The Cricket South Africa (CSA) on Saturday hosted its annual Amateur Awards in association with KFC. The event was held in honour of the stars of tomorrow and those that work tirelessly behind the scenes to help develop the game.
The event, traditionally held as a Breakfast Awards ceremony on the day of the main awards, instead took place 24 hours earlier and was beamed across digital media platforms due to the restrictions imposed by the COVID-19 pandemic.
Some of the big winners at the awards were South Africa junior star Jonathan Bird, who was named the national Under-19 Cricketer of the Year after an exceptional season with the bat, while his international team-mate Luke Beaufort claimed the Khaya Majola U-19 Cricket Week Player of the Tournament award.
Proteas batter Tazmin Britz continued to underline her growing stature in the local game by proving to be a run machine for North West, earning the CSA Provincial Women's Cricketer of the Year accolade in the process.
Another big winner was Ruan de Swardt of Northerns, who walked away with the Student Cricketer of the Year prize for his outstanding all-round efforts with both bat and ball.
The Regional Performance Centres and Hubs stationed across South Africa continue to produce young budding talent. Some players have even earned selection for their respective provincial teams and took part in the Momentum National Weeks last year.
These success stories would not have been possible if it were not for the dedicated coaches and volunteers at these Centres. The PitchVision RPC and Hubs Coach of the Year award went to Brindley Gilbert this year for his work in the Western Province region.
"Congratulations to all our Amateur Award winners," commented CSA Acting Chief Executive, Jacques Faul.
"These young men and women keep the spirit of our amateur game so strong. And a special word of congratulations to those who have had to overcome disabilities to be honoured here today," Faul said in a statement.
"We can be very happy with the strength of our various development programmes that play a vital part in our talent identification pipeline. It is worth recording that Janneman Malan, Wiaan Mulder, Heinrich Klaasen and Lungi Ngidi were all award winners in the last few years. That gives these young winners the opportunity to think big," he added.
( With inputs from ANI )
