TheSportsCampus

Sri Lanka's Kumar Sangakkara has been named the ICC Test Cricketer of the Year 2012 at the LG ICC Awards.

During the performance period, he played 14 Tests and in 27 innings, he compiled 1,444 runs at an average of 60.16, including five centuries and five half-centuries. His highest score of 211 came against Pakistan in Abu Dhabi in October 2011, while he also scored 199 not out against the same side on home soil in Galle.

The independent voting academy of 32 highly credentialed cricket experts put Sangakkara first, ahead of an impressive group of players that had been short-listed, including Hashim Amla, Vernon Philander and Australia captain, Michael Clarke.

Sangakkara received the award from Test batting legend Brian Lara and was thrilled to be accepting the award in front of his home crowd in Colombo and said: "I'm continuing to ensure I am consistent and I need to keep raising the bar each year and keep trying harder and harder to ensure I keep playing good Test cricket. It's a constant battle but I have the support of a great team that helps me to do the best I can.

"I think I continue to learn from the youngsters in the team and will continue to grow as a player hopefully and it's a great honour to receive this award this evening."