South Africa’s women’s captain, Laura Wolvaardt, stole the show at the CSA annual awards, taking home five honors, including the prestigious Women’s Player of the Year award. Wolvaardt, who had a remarkable 2023-24 season, led South Africa’s run charts in both ODIs and T20Is and embraced the captaincy role on a full-time basis during this period.
Laura Wolvaardt stellar performances earned her the titles of Women’s ODI Player of the Year and Women’s T20I Player of the Year. She also won the Players’ Player of the Year and Fans’ Player of the Year, underscoring her immense popularity both within the team and among fans.
Marco Jansen, known for his all-round contributions, was named Men’s Player of the Year in the 2024 CSA Awards ceremony. Jansen’s standout performances included 17 wickets at the ODI World Cup and strong displays with both bat and ball during the Boxing Day Test against India.
The CSA awards, recognizing achievements from May 1, 2023, to April 30, 2024, did not include performances from the June Men’s T20 World Cup and the Test and T20I series in the West Indies, as they will be acknowledged in next year’s ceremony. The awards were held in September, as CSA’s sponsors require all nationally contracted players to attend the ceremony, which was not feasible in May due to the IPL.
With South Africa playing only four Tests in the awards period, choosing a Test Player of the Year was challenging. David Bedingham, who made a memorable debut with scores of 56, 87, and 110 in the Test series against India and New Zealand, was honored for his efforts. Bedingham was also named International Newcomer of the Year.
De Kock Shines in ODI Cricket
In the white-ball categories, Quinton de Kock, now retired from ODI cricket, won ODI Player of the Year after his four centuries at the 2023 World Cup. Reeza Hendricks secured the T20I Player of the Year award as the only South African batter to score a half-century during the period under consideration. Keshav Maharaj, lauded for his remarkable comeback from an Achilles injury, was voted Players’ Player of the Year by his peers.
Two major awards went to female cricketers: Marizanne Kapp won the “Best Delivery Fuelled by KFC” award for her inswinger that bowled Beth Mooney in South Africa’s first ODI win over Australia. Masabata Klaas earned the Makhaya Ntini Power of Cricket Award for her resilience and determination in overcoming personal challenges to succeed in her cricketing career.
Klaas, a single mother, made a strong comeback after a three-year break, becoming the 10th woman to take an ODI hat-trick and contributing significantly to South Africa’s World Cup qualification.
Nqabayomzi Peter Wins his maiden CSA Award
On the domestic front, leg spinner Nqabayomzi Peter was named Men’s Domestic Newcomer of the Season and T20 Challenge Player of the Season for his outstanding performances, including leading the Lions to victory in the CSA T20 Cup. Wiaan Mulder, the third-highest run-scorer and a key wicket-taker in the first-class competition, was awarded Four-Day Domestic Player of the Season.
Western Province allrounder Mihlali Mpongwana, one of the top wicket-takers in the one-day cup, won the One-Day Domestic Player of the Season. In the women’s competition, Nonkululeko Mlaba was named Women’s One-Day Player of the Season, while Tazmin Brits took home the CSA Women’s T20 Player of the Season award for her three centuries as the leading run-scorer in the domestic tournament.
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