Ken Borland

Tabraiz Shamsi has been in the shadow of Imran Tahir in white-ball cricket for most of his international career and is finally back in the Test squad after appearing in the longest format of the game just twice, in 2016 and 2018, and says he is eager to win games in all formats for the Proteas in the West Indies.

Shamsi has established himself as South Africa’s No.1 limited-overs spinner, winning the T20 Player of the Year award on Monday night and featuring in seven of their nine ODIs since the start of 2020. But it is his Test prospects which are perhaps most interesting.

The left-arm wrist-spinner took a wicket in each innings on Test debut against Australia in Adelaide in November 2016 and his second Test was against Sri Lanka in Galle in July 2018. Shamsi was threatening in the first innings, taking three wickets, and then added a single wicket in the second innings.

But that was his last Test appearance, although coach Mark Boucher did want to play him in a three-pronged spin attack in the first Test against Pakistan in Karachi in January, but Shamsi pulled out shortly before the toss with a back spasm.

“As far as the Test team goes, I feel like I have unfinished business, but I have to wait my turn and give it my all when the chance comes, I only think about winning games for my country. The role of a spinner is very important in the West Indies because their batsmen play calypso cricket, high-octane cricket, just playing shots. So a leg-spinner or a wrist-spinner can definitely turn the game there.

“It hasn’t been easy being behind Imran Tahir for so many years, just playing one or two games here and there, usually when we’ve already won the series. But you only really learn when you play regularly: If you make a mistake on Wednesday then you can try and rectify it on Friday and Sunday. Consistency of playing leads to better performances,” Shamsi said.

Confidence and consistent performances are certainly also products of having the same team together for a while and Shamsi is looking forward to the T20 squad playing some regular cricket now ahead of their World Cup in October/November. South Africa will play five T20s against the West Indies and three versus Ireland, as well as having series against Sri Lanka and India lined up.

“It will be nice to go into the World Cup with some confidence, but it is five months away. So I just want to keep improving and hopefully I’ll be in even better form then after quite a good last season. The World Cup will be in the subcontinent so this is a nice opportunity to fine-tune and come up with and perfect game-plans where the pitches are normally slow.

“We may get the same conditions at the World Cup so we want tough games now. The team maybe does not have a lot of caps, but we have all played a lot of domestic cricket. We know the skills in the squad and that gives us confidence, we know the firepower we have is really exciting. It’s not bad to be flying under the radar and I think we will surprise a few people,” Shamsi said.

Anrich Nortje is the rapidly improving fast bowler who won the Newcomer of the Year award last season for the Proteas, and now on Monday night he was crowned the overall Player of the Year. And the 27-year-old just wants to be the bowler who keeps hitting the top of off stump more than anyone else.

As well as being named the SA Men’s Cricketer of the Year,  Nortje took the titles of Test Cricketer of the Year and the Fans’ Player of the Year, and also shared the prestigious Players’ Player of the Year award with Aiden Markram.

“I was not thinking about winning four awards after such an up-and-down season with Covid and not playing a lot of games. I had a decent season but I’m just very happy to be part of the awards again. I’m quite happy with how I progressed, there were just moments here and there where I needed to lift. I’ve had a short career but there have been a lot of highlights in the Tests.

“I’m looking forward to building on that momentum and I’m very excited about going to the West Indies. I’ve heard a lot of good stories about the place, but I’m not sure if it will suit fast bowling. When you know the conditions aren’t going to suit you, then you just have to concentrate extra hard on the basics, try and hit the top of off stump as often as possible,” Nortje said.

Fellow fast bowler Shabnim Ismail was the SA Women’s Cricketer of the Year and she also sounded like someone who had passed their exams, acknowledging that the 2020/21 season had been a testing one. She was also voted the Players’ Player of the Year and the T20 Cricketer of the Year.

“I’m truly happy with the awards because they show all the hard work behind the scenes has paid off. I was really happy with my performances and I’m just really grateful and happy to win these awards. I put in the hard yards, I was getting career-bests and I’ve done well for the team. I was chuffed with my performances and happy overall.

“I have to give credit to my team-mates because I could not do it without them and our new strength and conditioning coach has helped with my loads and our whole management team is just so positive. We wanted to portray ourselves as a different South African team and I think we did that in the last two series against Pakistan and India. And now hopefully we can win the World Cup,” Ismail said.

Keegan Petersen says there have been nerves and excitement, gratitude and a sense of privilege, but no frustration during his lengthy time in the Proteas squad without actually playing in a match, which looks set to come to an end in the Caribbean.

South Africa take on the West Indies in the first Test from June 10 and there is a vacancy in the batting line-up with Faf du Plessis having retired. And new captain Dean Elgar only mentioned Petersen when he was asked last weekend about who was in the mix to replace the former captain.

“It’s been a while being in the squad, but it doesn’t feel like a long time because it is always so nice coming into this environment. It’s a higher level of professionalism and it’s a privilege to be here. So it hasn’t required much patience, I’m just grateful to be here and there hasn’t been any frustration. But I have been nervous for a while and I get goosebumps just thinking about making my debut.

“I know I’ll have big boots to fill and when your dream becomes a reality, it gives your system a bit of a shock. I don’t know how selection is going to go, but I am extremely excited to represent my country and it would mean the world to my family. We are very close and tight-knit, and my pride is their pride and my tears are their tears. This is what I dreamed of as a kid,” Petersen said.

The 27-year-old had to leave his family in Paarl to make those cricketing dreams come true, and he said he was pleased the winding road of his career had brought him to Durban and playing for the champion Dolphins side.

“It’s been an up-and-down journey from Paarl to Bloemfontein to Durban. So I’ve gone from coast to coast, it’s been a long journey. I’ve been in the first-class system for almost 10 years, so I’ve been around. So it would mean a lot to get a go on this tour because I know the journey has been tough and long, this is what I’ve worked for, why I play cricket.

“I like to think I’ve built a reputation over the last couple of years in domestic cricket and I’ve learnt a lot since joining the Dolphins, it has expanded my game in testing conditions in Durban. Kingsmead has prepared me for any slow or turning pitch because that’s all we get there to be honest. It’s a spinning wicket and I know I’ll be prepared for whatever I get in the Caribbean,” Petersen said.

Cricket South Africa acting CEO Pholetsi Moseki declared his delight on Monday night as fast bowlers Anrich Nortje and Shabnim Ismail were named as CSA’s men’s and women’s players of the year.

Ismail won the award for a second time, following her triumph in 2015, and joins Marizanne Kapp (twice) and Dane van Niekerk (three times) as the only multiple winners of the main women’s award.

Nortje claimed the Player of the Year honours just a season after being named Newcomer of the Year, the first player to achieve this feat.

“Genuine fast bowling remains one of the great and thrilling sights of our game and we are indeed blessed to continue to produce world leaders in this demanding skill. Anrich and Shabnim have set the highest standards that we expect from our icon Proteas players.

“Anrich’s international career to date has been remarkable. In the space of a year he has gone from being named our International Newcomer of the Year to our overall Player of the Year – an incredible achievement. The pandemic has restricted him to just 10 Test matches to date in which he has taken 39 wickets, including three five-wicket hauls, and his strike rate of 48.50 is comfortably within the world’s leading bowlers.

“Shabnim is the fastest bowler on the women’s international circuit, and she has been the leader of our Proteas attack for a long time now. She is the only South African to have taken 100 wickets in the T20 International format and she recently passed the significant landmark of 150 wickets in ODI cricket. She has played a huge role in enabling our Proteas to break into the top group of countries,” Moseki said in a statement released after the virtual awards were announced on social media.

Nortje was also voted Test Cricketer of the Year, SA Fans’ Player of the Year and shared the Players’ Player of the Year honour with Aiden Markram, while another pace bowler, Wiaan Mulder, was given the Delivery of the Year award for his dismissal of Kusal Mendis, caught by Rassie van der Dussen (who was named the ODI Cricketer of the Year), in the second Test against Sri Lanka.

Ismail also enjoyed a feast of awards, claiming the T20 Cricketer of the Year and Players’ Player of the Year prizes.

Lizelle Lee (ODI Cricketer of the Year) and Tabraiz Shamsi (T20 Player of the Year) were also the cream of the crop in the white-ball formats after seasons filled with runs and wickets respectively.

Adrian Holdstock was once again the Umpire of the Year.

The domestic awards were asymmetrically lopsided in favour of the Dolphins, who claimed five of the eight honours with Keshav Maharaj named both Most Valuable Player and Players’ Player of the Year.

Award winners

SA Men’s Cricketer of the Year:                                                        Anrich Nortje

SA Women’s Cricketer of the Year:                                                Shabnim Ismail

Test Cricketer of the Year:                                                                 Anrich Nortje

One-Day International Cricketer of the Year:                  Rassie van der Dussen

T20 International Cricketer of the Year:                                       Tabraiz Shamsi

Momentum Proteas One-Day International Cricketer of the Year:  Lizelle Lee

Proteas T20 International Cricketer of the Year:                        Shabnim Ismail

SA Men Players’ Player of the Year:                Aiden Markram & Anrich Nortje

SA Women’s Players’ Player of the Year:                                      Shabnim Ismail

SA Fans’ Player of the Year:                                                              Anrich Nortje

KFC Streetwise Award:                           Lizelle Lee        (innings of 132 v India)

CSA Delivery of the Year: Wiaan Mulder (v Kusal Mendis, SA v SL, 2^nd Test)

International Newcomer of the Year:                                               George Linde

Women’s International Newcomer of the Year:                              Black Day kit