The Sri Lanka cricket team was the recipients of the Spirit of Cricket Award at the ICC Awards celebration in Dubai on Wednesday night. It is the second year in a row that Mahela Jayawardene's team has won the award, which is presented to the team which, in the opinion of the elite panel of ICC umpires and match referees, has best conducted itself on the field within the spirit of the game. The award was presented to Jayawardene by Tim May, the former Australia off spinner who is currently the chief executive of the Federation of International Cricketers' Associations (FICA). Upon receiving the award on behalf of his team, Jayawardene said: "The captain has to set the example but at the same time every player in the team has to take responsibility and play the game in the right spirit.

"You have to be aggressive and passionate when you play for your country - you have to want to win. But you don't have to cross the line and be personal. There are ways of being aggressive while still controlling your anger and passion. "It feels great to win this award because it is a team award. On the field the lads give everything they've got, so to do it in the right spirit as well means a lot to me and my team-mates." This spirit is described in the preamble to the Laws of Cricket: "Cricket is a game that owes much of its unique appeal to the fact that it should be played not only within its Laws but also within the Spirit of the Game. Any action which is seen to abuse this spirit causes injury to the game itself."

The preamble goes on to say: "The Spirit of the Game involves respect for:

·  Your opponents

·  Your own captain and team

·  The role of the umpires

·  The game's traditional values

This is the second time Sri Lanka has won this award. Previously, England won it in 2005 and 2006, while New Zealand took the honour at the inaugural ICC Awards in 2004. Sri Lanka was one of several teams that demonstrated the Spirit of Cricket to great effect over the past 12 months, and it narrowly defeated Bangladesh, New Zealand and the West Indies to win this award.

The Spirit of Cricket Award was one of 11 individual and team honours handed out during the ICC Awards in association with FICA. The event, held at The Westin Hotel, Dubai, recognises cricket's star performers over a 12-month period. The voting period for this year's awards was the 12 months between August 9, 2007 and August 12, 2008.

The ceremony is now in its fifth year and this is the first time it has been staged in Dubai, the home of the International Cricket Council. Previous ceremonies were held in London (2004), Sydney (2005), Mumbai (2006) and Johannesburg (2007). © Cricinfo