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Coinciding with the United Nations International Day of Sport for Development and Peace, the International Cricket Council (ICC) on Thursday revealed the outstanding programmes and performances that have been unveiled as the regional winners in the 2022 edition of the ICC Development Awards.
The ICC Development Awards were established in 2002 to celebrate the world-leading initiatives and innovative programmes delivered by ICC Members to grow the game of cricket in emerging nations. The 2022 awards comprise six categories, and after a year of exceptional innovation and growth, 23 ICC member nations have been honoured as regional winners - ranging from leading participation programmes in Indonesia and Serbia to pioneering social impact programmes in Bhutan and Brazil, also featuring some ground-breaking on-field performances in international competition. The regional winners are now put forward as contenders to claim the global awards, determined by a specialist panel of voters consisting of cricket icons Graeme Smith, Mel Jones and Stafanie Taylor, and representatives from ICC Full Members, ICC partners and the media, with the Global Winners set to be revealed on ICC channels once voting concludes. Speaking on the announcement of regional winners in the ICC Development Awards, ICC General Manager, Development, William Glenwright said as quoted by ICC, "The ICC Development Awards have helped celebrate the successes of ICC Members for over 20 years, and each year it is striking to see how innovation, growth and inclusivity are always at the forefront of the projects being delivered. I would like to congratulate the Regional Winners on their success, and wish them luck as we embark on the global voting process." "As well as the remarkable development initiatives delivered during the last calendar year, 2022 saw more evidence of the continued narrowing of the gap in on-field competitiveness between Full and Associate Members, on account of a number of outstanding - and historic - performances in major ICC events and bi-lateral cricket." "There are a wealth of stories to highlight this year, as there are every year, capturing the passion and diversity of cricketing landscapes evident throughout the 108 Member countries. Through the ICC Development Awards 2022, we hope to provide a platform to promote and highlight the remarkable human stories that feature among the Regional Winners, and the phenomenal amount of work taking place across ICC Member nations to grow the game in non-traditional cricket markets." ICC Development Awards 2022 Global Nominees The ICC Development Initiative of the Year celebrates the outstanding development initiative delivered by an Associate Member either physically or digitally, and among this year's contenders are Cricket Namibia, who continued the growth of their successful Ashburton Kwata Mini-Cricket Programme, Cricket Peru, who sought to grow participation in wider areas of the country through the criiio Cricket Programme and Persatuan Cricket Indonesia, who hosted cricket activations, training and education workshops and a Qualifier in an action-packed 'Summer of Cricket'. Completing the nominations are the Serbian Cricket Federation's Lion's League initiative, a competition designed to provide playing opportunities to Newly Arrived Migrants and finally, Cricket Hong Kong's role in delivering the ground-breaking Fairbreak Women's International T20 Tournament 2022 in the UAE. The 100 per cent Cricket Female Cricket Development Initiative of the Year acknowledges the outstanding female cricket-focused initiative delivered by an Associate Member either physically or digitally. This year's nominees for the global award include Cricket Romania's partnership with the traditional bat and ball sport Oina to introduce more women and girls to cricket, Cricket PNG's efforts to provide more regional playing and development opportunities to girls through the Brian Bell Village World Cup Female Under 15 Series and Cricket Association of Nepal's programme to introduce women's competition in seven provinces in the country. The other contender for the award is Nigeria Cricket Federation, which pioneered a programme to deliver cricket programmes to over 15,000 young girls in Zamfara State. The Associate Performance categories include some of the standout moments from 2022. The Associate Member Men's Performance of the Year nominees includes Netherlands' and Namibia's notable victories over Full Members during their respective ICC Men's T20 WC campaigns, UAE's surge through qualification for the same tournament, and outstanding performances by Japan to win their first regional tournament in 15 years with a team that had not played in almost four years. The Associate Member Women's Performance of the Year shortlist features three blistering qualifiers for the inaugural U19 Women's T20 World Cup in Indonesia, Scotland and Rwanda, plus Thailand's rise up the global rankings including a win over Pakistan in the Women's Asia Cup, Argentina's victorious run in the ICC Americas Women's T20 Championship. The Digital Fan Engagement of the Year category highlights the outstanding innovative use of digital platforms, campaigns or technology to drive engagement with fans and the wider community, and the 2022 nominees include Cricket Finland who innovated to grow the fan experience in hosting their T20 World Cup Qualifiers, Bahrain Cricket Federation, for growing their digital cricket infrastructure to offer more live content for fans in the country, Uganda Cricket Association's use of social media to grow the support for their U19 Men's Cricket World Cup competing team and Japan Cricket Association's partnership with Osaka University of Arts to create engaging cricket explainer videos through the 'Tell me Cricket' programme. The final category sees a number of programmes shortlisted for the ICC Cricket 4 Good Social Impact Initiative of the Year - for their University programme introducing more individuals to cricket development opportunities, Cricket Brasil are nominated, and they are joined by Cricket Fiji's Cricket for Good programme which has used cricket to overcome social challenges to drive equality and eliminate violence in local communities. Also nominated are Bhutan Cricket Council Board, whose partnership with UNICEF continues to flourish, providing more life skills opportunities to young people in Bhutan, and the Croatia Cricket Federation, which supported displaced Ukrainian refugees with cricket development programmes in Zagreb. The lineup is completed by Cricket Namibia, whose Pledge4Pink campaign saw them host a tournament to raise awareness and significant funding for cancer treatment facilities in the country. -ICC Development Initiative of the Year Africa Regional Winner - Cricket Namibia Americas Regional Winner - Cricket Peru Asia Regional Winner - Cricket Hong Kong EAP Regional Winner - Persatuan Cricket Indonesia Europe Regional Winner - Serbian Cricket Federation -100% Cricket Female Cricket Initiative of the Year Africa Regional Winner - Nigeria Cricket Federation Asia Regional Winner - Cricket Association of Nepal EAP Regional Winner - Cricket PNG Europe Regional Winner - Cricket Romania -ICC Associate Member Men's Performance of the Year Africa Regional Winner - Cricket Namibia Asia Regional Winner - Emirates Cricket Board EAP Regional Winner - Japan Cricket Association Europe Regional Winner - Koninklijke Nederlandse Cricket Bond -ICC Associate Member Women's Performance of the Year Africa Regional Winner - Rwanda Cricket Association Americas Regional Winner - Argentina Cricket Association Asia Regional Winner - Cricket Association of Thailand EAP Regional Winner - Persatuan Cricket Indonesia Europe Regional Winner - Cricket Scotland -ICC Digital Fan Engagement of the Year Africa Regional Winner - Uganda Cricket Association Asia Regional Winner - Bahrain Cricket Federation EAP Regional Winner - Japan Cricket Association Europe Regional Winner - Cricket Finland -Cricket 4 Good Social Impact Initiative of the Year Africa Regional Winner - Cricket Namibia Americas Regional Winner - Cricket Brasil Asia Regional Winner - Bhutan Cricket Council Board EAP Regional Winner - Cricket Fiji Europe Regional Winner - Croatia Cricket Federation. (ANI)
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