According to the ICC, the Development Program Awards were established to "recognise exceptional performance and service to the game of cricket in all Associate and Affiliate member countries, and aims to recognise these contributions among all levels of cricket development".
The 2010 winners were announced this week with focus on the Asia Pacific Region with Australia's close neighbours Vanuatu, Indonesia and PNG picking up multiple awards.
The Vanuatu Cricket Association won the award for Best Overall Cricket Development Program, with the ICC citing their "outstanding development work in the areas of youth, women and people with a disability".
This is a great honour for Vanuatu Cricket who is leading the way over other sports by breaking down financial and physical barriers for youth, women and people with a disability to play the great game of cricket.
Cricket PNG took out the title for "Best Junior Cricket Participation Initiative" for their BSP School Kriket program - reaching 52,279 Papua New Guinean School Children and educating 615 teachers at 146 schools in 10 provinces across the country.
The ICC also made special mention in this category of Cricket Indonesia for the junior participation opportunities provided by the Jakarta Globe Indonesian Tigers Cricket Club.
The Japan Cricket Association has continued their dominance in the category of "Best Women's Cricket Initiative" as they again demonstrated a strong commitment to developing the game for women via their Women's Ambassador Program.
The "Best Spirit of Cricket Initiative" was the third award won by Cricket PNG in 2010 and was won because of a combination of their HIV/Aids awareness Supa Clinics and Don't Drink and Drive Cricket Legends T20 Bash. Attracting huge names in the game of cricket such as Muttiah Muralitharan, Andy Bichel, Craig Mcdermott, Greg Rowell, Brad Hogg, Greg Campbell, Adam Holioke, Greg Ritchie and Steve Rixin to promote positive messages across the country will leave a long lasting and sustainable legacy for many people in PNG.
The "Lifetime Service Award" was won by Randy Reckerman from Cricket Indonesia.
ICC EAP RDM, Andrew Faichney stated that "Randy has been a wonderful servant of cricket in Indonesia, serving the game selflessly for over 20 years. He has been a passionate and tireless volunteer for cricket in Indonesia for so very long, and this award will go some way to recognising what an amazing contribution he has made."
The EAP award winners will now join winners from the four other Pepsi International Cricket Council (ICC) Development Program Regions at the ICC Global Awards.
