Can anyone beat Jenson Button to BBC award?

The shortlist for the BBC Sports Personality of the Year (SPOTY) award was announced last night and while there were few surprises about those included in the final 10 names, the omissions from the list are the more significant. Only one member of the Ashes-winning England cricket team was nominated (captain Andrew Strauss), when arguably it was Stuart Broad's bowling in the Fifth Test that ultimately set up the 2-1 series victory.

Cyclist Bradley Wiggins missed the cut, despite finishing fourth in this year's Tour de France, the highest place that a Briton has ever achieved. And in horse racing, Tony McCoy missed the chance to become the first jockey to take the award for the remarkable achievement of completing 3,000 lifetime victories (and for taking home the champion jumps jockey trophy for a staggering 15th consecutive season).

The full list reads: Jenson Button (Formula 1); Tom Daley (diving); Jessica Ennis (heptathlon); David Haye (boxing); Phillips Idowu (triple jump); Beth Tweddle (gymnastics); Mark Cavendish (cycling); Andy Murray (tennis); Andrew Strauss (cricket); and Ryan Giggs (football). Button, Daley, Ennis, Haye, Idowu and Tweddle all became world champions in their respective sports this year. The niche nature of diving and gymnastics suggests that Tweddle and Daley will probably be happy enough to have garnered nominations.

Triple-jumper Idowu was a surprise winner this year, having crumbled under pressure at last year's Olympics, and could be a good outside bet, but the likeliest track and field star to take the gong will be Jessia Ennis, who returned from injury to destroy a top quality field at the World Championships in Berlin in