Six honours for Kagiso Rabada at Cricket South Africa awards
Kagiso Rabada won big at the annual Cricket South Africa awards on Saturday, June 2, going home with six awards including the South Africa Cricketer of the Year.
Dane van Niekerk was named Cricketer of the Year among women. Both Rabada and van Niekerk won this award for the second time, having already been honoured once in 2016.
Other South African cricketers who have won the Cricketer of the Year award twice are Jacques Kallis (2004, 2011), Makhaya Ntini (2005, 2006), Hashim Amla (2010, 2013) and AB de Villiers ( 2014, 2015).
Dane van Niekerk led South Africa Women to the semi-final of the 2017 World Cup
“It is encouraging that for the second time in a row our premier awards have gone to our young stars who are shining with distinction alongside our world-class senior players,” said CSA acting CEO, Thabang Moroe. Rabada is 23 and van Niekerk 25.
“Both our Proteas continue to challenge to be among the best in the world and I find it particularly encouraging that all our national teams have a truly non-racial make-up. I must particularly highlight the Proteas first ever home Test Series win over Australia and the way our women gripped the imagination of the country as they came so close to their first ever ICC final.”
Rabada was also named Test Cricketer of the Year, ODI Cricketer of the Year, chosen by players as SA Players’ Player of the Year and fans as SA Fans Player of the Year. He also won the Delivery of the Year award for his dismissal of David Warner during the third Test against South Africa at Newlands, Cape Town.
Rabada was also given the Delivery of the Year award for his dismissal of David Warner at Newlands
The string of awards is recognition of Rabada’s successful year, as he sits atop the wicket-takers chart for 2018 in Tests with 38 wickets from seven matches.
The T20I Cricketer of the Year award, one that did not go to Rabada for a change, was given to de Villiers while Aiden Markram was named International Newcomer of the Year.
Among women, Laura Wolvaardt was ODI Player of the Year and Chloe Tyron, who has a T20I strike-rate of 178.94 in 2018, was chosen as the T20I Player of the Year.
A special tribute was reserved for de Villiers, who retired from international cricket recently.
