Dubai, Aug 19 (IANS): The International Cricket Council (ICC) Thursday included England off-spinner Graeme Swann in the list of nominations for the Cricketer of the Year award, terming his omission from the original list a "genuine oversight."

England players, current and former, and the media have been vocal in criticising Swann's omission from the list.

"It was a genuine oversight on the part of the committee as Graeme fully deserved to be nominated in this category," said Clive Lloyd, who heads the selection panel for the ICC awards.

"Graeme, during the voting period, produced some very strong performances which puts him alongside the other top performers. On behalf of the selection panel, I apologise for this oversight."

Swann's initial exclusion from the list of 16 candidates chosen for the top award had drawn criticism from England players and his supporters.

Swann ended the international cricketing year by being in top three of the Test bowling rankings.

He took 49 Test wickets at an average 27.55 and 28 one-day wickets at 23.

The voting period for the nominations was from August 24, 2009 to August 10, 2010.