Dane van Niekerk and Faf du Plessis were recognised in the company of the country’s cricketing elite when they were named South African Cricketer of the Year in their respective categories at a glittering Cricket South Africa (CSA) awards function in Pretoria on Saturday evening.
It was a first for the Standard Bank Proteas captain and a remarkable display of consistency at the top level by Van Niekerk who has won the award for three of the last four years.
She was also honoured by her peers in being named SA Women’s Players’ Player of the Year.
Marizanne Kapp, also from Port Elizabeth, was named Women’s ODI Cricketer of the Year.
Du Plessis was the leading award winner on the night, also being named Standard Bank ODI Cricketer of the Year as well as being honoured by his peers in being named SA Players’ Player of the Year.
The other 10 players to have received CSA’s most prestigious men’s award are Jacques Kallis (2004 and 2011), Makhaya Ntini (2005 and 2006), Hashim Amla (2010 and 2013), AB de Villiers (2014 and 2015) and Kagiso Rabada (2016 and 2018) who have all won the award twice with the other previous winners being Shaun Pollock (2007), Dale Steyn (2008), Graeme Smith (2009), Vernon Philander (2012) and Quinton de Kock (2017).
