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Ken Borland



Maharaj rewarded for being at the heart of the Proteas in all formats 0

Posted on September 26, 2022 by Ken

Spin bowler Keshav Maharaj was acknowledged as being at the heart of the Proteas team in all formats as he was named the 2021/22 SA Men’s Cricketer of the Year at Cricket South Africa’s virtual awards on Sunday evening.

Seamer Ayabonga Khaka claimed the SA Women’s Cricketer of the Year award, and both her and Maharaj were voted by their team-mates as the Players’ Player of the Year.

In the year’s action up to the end of the Test series against Bangladesh on April 11, Maharaj shone with the ball in all three formats. In eight Tests, the left-arm spinner took 30 wickets at an average of just 18.20; in 14 ODIs, he claimed 18 wickets at 31.77 and an economy rate of only 4.61, while he conceded just 5.84 runs per over in eight T20s, also taking six wickets while captaining the side on occasion.

Khaka has become an extremely consistent member of the effective Proteas Women’s attack, especially in ODIs, where she took 28 wickets in 15 matches.

Kagiso Rabada was named the Test Player of the Year, Aiden Markram the T20 International Player of the Year,and Janneman Malan was One-Day International Player of the Year.

Marco Jansen was named the International Newcomer of the Year, while other notable winners from the women’s categories were Lizelle Lee (T20 International Player of the Year)and Laura Wolvaardt (One-Day International Player of the Year).

Central Gauteng Lions paceman Sisanda Magala will continue to remind the national selectors of his abilities as he was the biggest winner on the domestic front, claiming the One-Day Cup Player of the Season, Domestic Players’ Player of the Season, and the SACA Most Valuable Player Award.

Mandla Mashimbyi of the Titans will go into the new season basking in the glow of his Coach of the Year award, while SuperSport Park’s Bryan Bloy was named Groundsman of the Year.

CSA AWARD WINNERS 2021/22

AMATEUR AWARDS

  1. KFC MINI-CRICKET COACH OF THE YEAR – Jerry Thulo(CGL)
  2. KFC MINI-CRICKET BUCKET LOADS OF GOOD AWARD – Joseph Ngqasa (Kei)
  3. CSA BOYS U16 PLAYER OF THE TOURNAMENT – Riley Norton (Boland)
  4. CSA GIRLS U16 PLAYER OF THE TOURNAMENT – Mpumelelo Mashiloane (Easterns)
  5. CSA GIRLS U19 PLAYER OF THE TOURNAMENT – Elandri Janse van Rensburg (NW)
  6. KHAYA MAJOLA CRICKET WEEK PLAYER OF THE TOURNAMENT – Ronan Hermann (CGL)
  7. CSA U19 PLAYER OF THE YEAR – Dewald Brevis (Titans)
  8. CSA BLIND CRICKET PLAYER OF THE YEAR – Buhle Bhidla (CGL)
  9. CSA DEAF CRICKET PLAYER OF THE YEAR – Arthur McGee (Titans)
  10. CSA RURAL CRICKET PLAYER OF THE YEAR – Nathan Engelbrecht (Boland)
  11. T20 COMMUNITY CUP PLAYER OF THE TOURNAMENT – Nathan Engelbrecht (Boland)
  12. CSA STUDENT PLAYER OF THE YEAR – Donovan Ferreira (Tuks)
  13. WOMEN’S PROVINCIAL COACH OF THE YEAR – Wynand Schmitt (NW)
  14. KEMACH EQUIPMENT GROUNDSMAN OF THE YEAR – Bryan Bloy – SuperSport Park, Centurion
  15. CSA FAIRPLAY AWARD – EP Warriors
  16. CSA WOMEN’S PROVINCIAL PLAYER OF THE YEAR – Tazmin Brits (NW)

PROFESSIONAL AWARDS – DOMESTIC

  1. CSA UMPIRES’ UMPIRE OF THE YEAR – Allahudien Paleker
  2. CSA UMPIRE OF THE YEAR – Allahudien Paleker
  3. DOMESTIC NEWCOMER OF THE SEASON – Mitchell van Buuren (CGL)
  4. SACA MOST VALUABLE PLAYER AWARD – Sisanda Magala (CGL)
  5. DIVISION 1 COACH OF THE SEASON – Mandla Mashimbyi (Titans)
  6. DIVISION 2 COACH OF THE SEASON – Mark Charlton (NC)
  7. T20 KNOCK OUT COMPETITION PLAYER OF THE TOURNAMENT – Rilee Rossouw (FS Knights)
  8. T20 CHALLENGE PLAYER OF THE SEASON – Pieter Malan (Boland Rocks)
  9. DIVISION 1 4-DAY DOMESTIC SERIES PLAYER OF THE SEASON – Ryan Rickelton (CGL)
  10. DIVISION 2 4-DAY DOMESTIC SERIES PLAYER OF THE SEASON – Thomas Kaber (Border Iinyathi)
  11. DIVISION 1 ONE-DAY CUP PLAYER OF THE SEASON – Sisanda Magala (CGL)
  12. DIVISION 2 ONE-DAY CUP PLAYER OF THE SEASON – Michael Erlank (KZN Inland Tuskers)
  13. DOMESTIC PLAYERS’ PLAYER OF THE SEASON – Sisanda Magala (CGL)

PROFESSIONAL AWARDS  – NATIONAL

GENERAL CATEGORIES

  1. THE BEST DELIVERY FUELLED BY KFC – Simon Harmer to Najmul Hossain Shanto (Bangladesh)
  2. MAKHAYA NTINI POWER OF CRICKET AWARD – Nonkululeko Mlaba
  3. SA FANS’ PLAYER OF THE YEAR – David Miller

MEN’S CATEGORIES

  1. INTERNATIONAL MEN’S NEWCOMER OF THE YEAR – Marco Jansen
  2. T20 INTERNATIONAL PLAYER OF THE YEAR – Aiden Markram
  3. ONE-DAY INTERNATIONAL PLAYER OF THE YEAR – Janneman Malan
  4. TEST PLAYER OF THE YEAR – Kagiso Rabada
  5. SA MEN’S PLAYERS’ PLAYER OF THE YEAR – Keshav Maharaj
  6. SA MEN’S PLAYER OF THE YEAR – Keshav Maharaj

WOMEN’S CATEGORIES

  1. MOMENTUM WOMEN’S T20 INTERNATIONAL PLAYER OF THE YEAR – Lizelle Lee
  2. MOMENTUM WOMEN’S ONE-DAY INTERNATIONAL PLAYER OF THE YEAR – Laura Wolvaardt
  3. SA WOMEN’S PLAYERS PLAYER OF THE YEAR – Ayabonga Khaka
  4. SA WOMEN’S PLAYER OF THE YEAR – Ayabonga Khaka

Vermeulen highly valued at Loftus but pipped to main Bulls award 0

Posted on March 19, 2021 by Ken

There is no doubt Duane Vermeulen is still highly valued at Loftus Versfeld, but having swept the board in two national awards ceremonies in the last 10 days it was a surprise that he was pipped to the main prize in the Bulls’ awards evening in Pretoria on Friday night.

The stalwart Springbok eighthman was named both the SA Rugby overall Player of the Year and the Players’ Player of the Year at separate functions, but on Friday night he had to settle for being the Bulls’ Currie Cup Player of the Year and the fans’ player of the year as voted for on the Bulls’ app.

Instead it was the indefatigable fellow loose forward Marco Van Staden, who will leave the Bulls in June, and the inspirational comeback kid Cornal Hendricks who shared the overall Player of the Year award for the franchise. So outstanding were their displays that, for the first since the inception of the awards, the Bulls decided to share the main prize.

Bright young attacking talents Stravino Jacobs and David Kriel were named the most improved and newcomer of the year respectively, while scrumhalf Ivan van Zyl’s stellar efforts in directing the backline were rewarded with the Super Rugby Unlocked Back of the Year award, with Hendricks claiming the same title for the Currie Cup.

Much of the Bulls’ Currie Cup success was down to their excellence at source and tighthead prop Trevor Nyakane was the Forward of the Year for that competition, with the untiring lock Ruan Nortje winning for Super Rugby Unlocked.

Wright’s leadership & equanimity have seen the Titans’ equity just keep on rising 0

Posted on July 24, 2018 by Ken

 

The equity of the Multiply Titans just keeps rising, with another rich haul of trophies gathered at the Cricket South Africa Awards this year, and much of the credit for that success must go to the leadership and equanimity of Northerns Cricket Union president John Wright.

Apart from achieving success on the playing field – a box the Titans certainly ticked by winning two of the three franchise trophies – the union also places a high premium on CSA’s scorecard system that ranks administration, and winning the Affiliate of the Year title for four successive years is a tremendous feather in their cap.

“For the Northerns Cricket Union to win CSA’s incentive scorecard for four years running is definitely a highlight from an admin perspective, as is every competition we have won on the field. We implemented a turnaround strategy for the stadium, which we remodelled with cosmetic upgrades and making it fit for different uses. Jacques Faul [CEO] has done really well to turn SuperSport Park into a multi-use venue.

“The function of our board is good and there has been very good support from council. Before 2013, there were many meetings postponed because we didn’t have a quorum, but it hasn’t happened once since then. Our club cricket continues to do well too and a good university is critical for any province. The involvement and success of Tuks is one of the reasons we do well, they are strong, with good facilities, coaching and infrastructure,” Wright said.

2013 was the year that Wright began his tenure as NCU president and initially he was meant to serve a maximum of two two-year terms. But then CSA decided in 2015 that presidents can serve two three-year terms and the Northerns council decided recently that the renowned international hockey umpire is eligible for another term when elections are held in August.

If Wright is re-elected, which would seem to be the obvious move, then the 47-year-old will be stressing that there can be no relaxing as the NCU and the Titans have to keep striving for greater heights.

“This is a fantastic union and franchise, steeped in a lot of history, but we mustn’t forget that we weren’t always one of the big dogs. Now we have to maintain our success and keep looking at opportunities to improve. We have achieved a lot, but to rest on our laurels would be a huge mistake.

“The well-being of our clubs is critical and I would like to empower them and provide them with even more opportunities. On the field, obviously the Titans had the chance to do the treble but only ended up with the double. But it’s a very cut-throat, tight competition. But I do believe that we have what it takes to win all three tournaments, we just have to be consistent all the way through,” Wright said.

The senior sports organiser at the Tshwane University of Technology stated that the Northerns provincial team and transformation in schools would be areas of focus for him if he serves another term.

“We’ve ridden the wave for a long time, we’ve been one of the most successful franchises in South African cricket history by winning two trophies for three years in a row, but this season coming will be a good test of where the franchise really is because we will be without a lot of Proteas players. And it’s great that we have provided a number of new players for South Africa recently.

“I would also like to see our Northerns provincial team be more competitive and more consistent, that needs a bit of rebuilding. I hope those coaches are allowed time to come through and are not just hung out to dry after one season. We need to give them an opportunity to establish themselves.

“There’s also a lot of work to do in the transformation of schools. We have not been as effective as we should have been at that level – there are some spectacular results but then some schools are dragging their heels. And I would like to see people have an even bigger attachment to SuperSport Park, make it feel even more familiar for our fans,” Wright said.

The chairman of the Titans franchise is certainly now a familiar face in South African cricket and, having achieved so much already, he still has plenty to give.

 

 

True value of prolific Behardien recognised by Titans 0

Posted on May 04, 2018 by Ken

 

Farhaan Behardien has been playing for the Multiply Titans since 2006 and, even if his fortunes at national level have dived, his true value has been recognised by his franchise as he walked away with four trophies at the annual awards evening.

Behardien’s stellar season – he averaged 80 in the Sunfoil Series, 48.55 in the Momentum One-Day Cup and 234 in the RamSlam T20 Challenge – saw him claim the coveted Player of the Year, T20 Player of the Year, the First-Class Player of the Year and the Most Valuable Player of the Year awards.

“It’s something really special and the culmination of 12 years of hard work, a very proud moment for me. The Titans have done really well this season which has given me the platform to perform. Apart from playing a few amateur games for Western Province, I have been a one-club man and I have a passion for the Titans.

“Hopefully I can play for them for a few more years. After 12 years of playing, I kind of feel like I’ve got my doctorate now. Initially I was only able to provide glimpses and I seem to be the guy everyone loves to hate, I’ve been abused a lot. But I’m grateful to the Titans because they stuck with me.

“All that experience has now come together and is building to a head. There has always been some amazing talent at the Titans, and hopefully in a few years people will look back to myself, Heino Kuhn, Albie Morkel, Henry Davids, as being legends for the best franchise in the world. Heino and I are probably the only cricketers in the world to have won 14 domestic trophies,” Behardien said.

In one of the Titans’ greatest seasons, Behardien has been the glue in the middle-order, time and again playing the situation perfectly to be the matchwinner across all three formats.

“I’m strictly a middle-order bat and playing the situation asks tough questions of you but it’s part and parcel of the position I play. You learn to deal with it much better, whatever situation is in front of me, I just try and maximise my runs in however many balls I have. When you have not too long left in your career, you also tend to play with freedom,” Behardien said.

Behardien has lost his national contract and seems to be on the periphery of new Proteas coach Ottis Gibson’s plans, but don’t write off the 34-year-old just yet: his desire to play international cricket is as strong as ever and he remains one of the most successful and consistent batsmen in South African cricket.

“Whatever game is put in front of me, I just try and perform really well. Whenever the Titans have called, in whatever format, all three of them, in different situations, I’ve still managed to produce the goods. So I’ll be disappointed if I no longer get higher honours.

“I would love to go to next year’s World Cup, I can see myself at Lord’s scoring a hundred off 120 balls. That World Cup is a massive ambition of mine because I never played too much of a role in the previous world cups I went to. I would love to be part of that squad, but that’s up to the powers that be,” Behardien said.

http://www.titans.co.za/index.php/categories-1-layout/item/838-behardien-s-stellar-season

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