AB de Villiers dominates Cricket South Africa awards 2014, wins 4 including Cricketer of the Year
In the Cricket South Africa (CSA) annual cricket awards ceremony held at Johannesburg on Wednesday, ODI captain AB de Villiers was declared as the South African cricketer of the year. Dale Steyn, Jean-Paul Duminy and young wicketkeeper-batsman Quinton de Kock, who had an excellent breakthrough season, along with Hashim Amla gave a tough competition for the award.
The 30-year-old batsman also won the Test cricketer of the year award. De Villiers scored more Test runs last season than any other South African: 804 runs at an average of 67. His sublime form helped him to win the award for the first time, beating Amla, the new Test captain and the winner of the award in 2013.
De Villiers’ two more awards include players’ player of the year and fans’ player of the year.
The wicketkeeper-batsman, who also had a great year in ODI cricket, was edged by De Kock, whose phenomenal season included three centuries in successive matches against India, for ODI cricketer of the year award. The 21-year-old scored 664 runs at an average of 55.33.
Leg-spinner Imran Tahir who helped the Proteas to reach the semi-finals of the World Cup T20 held in Bangladesh earlier this year, with 12 wickets at an average of 10.91, was named the Twenty20 international cricketer of the Year. He was also South Africa's leading wicket-taker in the T20Is last season.
Speaking on the night, SA Chief Executive, Mr Haroon Lorgat said: “CSA Day is designed to celebrate more than our national heroes. It embraces all aspects of our domestic cricket, starting with those selfless individuals who introduce our youngsters to softball cricket through the KFC Mini-Cricket Programme, through youth and club cricket all the way to the semi-professional and Franchise ranks. We must also acknowledge the ground staff at all our Affiliates, the match officials, the administrators and the scorers, all of whom play a major role to ensure the smooth running of our operations.”
For the full list of awards, click here.