	KHADKA	NIRK
16	RABIN	SHRESTHA	RABS
17	RAJENDRA	RAWAL	RAJR
18	RAJU	TAMANG	RAJT
19	RITESH	THAPA	RITT
20	ROHIT	CHAND	ROHC
21	SAGAR	THAPA	SAGT
22	SANDIP	RAI	SANR
23	SANTOSH	SHAUKHALA	SANS

The votes are counted on the basis of popularity and techniques and abilities. The SMS votes will judge the popularity while votes from professional coaches and sports journalist will help to judge player’s technical ability.

Miroslav Stoch won the 2012 FIFA Goal of the Year( Watch Video)

Fenerbahce winger Miroslav Stoch has pipped Atletico Madrid striker Radamel Falcao and Santos star Neymar to the 2012 Fifa Puskas award. The Slovakia international found space on the edge of the box in Fenerbahce's league match against Genclerbirligi on March 3, 2012 and superbly hooked a volley into the top corner of the net following a set piece.

He saw off competition from Falcao's stunning bicycle kick, which came in second place, and an individual effort from Neymar, which completed the top three.

Stoch's winning strike was one of two goals he netted in an impressive 6-1 home win.

The 23-year-old attacker follows in the footsteps of players such as Neymar, who won the award for 2011, Hamit Altintop, and Cristiano Ronaldo, who claimed the inaugural edition.

The versatile attacker has been under contract with the Turkish giants since 2010, and previously turned out for clubs such as Twente, Chelsea and Nitra.

Neymar Goal

Vicente del Bosque named 2012 Fifa Coach of the Year

Spain Coach Vicente del Bosque has won the 2012 Fifa Coach of the Year award after leading his country to their third consecutive major trophy at Euro 2012. The 62-year-old only just missed out on the prize in 2010 after guiding la Roja to World Cup glory, but this time emerged victorious after Spain hammered Italy 4-0 in the final of Euro 2012.

   The eventual champions were held to a 1-1 draw by the Italians in the group stages, but went on to cruise to European glory without conceding in the remainder of the tournament as Republic of Ireland, Croatia, France and Portugal were eliminated on the way to the final.

Vicente del Bosque with FIFA coach of the Year Award

Del Bosque now has two Champions Leagues, a World Cup and a European title in his trophy cabinet. Real Madrid coach Jose Mourinho missed out after winning the award in 2010 and coming third last year.The 49-year-old helped Madrid to their first Liga title since 2008 as they collected 100 points from 38 games.

Vicente del Bosque

Pep Guardiola, meanwhile, had to settle for a top three spot as well after Barcelona captured the Copa del Rey.

Barca star Messi wins fourth Ballon d'Or award after record-breaking year

Lionel Messi won a record-breaking fourth consecutive FIFA Ballon d'Or at an awards ceremony in Zurich.

The 25-year-old Argentinian took the honour ahead of Barcelona team-mate Andres Iniesta and Real Madrid striker Cristiano Ronaldo.

Messi enjoyed a remarkable 2012 even by his own high standards, most notably surpassing Gerd Muller's 40-year-old record of 85 goals in a calendar year, finishing with an incredible 91.

Messi said: 'To tell you the truth this is really quite unbelievable. The fourth award that I have had is just too great for words. 'I would like to recognise my other colleagues from Barcelona; Andres it has been great to train and play alongside you.

'I would also like to recognise all of my friends in the Argentinian national team, everyone that has worked with me, coaches and staff and my family and my friends. Also my wife and my son. Thank you.

Messi with fourth Ballon d'Or with Sepp Blater

Messi said: 'To tell you the truth this is really quite unbelievable. The fourth award that I have had is just too great for words.

Speaking at the pre-gala press conference, Messi claimed he did not consider 2012 his best year yet.

He said: 'I'm more interested in team awards than I am about what I might win individually. There have been years where we won more titles that have been better.'

Messi's team-mates and rivals paid tribute to him.

Messi with fourth Ballon d'Or

Barca midfielder Cesc Fabregas wrote on Twitter: 'Congratulations Leo, forth time as the best player of £ballondor, you deserve it. And also to @andresiniesta8, huge to be there.'

Argentina team-mate Sergio Aguero simply Tweeted: 'Messi, Messi, Messi, Messi.'

Manchester United defender Rio Ferdinand Tweeted: "Congrats to Messi! Wow,4 yrs in a row!! Messi has added something else to his list of 'the only person to....' #isMessiTheBestOfAllTime ??'

Ronaldo Iniesta and Messi 

Fenerbahce's Miroslav Stoch won the FIFA Puskas Award for goal of the year, Spain boss Vicente Del Bosque was named World Coach of the Year and United States international Abby Wambach won Women's World Player of the Year.

The FIFPro World XI was named up entirely of players based in Spain with Barcelona's Dani Alves, Gerard Pique and Xavi, Real Madrid's Iker Casillas, Marcelo, Sergio Ramos and Xabi Alonso and Atletico Madrid's Radamel Falcao joining the three Ballon d'Or nominees in the team.

Franz Beckenbauer received the FIFA Presidential Award.

AFC Player of the Year 2012: Lee Keun-ho was declared the Player of the Year

Lee Keun-ho has become the first Korean to be named AFC Player of the Year since the introduction of the Confederation's annual award ceremony in 1994.He was awarded the prize as he was able to left the other nominees behind him asMohammad Ali Karimi (Iran)
Zheng Zhi (China) were also Nominated along with him. Lee put in a series of exceptional performances for club and country throughout the year but it was his exceptional displays for Ulsan Hyundai in the 2012 AFC Champions League that helped the 27-year-old attacker claim Asian football's highest individual accolade ahead of Iran legend Ali Karimi and China's Zheng Zhi.

Lee's livewire performances illuminated the tournament as Ulsan notched up a tournament record nine wins in a row culminating in their comprehensive 3-0 victory over Al Ahli in front of a crowd of more than 42,000 at Ulsan Munsu Stadium.On the international stage Lee has played in all four of Korea Republic's matches in the final round of Asian qualifiers for the 2014 FIFA World Cup, scoring twice in the opening 4-1 fixture against Qatar to help the Taeguek Warriors sit second place Group A with seven points, one behind leaders Uzbekistan but having played a game less than the Central Asians.

AFC Acting President Zhang Jilong presented the prestigious accolade Lee, who said: "It is great to win this trophy specially when you have two great nominees contesting.

Lee Keun-ho

"But all three of us are winners tonight as being here itself is a top honour.
"At the moment I feel over the moon, I am really glad to win this award."I want to convey my big thanks to Ulsan supporters, my teammates and the football fans of Korea Republic in general. I will do everything I can do to repay the love I have been getting from the fans and my teammates and the club."
However  Aya Miyama has scooped the AFC Women's Player of the Year for the second successive year after the 27-year old's influential performances helped the Nadeshiko claim silver medal in the 2012 London Olympics.
An influential role in Kuwait Sports Club's 2012 AFC Cup victory has earned Brazilian playmaker Rogerinho (Rogério de Assis Silva Coutinho) the inaugural AFC Foreign Player of the Year Award ahead of compatriots Ricardo de Oliveira, top scorer in the 2012 AFC Champions League and Bruno Cesar Correa.

 Iraqi Player Mohanad Abdulraheem Karrar has been named the men's AFC Youth Player of the Year following his MVP winning performance at the AFC U-19 Championship.

Final three nominees confirmed for the AFC player of the Award 2012.

Iranian midfield maestro Ali Karimi, Ulsan Hyundai star Lee Keun-ho and Guangzhou Evergrande defender Zheng Zhi are the remaining nominees of the prestigious AFC Player of the Year award 2012. As announced by the AFC on Thursday, Sooceroos skipper Lucas Neill, who plays his club football for Al Jazira of UAE and Iranian defender Mohsen Bengar of Persepolis failed to make the final cut. 

Ali Karimi, Zheng Zhi and Lee Keun

    The former Bayern Munich midfielder Karimi was instrumental for Iran in their ongoing FIFA World Cup 2014 Asian Qualifiers campaign and also made appearances in the 2012 AFC Champions League for Persepolis (Piroozi). This would be the second chance for the 34-year old after he won this prestigious award in 2008. Lee helped Ulsan Hyundai win the 2012 ACL and was named the Abdullah Al Dabal 'Most Valuable Player' of the competition. Lee was influential in Ulsan Hyundai's nine wins during the campaign culminating the final 3-0 win over Saudi Arabia giant Al Ahli. 
Lee 's form was particularly important for Ulsan in the knockout stages of the competition, scoring the late winner against Kashiwa Reysol in the Round of 16 before netting in three consecutive games prior to his club's appearance in the final. 
Guangzhou Evergrande's Zheng Zhi put in a series of impressive displays as the Chinese champions reached the quarter-finals of Asia's premier club competition on their continental debut and the versatile defensive midfielder was also appointed as a campaign ambassador of AFC's 'Asian Football Against Hunger' campaign during the knockout stages of the ACL 2012. The AFC Player of the Year award will be presented at a grand ceremony on November 29 at the Mandarin Oriental in Kuala Lumpur. 

Pepsi ICC Development Programme Awards 2012 launched

The International Cricket Council has  announced details of the annual Pepsi ICC Development Programme Awards for 2012.The awards, which have been running since 2002, form part of the ICC's commitment to promoting excellence in cricket development outside the ICC's Full Members. The awards are designed to recognise exceptional performance and service to the game in ICC Associate and Affiliate Member countries, highlighting cricket's expanding reach and sharing best practice.

ICC Global Development Manager Tim Anderson said: "The Pepsi ICC Development Programme, together with ICC's Associate and Affiliate Members, is dedicated to the significant growth of our Great Sport around the world. Considerable progress has been made in this regard in recent years, and these awards provide an opportunity to recognise the outstanding programmes, initiatives and people that are contributing to this expansion.There are a total of eight awards across a range of country and individual categories. Nominations are initially considered on a regional basis with the various regional winners then progressing to the global stage. Further details and application forms are available on www.pepsiiccdevelopmentawards.com

Nominations need to be submitted to ICC regional offices by 20 December 2012. Regions will select and announce the respective regional winners by 25 January 2013 with these then also put forward for the global judging process that will take place during February. The global winners will be announced on 28 February 2013.

All global winners in the following categories will receive a US$2,000 cricket equipment grant to their national cricket body:

Best Overall Cricket Development Programme

Best Women's Cricket Initiative

Best Junior Participation Initiative

Best Cricket Promotional and Marketing Programme

Photo of the Year

Best Spirit of Cricket Initiative

Volunteer of the Year

Lifetime Service Award

The panel to decide the global winners includes the current ICC President, Alan Isaac, and previous ICC Presidents Malcolm Gray, Eshan Mani, David Morgan and Sharad Pawar, as well as a representative of the MCC, whose name will be announced in due course.

Nepal Government announces the cash Prize of Rs 3 lakhs each to Nepal Cricket Team

Nepalese Cricket players who not only secure the position in division three But also won the title of division IV in great manner got the most required reward from the Government of Nepal.A Cabinet meeting on Thursday decided to reward all the players and coach who won the recently concluded ICC World Cricket League Division 4 Tournament in Malaysia with the cash incentives of Rs. 3 Lakhs each. 

Nepalese Cricket team in Home

The team led by skipper Paras Khadka and Coach Pubudu Dassanayake will be awarded within a couple of days organizing a function, said the source. The other players in the team were Gyanendra Malla, Sharad Vesawkar, Amrit Bhattarai, Shakti Gauchan, Basanta Regmi, Sanjam Regmi, Rahul Kumar Vishwakarma, Pradeep Airee, Anil Kumar Mandal, Prithu Baskota, Chandra Saud, Binod Das and Subash Khakurel.

Nepal had defeated USA by 8 wickets in the finals to lift the trophy. The trophy is the greatest achievement so far by Nepali Cricket Team in foreign soil. Nepal previously had won the ICC World Cricket League Division 5 tournament in home.

Meanwhile, on Wednesday, Cricket Association of Nepal had announced to award the players with Rs. 30,000 each. Though I personally feel that The ICC world T20 qualifier was another best achievement where Nepal secured seventh position among all the test playing Nation but this too was the best game Nepalese Senior team had given so far

Real Madrid win Spanish League title in 2012

Real Madrid won the Spanish soccer league title for the 32nd time, their first time in four years. It was also coach Jose Mourinho's first here and seventh in four different countries. Real sewed up the title with two matches to spare as Gonzalo HiguaÃn, Mesut Ozil and Ronaldo scored in their 3-0 victory over the Europa League finalists Athletic Bilbao to take the trophy back to their home Santiago Barnebeu. Barcelona knew that they would not be able to win the league a fourth time in succession and their outgoing coach Pep Guardiola had conceded the title after Real Madrid's 2-1 victory more than a week ago.All that the Catalans could do was to make the Madrid side to wait a little longer by scoring a 7-0 victory over Rayo Vallecano Sunday and by beating Malaga 4-0 Wednesday.

Real Madrid player Celebrating after win

It was a matter of time once they took the field against Atletico. Ronaldo muffed a penalty but later scored his 44th goal of the league by nodding home an Alonso corner.

Madrid have lost only two games the whole season, against Barcelona and Levante. if they win their final two games, they will reach 100 points, overhauling Barcelona's record of 99, reports the Guardian.

Real have already overhauled the League record of 107 goals and they now have 115, Ronaldo scoring 44 of these. The Portuguese is a shade behind Lionel Messi in the race for the Golden Boot, the Argentinean's hat-trick against Malaga taking his tally to 46. Messi's 68 in all competitions, left behind German Gerd Miller's European record set in 1972-73.

As for Mourinho, this is another landmark. He has now won the league title in Portugal, England, Italy and Spain. He is not the first coach to do so as is often believed. Ernst Happel and the current Ireland coach Giovanni Trapattoni also won the title in four different countries - Happel in Holland, Belgium, Germany and Austria and Trapattoni in Italy, Germany, Portugal and Austria. The Croatian coach Tomislav Ivic won the Yugoslav, Dutch, Belgian, Greek, Portuguese and French league titles.

Real Madrid Logo

Real's players went into rapturous celebration after the final whistle, though they will officially celebrate in Madrid Thursday.

Mourinho showed seven fingers, signifying the number of league titles he has won. It includes FC Porto, Chelsea and Inter Milan.

"This was the most difficult one," said Mourinho, whose team has a seven-point lead over Barcelona with two rounds left.

"The players are all very happy after 10 months of fighting, of training, of games, the objective was to be champion so we are happy to have achieved it," Cristiano Ronaldo said.

"To have beaten a team like Barca makes this league win more difficult. It's much better to win against one of the best teams -it makes it better."

"I have two Golden Boots at home. So if I win the third, great. If not, not a problem," said Ronaldo.

"It's been a long hard season but we've finally done it and I just hope it's the first of many with this young squad, we dedicate it to the fans," said captain Iker Casillas.

"We're very happy," said Sergio Ramos, who last Wednesday had experienced vastly different emotions when he missed a penalty in the Champions League semifinal shootout defeat against Bayern Munich.

"It's been a tough league and Barca were an extraordinary rival, we'll enjoy it now and celebrate it with our fans."

Mourinho again refused to face the Spanish press after the game but spoke to Real Madrid TV.

Cristiano Ronaldo

"It's been a great title for us, no-one has given us anything all season, we've fought from start to finish, the players have been fantastic and deserve it," said the 49-year-old.

"I've won titles before in Portugal, Italy and England but this has been the most difficult of all. I think even Barca, after they've won three titles in a row, know that we deserve this one," he added.

"Barcelona tried," said Guardiola, who is stepping down at the end of the season. "There wasn't much difference. The league is very long and the team that deserves to win, wins. And Real were the deserved winners."

Barcelona's Lionel Messi Won Third Successive FIFA Ballon d'Or Award

The diminutive attacker of Barcelona Lionel Messi was over the moon to receive the honour of FIFAPlayer of The Year for the third consecutive year and dedicated it to Xavi, who finished third

Barcelona star Lionel Messi was delighted to win the Fifa Ballon d'Or award for the best player of 2011.

The Argentina international, who has become the second player in history to win the prestigious award three times in a row, was chosen ahead of Barca team-mate Xavi and Real Madrid forward Cristiano Ronaldo.

Lionel Messi

Messi dedicated the award to his Barca and Argentina team-mates, but made a special mention to Xavi, who has yet to win the Ballon d'Or accolade despite being nominated in the last three years.

"It is a huge pleasure and honour to win my third award [of this kind]," Messi said. "I want to share it with those who voted for me, my coach and my team-mates at Barca and in the Argentina national team.

"Moreover, I want to share this award especially with my friend Xavi. This is the fourth time that we are are together at this ceremony and it is a pleasure for me to be with him on the pitch.

"I hope we can win more things together."

Messi amassed 47.88 per cent of the votes, ahead of Cristiano Ronaldo (21.6 per cent) and Xavi (9.23 per cent).

Lionel Messi with Xavi