Five England players have been named in the International Cricket Council’s Test team of the year, which was announced today.

Alastair Cook, Jonathan Trott, Stuart Broad, Graeme Swann and James Anderson are joined by four representatives from South Africa, Indian batting great Sachin Tendulkar and Sri Lanka left-hander Kumar Sangakkara. Zaheer Khan, who missed almost all of the recent npower series through injury, is 12th man.

Swann and Anderson were each named in last year’s team, while Tendulkar has been named for a third year in a row and Steyn for a fourth successive year.

The team was chosen by a five-man panel comprising Clive Lloyd, Mike Gatting, Danny Morrison, Paul Adams and Zaheer Abbas. It is based on players’ performances between August 11 2010 and August 3 2011.

Former West Indies captain Lloyd, the chairman of the selection panel, said: “The selection of this year’s Test team was a difficult one with so many worthy candidates available to fill just 12 places. The team has a formidable line-up that bats well down the order and has bowlers with the ability and form to dismiss any opposition twice on any surface.

“The selection was a difficult process with so many outstanding performances available to look back on. All the top performers during the voting period were discussed at length and various combinations were considered.

“While selecting the squad, the selectors didn’t rely on statistics only but took into account all other factors like the opposition, pitch conditions, match situation etc. But when you have only 12 places to fill from a big group of world-class players, there will always be a few who will miss out.

“In the panel’s expert opinion, it has selected the best team based on performances over the past 12 months.”

Alastair Cook (England)
Hashim Amla (South Africa)
Jonathan Trott (England)
Sachin Tendulkar (India)
Kumar Sangakkara (Sri Lanka - wicketkeeper/captain)
AB de Villiers (South Africa)
Jacques Kallis (South Africa)
Stuart Broad (England)
Graeme Swann (England)
Dale Steyn (South Africa)
James Anderson (England)
Zaheer Khan (India - 12th man)