Mixed bag of contenders for 2012 SA Cricket Awards
The 2012 South African Cricket Awards categories feature an exciting batch of nominees, with the winners to be announced at the Gala Dinner on Wednesday, 6 June at the Sandton Convention Centre in Johannesburg.
The SA Cricketer of the Year is the most prestigious award of the evening and in contention are AB de Villiers, Morne Morkel, Dale Steyn, Vernon Philander and Hashim Amla. Jacques Kallis was the winner of this award in 2011, with past winners including Hashim Amla, Graeme Smith, Dale Steyn, Shaun Pollock and Makhaya Ntini.
The newly-appointed Proteas' T20 and ODI captain AB de Villiers earned nominations in three categories, including the Sunfoil One-Day International Cricketer of the Year, Sunfoil Test Cricketer of the Year and for the SA Cricketer of the Year which he has never won. De Villiers currently averages close to 50 in both ODI's and Test's and was the leading run-scorer for the Caste Lager Proteas with a highest score of 160 against Sri Lanka this season.
Morne Morkel was the Proteas' leading wicket-taker in T20 and ODI cricket, and has earned recognition by being nominated for the T20 Cricketer of the Year, Sunfoil ODI Cricketer of the Year and for the SA Cricketer of the Year. His ODI career-best of 5/38 against New Zealand in Napier capped off a superb season for him.
Faf du Plessis of the Nashua Titans has been rewarded for his all-round performances on the domestic scene this season, receiving nominations for the One-Day Cup Cricketer of the Year, MiWay T20 Cricketer of the Year and the Supersport Series Cricketer of the Year. The young bizhub Highveld Lions' batsman, Temba Bavuma, had an excellent first-class campaign, and has been nominated for the SuperSport Series Cricketer of the Year alongside Lions' teammate Alviro Petersen and Du Plessis.
The Proteas' explosive debutant, Richard Levi has been nominated for the International T20 Cricketer of Year as well as the KFC "So Good" Award for his record ?breaking 117 against New Zealand in Hamilton.
CSA's Acting CEO, Jacques Faul congratulated all of the nominees: "Being nominated for the SA Cricket Awards is a proud moment in any cricketer's career. It is the recognition for all of your hard and diligent performances throughout the season, congratulations to all of the nominees!
"CSA Day is a special day on the cricketing calendar, a day where we get to celebrate the achievement of leading players and administrators for their excellence in amateur cricket, domestic professional cricket and operations, as well as the ultimate level of the SA team awards."
Cricket South Africa (CSA) also announced the nominees for the CSA Breakfast awards. These awards celebrate the best of the amateur cricketers, who will be honoured at Summer Place in Sandton on the morning of 6 June.
Shandr Fritz leads the nominations for the CSA Women's Cricketer of the Year award for her stellar performances for both the national team and her provincial side of Western Province. This is her second consecutive nomination for the award and she goes up against Western Province teammate Shabnim Ismail, who was a star with the ball in the 2011/2012 season.
"This is such exciting news! It's been a very successful season for me and the teams I play for, " Fritz said, "The coach (Yashin Ebrahim-Hassen) has had us working extra hard and that's just filtered into my performance at provincial level as that's where we get most of our match practice. I'm proud of the national team's success in our last tour against the England Academy and I'm very proud to have been able to help my provincial side, Western Province, to the final of the CSA Women's Provincial League. This just proves that hard work pays off and whatever you put your mind to will happen."
The third nominee is Trisha Chetty, who won the award in 2009. Chetty has produced exceptional performances both with bat and gloves for her province, KwaZulu-Natal, and for the National team.
"I'm so honoured for this opportunity, it's been a tough season for me with highs and lows in between but I ended it with a big high with the National team. The CSA awards are so important because they give players that little push to work harder and to do more, this recognition means a lot and I'm honoured just to be nominated," she concluded.
Fans have the opportunity to get involved in the Awards once again this year. They are being tasked with selecting the CSA Fans' Cricketer of the Year.
Online voting started earlier this month and fans from across the country have contributed to their favourite player's chance of winning by voting on www.cricket.co.za. Voting closes on 1st June.
Two lucky fans who take part in the hunt for the CSA Fans' Cricketer of the Year will be selected by random draw to enjoy a VIP experience at South African cricket's most memorable night of the calendar, the SA Cricket Awards gala dinner, which is the grand finale of CSA Day.
CSA Day will once again be an all-day affair, starting with the SA Cricket Awards breakfast, in association with KFC, which is held to celebrate the stars of tomorrow, followed by the CSA Golf Invitational, which gives key stakeholders an opportunity to have a round of golf with the Proteas rounded off by the Gala Dinner which celebrates our professional stars.
Amateur Awards: Women's Cricket
CSA's Women's Cricketer of the Year: Shandre Fritz - Trisha Chetty - Shabnim Ismail
Professional Awards: Operational
CSA Umpire of the Year: Johan Cloete ?Shaun George - Adrian Holdstock
CSA Scorer' Association of the Year: Gauteng - Boland - Northerns
CSA Groundsman of the Year: Chris Scott - Louis Kruger - Nico Pretorius
Professional Awards: Domestic
CSA One-Day Cup Cricketer of the Year : Charl Langeveldt - Faf du Plessis - Dean Elgar
MiWay T20 Cricketer of the Year: Chris Morris - Farhaan Behardien - Faf du Plessis
Supersport Series Cricketer of the Year: Temba Bavuma - Alviro Petersen - Faf du Plessis
Professional Awards: International
CSA International T20 Cricketer of the Year: Johan Botha - Morne Morkel - Richard Levi
Sunfoil One-Day International Cricketer of the Year: AB de Villiers - Morne Morkel - Lonwabo Tsotsobe
Sunfoil Test Cricketer of the Year: AB de Villiers - Dale Steyn - Vernon Philander
KFC "So Good" Award: Vernon Philander - Richard Levi - Marchant de Lange
SA Cricketer of the Year: Dale Steyn - Vernon Philander - Hashim Amla - Morne Morkel - AB de Villiers
Note: Awards Judging Panel
Colin Bryden(Chairperson)
Aslam Khota
Zolani Bongco
Graeme Pollock