Sri Lanka captain Mahela Jayawardene could enjoy a bumper night in Dubai on Wednesday as he is nominated in both the Cricketer of the Year and Test Player of the Year categories in the ICC Awards 2008, the fifth staging of the event which was established in 2004.

The other players nominated for both categories are former West Indian captain Shivnarine Chanderpaul and South African fast bowler Dale Steyn.

The other nominee for the Cricketer of the Year prize is South Africa captain Graeme Smith while his team-mate Jacques Kallis is a further nominee in the Test category.

None of the four players shortlisted for the Cricketer of the Year Award has previously lifted the Sir Garfield Sobers Trophy so there is certain to be a new name to join the list of previous winners.

Players who have secured the game’s top individual honour in the past are Rahul Dravid of India (2004), England’s Andrew Flintoff and Jacques Kallis of South Africa (joint winners in 2005) and Australia captain Ricky Ponting (back-to-back winner in 2006 and 2007).

Sri Lanka’s spin sensation Ajantha Mendis, who has had a dream run in international cricket in the last two months, also has plenty to look forward to as he has been shortlisted for the Emerging Player of the Year award.

But the mystery spinner faces tough competition from Indian fast bowler Ishant Sharma, England all-rounder Stuart Broad and Morne Morkel, the South Africa fast bowler.

India’s one-day and Twenty20 International (T20I) captain Mahendra Singh Dhoni is another player named for two categories. Dhoni has been nominated for - the ODI Player of the Year and the Twenty-20 International Performance of the Year, the latter for his captaincy in leading India to the inaugural title in South Africa last September.

The T-20 award is new this year and recognises the newest form of the game at international level.

Dhoni leads his country’s charge in this year’s shortlists as he is one of four Indian players in with a chance of taking home a prize from cricket’s night of nights.

Also nominated are Sachin Tendulkar (ODI Player of the Year), Ishant Sharma (Emerging Player of the Year) and Yuvraj Singh (T-20 Performance of the Year, to mark his six sixes against England in Durban last September).

In the T-20 Performance of the Year, Dhoni and Yuvraj are up against Chris Gayle of the West Indies and Australia’s Brett Lee.

Meanwhile, Australian Simon Taufel has a chance of an unprecedented five successive Umpire of the Year awards after being nominated alongside Mark Benson, Aleem Dar, Steve Davis and Rudi Koertzen.

This year’s ICC Awards includes eight individual prizes, including a new one for the Twenty20 International Performance of the Year.

It also features the selection of the Test and ODI Teams of the Year and the award to the side that has adhered most to the Spirit of Cricket.

The nominations for six of the awards were made by a five-man ICC selection panel chaired by West Indies legend Clive Lloyd. The panel also includes former Australia captain Greg Chappell, ex-South Africa all-rounder Shaun Pollock, former Sri Lanka opener Sidat Wettimuny and former Bangladesh batsman Athar Ali Khan. This panel will also select the ICC Test and ODI teams of the year.

The winners of these six individual awards will be voted upon by a 25-person panel from around the world, made up of renowned former players, respected members of the media, and an elite umpire and elite match referee.

Meanwhile, the nominations for the Women’s Cricketer of the Year Award were decided after each of the world’s top 10 teams was given the opportunity to nominate two players. This award will be voted on by a separate 16-person voting academy featuring former players and other experts on the women’s game.

The Spirit of Cricket Award will be voted on by all the international captains as well as all members of the Emirates Elite Panel of ICC Umpires and Emirates Elite Panel of ICC Match Referees. The Umpire of the Year Award is voted on by the captains and the match referees.

Based on the 12 months between 9 August 2007 and 12 August 2008, the ICC Awards 2008 - presented in association with FICA (Federation of International Cricketers Association) - will take into account performances by players and officials in a remarkable period for the game.

Cricketer of the Year:

Shivnarine Chanderpaul, Mahela Jayawardena, Graeme Smith, Dale Steyn.

Test Player of the Year: Shivnarine Chanderpaul, Mahela Jayawardena, Jacques Kallis, Dale Steyn.

ODI Player of the Year:

Nathan Bracken, Mahendra Singh Dhoni, Sachin Tendulkar, Mohammad Yousuf.

Emerging Player of the Year: Stuart Broad, Ajantha Mendis, Morne Morkel, Ishant Sharma.

Associate Player of the Year: Ryan ten Doeschate, Alex Obanda, Niall O’Brien, Thomas Odoyo.

Chris Gayle, Mahendra Singh Dhoni, Brett Lee, Yuvraj Singh,

Bangladesh, New Zealand, Sri Lanka, West Indies.

Mark Benson, Aleem Dar, Steve Davis, Rudi Koertzen, Simon Taufel.