Ken Borland

AB de Villiers made it impossible for the International Cricket Council’s enumerators who decide on the nominees for their annual awards to ignore him and South Africa’s ODI captain was yesterday duly announced as one of four candidates for the ICC Cricketer of the Year award as well as being shortlisted in the individual one-day international category.

De Villiers will go up against Australian fast bowler Mitchell Johnson and Sri Lankan run-machines Angelo Mathews and Kumar Sangakkara for the Sir Garfield Sobers Trophy that goes to the best cricketer overall between August 26, 2013 and September 17, 2014.

Fellow South Africans Quinton de Kock and Dale Steyn, as well as Indian batting star Virat Kohli, will be his rivals for the ICC ODI Cricketer of the Year award.

Hopefully the judges will also take into account the fact that De Villiers has been keeping wicket exceptionally well while starring with the bat. Scoring 932 runs in 10 Tests at an average of 54.80 and 963 runs in 20 ODIs at an average of over 60 is great work in anyone’s book.

The fiery Johnson enjoyed a phenomenal haul of 59 wickets from his eight Tests in the period under review, three of which were against world number ones South Africa, while Sangakkara gathered 1502 runs from 11 Tests, with four centuries, and Mathews, who took over the Sri Lankan captaincy from Mahela Jayawardene, averaged 92 in Tests and just under 54 in ODIs.

De Kock’s five centuries in ODIs during the qualifying period, including three in a row against India, made him a certainty for the ODI shortlist but how he was not named amongst the four for the Emerging Player of the Year award is a mystery. Instead Kiwis and Englishmen dominate that category, with Jimmy Neesham, Corey Anderson, Gary Ballance and Ben Stokes nominated.

Steyn ended the visits to the crease of 36 batsmen in 16 ODIs and had an economy rate of just 4.32 runs-per-over, and was selected to the ICC Test Team of the Year for a record seventh successive year, while the honour has gone to De Villiers for the fifth time.

De Kock has joined that duo in the ICC ODI XI of the year to give South Africa equal-most representation with India – captain Mahendra Singh Dhoni, Virat Kohli and Mohammad Shami.

Amazingly, Hashim Amla has failed to crack the nod for any ICC awards this year.

Chris Morris ... just loving his cricket

Chris Morris says the contrast between the squalor on the pavements of India and the billionaire lifestyle of the IPL gave him clarity about what he wanted to do with his life.

“India made a massive impact on me and I learnt a huge amount, especially about lifestyle things. I realised how fortunate I was to be paid so well to play cricket, something I love doing. It was a humbling experience,” Morris says.

The way the Highveld Lions paceman ended up playing for the powerhouse Chennai Super Kings side in the IPL is the stuff of dreams. He literally bowled well enough in one spell for the Lions against the Chennai Super Kings in the 2012 Champions League for coach Stephen Fleming to convince the T20 team’s management that they had to sign the young bowling all-rounder. His fee was an astonishing $625 000, but word from the CSK camp is that they were willing to pay a million dollars for him.

But before his Indian adventure, Morris had already played a couple of T20 internationals for South Africa and he made his ODI debut for the Proteas after the IPL as he was called into the Champions League squad as a replacement for the injured Morne Morkel.

That’s because Morris’s passion for the game, his aggression and determination had already been clear to the South African selectors, even without any Indian epiphanies.

For Proteas bowling coach Allan Donald, attitude is Morris’s stand-out feature.

“What I really do like about Chris is that he gives it a crack, I like his attitude, he’s cocky, he’s got that arrogance towards what he does that all fast bowlers need. He gives so much on the field and it’s not put on, he wears his heart on his sleeve,” Donald says.

CHRISTOPHER HENRY MORRIS is the son of former Northerns left-arm spinner Willie Morris, who took 208 wickets in 74 first-class matches, and they are one of only three father-and-son pairs to have taken a first-class hat-trick anywhere in the world. Morris junior was born in Pretoria on 30 April 1987, attended Pretoria Boys’ High School and played for Northerns Schools in 2004, but he roamed in the relative wilderness of amateur provincial cricket for three years playing for North-West.

The Highveld Lions eventually contracted him for the 2011/12 season and he took the T20 competition by storm, but also showed the penetration needed to succeed in all formats as he claimed 23 wickets in five four-day matches.

The national selectors responded to the exciting talent he displayed by choosing him for the South Africa XI that played in a triangular T20 tournament with hosts Zimbabwe and Bangladesh in June 2012 and Morris then produced one of the most sensational spells of fast bowling seen at the Wanderers during the Lions’ first game there of the summer.

The Dolphins were chasing 241 for victory but Morris took eight for 44 in 21 overs – the best figures in the franchise’s history – to send the visitors crashing to 187 all out.

The Champions League was his next assignment and, in the Lions’ second match, he produced the spell – 4-1-24-1 – at Newlands against Chennai that changed his life.

Morris continued to be the spearhead of the powerful Lions attack in the Sunfoil Series, taking 32 wickets in six matches at an average of just 16, while he also shone in the Momentum One-Day Cup and the RamSlam T20 Challenge.

Having dreamt of being a professional cricketer, Morris has now been to the streets of India and back, but what lies ahead for the 26-year-old?

Donald is convinced Morris has a very exciting future and is the sort of attacking bowler who he wants to groom for Test cricket.

“He can certainly play Test cricket and it’s great that he’s not just focusing on T20 and thinks the IPL is the be-all and end-all for him. Chris has genuine pace and he swings the new ball away a bit, but bounce is his biggest asset. When he hits the right areas hard, then he’s very awkward to play.

“I spoke to Willie and told him what a lekker oke his son is to have in the team for what he brings to the group. I love his work, he’s a keen listener and eager to learn.

“I’m going to keep him tight on my shoulder and teach him how to think about his bowling and how to go about setting batsmen up. But he’s exciting,” Donald says.

Banker Farhaan Behardien and his beautiful extra cover drive

There is nothing overly ornate about Farhaan Behardien as a batsman, but he gets the job done.

That’s not to say that his lofted drive over extra cover is not a thing of immense beauty or skill, but he has become the banker for the Titans, producing the goods in the middle-order whether it be in four-day, 50-over or T20 cricket.

His amazing consistency and his nerveless finishing as the Titans claimed the MiWayT20 Challenge title caught the eye of national coach Gary Kirsten, who is reputed to have said: “Who does that?” when he saw Behardien’s  stats of 333 runs at an average of 66.60 and a strike-rate of 143.53. The 29-year-old was not out in seven of his 12 innings.

Behardien made his international debut in a T20 match against India in March but he could so easily have slipped through the net had he stayed in Cape Town, with all its batting riches.

Having only played for Western Province B in Nuffield Week, Behardien spent three seasons playing sporadically for the Western Province amateur team before being sent to the National Academy in 2006.

It was there that Richard Pybus spotted him and Behardien soon had his first professional contract, with the Titans.

Cape Town is where the family is, FARHAAN BEHARDIEN having moved there when he was five, after being born in Johannesburg on 9 October 1983, but Centurion is where he has made his name.

A wiry, amiable fellow, Behardien wears the weight of pressure as a designated “finisher” well.

“Batting at the death, under pressure, is a job you have to love and I’ve grown to love it,” he says.

“It’s not easy, because it’s all-or-nothing, but I’ve grown to love that risk or reward aspect. I think it’s just a natural part of my temperament and character, I have a very high will to compete.”

While Pybus gave Behardien his break, it was Chris van Noordwyk who gave him extra responsibility by batting him higher up the order, while he has now fitted comfortably under the wing of Englishman Matthew Maynard, who guided the Titans to two titles last season and was a brilliant limited-overs player in his day.

“Matthew is vastly experienced, he was Duncan Fletcher’s assistant coach with England so he has been involved with so many great players. He has taught me to keep a calm head,” Behardien says.

The brilliant fielder and part-time medium-pacer was sent to Westerford High School in Cape Town, which is better known for its academics, so Behardien has had to fight for every bit of recognition, which will buttress him well against the vagaries of form and expectation as an international batsman.

“He’s someone who came through the hard school, it’s been a hard road to where he is. But that means that when you go to war, you take him with you. He’s a fantastic player, very consistent and I’m very impressed by him,” national selector Vinnie Barnes says.

Behardien’s morale has certainly never been dented by his slow rise to national colours.

“I’ve had to build up steadily and gain experience, but I’m not too disappointed that I had to wait a while. I’ve shown glimpses in the past of what I can do, but last season I had consistency.

“The experience will hold me in good stead and now every opportunity is just a chance to showcase my skills. I’ll keep working hard and keep knocking on the door with my performances.

“I’ve done the hard yards and I’ve got nothing against the process. In fact, I thoroughly enjoyed it!” Behardien says.