Ken Borland

Kagiso Rabada and Quinton de Kock, who have dominated the CSA Men’s Cricketer of the Year award in recent years, have both missed out on being nominated for any of the major honours for the last season as the list of nominees for the CSA Awards was announced on Monday.

Fast bowler Rabada, named the Cricketer of the Year in both 2016 and 2018, played just two Tests and two ODIs in the last season and took five wickets at an average of 39.40 in the longer format and two wickets in 50-over cricket. In two T20s, he claimed just one wicket.

2017 and 2020 Cricketer of the Year De Kock, who endured a torrid time with the captaincy, scored just 74 runs in six Test innings, while he only played two ODIs and three T20s last season.

The fact that it was a deeply troubled season for the Proteas is reflected in the fact that the four nominees for the award – Temba Bavuma, Aiden Markram, Anrich Nortje and Rassie van der Dussen – have all never won the main prize before.

Markram (Test & T20), Nortje (Test & ODI) and Van der Dussen (ODI & T20) have all been nominated for two of the other main awards, while Bavuma is on the shortlist for Test Cricketer of the Year, having averaged 50.40 last season.

Markram was the second-highest run-scorer in the four Tests the Proteas played, scoring 36 less than Dean Elgar and averaging 56, while Nortje took twice as many wickets as anyone else – 20 in four matches at an average of 24.85.

Van der Dussen only played two ODIs, but was the leading run-scorer with 183, including a brilliant unbeaten 123 against Pakistan. The three-match series against Pakistan was the only ODI action South Africa saw last season, with their series against England being cancelled due to Covid.

The Proteas Women had a season they could be proud of, however, and fast bowler Shabnim Ismail and batters Lizelle Lee, Sune Luus and Laura Wolvaardt will battle it out for the Women’s Cricketer of the Year title.

Being very poor in short periods of play and not being desperate enough in the field were the two main concerns Proteas coach Mark Boucher has after the ODI series loss to Pakistan, but he is also worried about injuries to captain Temba Bavuma and key batsman Rassie van der Dussen heading into the T20 series.

South Africa lost the decisive 50-over match at Centurion on Wednesday evening by 28 runs but were competitive for almost the entire contest despite missing six first-choice players. They were not only deprived of their five IPL stars, but Van der Dussen had to pull out due to a quad strain.

“We want to start winning series, especially at home, so it is very disappointing to lose this one. We knew a while ago that the IPL guys would be leaving, so the players coming in were prepared. It was unfortunate to lose Rassie to injury, that was another blow, and although a couple of the guys coming in did really well, it’s not about individuals but about the team, and we lost.

“The problem is when we’re not good in certain pockets of the game we are really bad. For example the last two overs today going for 43 runs … if we had kept that down to 25 then we would have had a much better chance of winning. I would also like to see higher intensity and more desperation in the field; we maybe would have won the first ODI if we had been better in the field,” Boucher said after Wednesday’s match.

The coach said Van der Dussen and Bavuma, who injured his hamstring while batting, are both doubtful for the T20 series that starts on Saturday at the Wanderers.

“Rassie has between a Grade I and Grade II quad strain so he’s probably out for 10 days. We hope for a quick turnaround but it would be stupid to try and push him, so he’s not likely to get on the park. Temba is a tough guy but he’s hobbling in the changeroom and in quite a bit of pain, so I’m afraid it’s quite bad. But those are the cards we’ve been dealt and we have to find a way.

“The senior players need to stand up in those tough, pressurised moments. Even when we’ve played at only 50%, we’ve still had a chance to win if it were not for disappointing little things. But it was good to see we have some depth, we’ve got backup players who can stamp their mark on international cricket. Kyle Verreynne, Janneman Malan and Keshav Maharaj all did really well,” Boucher said.

Ruan Nortje is far too polite to ever be accused of frustration, but there is no doubt being passed over for Craven Week created a great hunger in the lock which can still be seen today in his rip-roaring displays for the Bulls.

The Wonderboom High School product only made the Bulls team for the U18 Academy Week in 2016, but he did secure a place in the provincial academy at Tuks. He caught the eye of current Bulls assistant coach Nollis Marais and, from then on he has been destined for greater things, representing the SA U20s and making his Bulls debut in 2018.

Nortje’s rampaging form over the last year saw him win the SuperRugby Unlocked Forward of the Year award at the Bulls’ weekend awards ceremony, but the 22-year-old could just as easily have won the Unsung Hero title if there had been such a category.

“Every time I go on the field it’s just important for me to give my best for the team and play my heart out. It’s a big opportunity for me to play for the Bulls, it was always a big dream of mine and I never gave up on that dream. I was over the moon in matric when I got the opportunity to come here and express what I love doing. I’m here for a reason and I believe the Lord has put me here.

“So I just try to give my all, it’s just my instinct to be as hard and physical as possible. I’ve always looked up to Francois Mostert, I’ve based my game on him and I love the way he plays. He’s not the biggest lock but he always plays hard with a lot of heart and passion. It’s a massive dream of mine now to follow him and play at international level,” Nortje said at the Bulls celebration at Loftus Versfeld.

And there is certainly no affectation – he is just one of the most likeable young players around – when Nortje expresses his gratitude for the mentors who have helped him on his journey.

“I had two awesome coaches at high school in coach Braam Pretorius and Mnr Van Wyk, they had all the confidence in me that I would be good enough at the top level. Also Lood de Jager and RG Snyman, I’ve learnt a lot from them. Lood coached us in the Currie Cup and he had a big impact on me, being one of the best locks in the world. And it’s been a privilege to play with Duane Vermeulen, who has so much rugby wisdom.

“And it’s been easy to play under Jake White because there’s a system in place and it means a lot to me that he had confidence in me and the other younger players, which you don’t often see. And Russell Winter has been the most under-the-radar coach but he deserves the most credit, he means so much to me in terms of lineout play. Russell is very underrated but he’s one of the best forwards coaches,” Nortje said.

Bulls coach Jake White says critics have a tendency to be suspicious about players changing position, but the incredible success story of Cornal Hendricks moving from wing to inside centre and being man of the match in the Currie Cup final shows the tremendous benefits that can be gleaned from such bold decisions.

The 32-year-old Hendricks, barring a couple of seasons in midfield in the early stages of his career at Boland, had played all his rugby before 2020 and all 12 of his Tests for the Springboks on the wing, but White raised eyebrows when he moved the popular Paarl product to centre before his first game in charge at Loftus Versfeld. On Saturday night, after the Bulls’ triumph in the Currie Cup final, White pronounced Hendricks as probably his player of the season.

“Cornal has been phenomenal, probably our best player this season. A lot of guys in that No.12 jersey started on the wing – Ma’a Nonu, Tana Umaga and Caleb Clarke is now establishing himself there as well. It’s about his appreciation for space and it helps having Morne Steyn and Ivan van Zyl inside him. The youngsters have also learnt a lot from Cornal because he is very professional and so dedicated, and a great communicator.

“I started coaching in 1982 and for me it has always been about putting combinations together. Bryan Habana started at centre and became one of the best wings ever, Jean de Villiers played wing and centre, Beauden Barrett plays flyhalf and fullback. One needs to trust the coaching staff and the player. Who knows, one these guys playing wing today might end up at centre as well,” White said.

While Hendricks’ mien is always one of cheerfulness, he has come through numerous tough times in his career, most notably when a heart defect was discovered and he was told n 2015 that he would have to give up rugby. Springbok legend De Villiers, who was Hendricks’ captain in the national team, has high praise for the tenacity of the man.

“When you take Cornal’s whole career in consideration, he’s always been fighting adversity and having to prove himself – from the Sevens circuit to playing for the Cheetahs and then the whole heart thing when no-one wanted to take a risk on him. But he has always adapted and when he moved to centre I almost just expected him to make a success of it.

“And the position has fit like a glove for him, he gets go-forward with the ball and his defence has been very astute. Maybe he doesn’t quite have the pace anymore of his Sevens days, but he still has plenty for an inside centre,” De Villiers told The Citizen.