Fast bowler Makhaya Ntini made history on Tuesday when he became the first player to be named one of the five Mutual & Federal South Africa Cricket Annual’s Cricketers of the Year for a record fifth time.
The other players honoured at the awards dinner were fast bowler Dale Steyn, batsmen Hashim Amla and Ashwell Prince, and wicketkeeper Mark Boucher.
Ntini was South Africa’s leading strike bowler in the 2005/2006 season. Among his triumphs was taking 10 wickets in consecutive matches against Australia and New Zealand respectively, a first for a South African in Test cricket.
Steyn was named for his aggressive fast bowling, adding an extra dimension to the South African attack after several seasons during which the national team has relied almost exclusively on Ntini and Shaun Pollock.
Hashim Amla is one of the outstanding newcomers to Test cricket, showing an ability to concentrate at length at the crease and a temperament to compliment his talent. He made his Test debut against India at Kolkota in 2004. Hashim’s Test average is 28, with one century and half century to his name. His first-class average is currently 47,22, with 12 centuries and no less than 22 fifties.
Ashwell Prince became South Africa’s eighth Test captain since unification and led the Proteas on the recent tour of Sri Lanka.
Prince scored 61 in 211 minutes at the crease in the Proteas’ second innings of the first Test at the Sinhalese Sports Club Ground in Colombo. In the second Test played at P Saravanamuttu Stadium in Colombo, Ashwell scored a mature 86 in 207 minutes.
Wicketkeeper Mark Boucher passed Rod Marsh and Adam Gilchrist to become the second leading wicketkeeper in Tests, by taking his 356th dismissal against New Zealand. He also holds the record for being the fastest wicketkeeper to reach 100, 150 and 200 one-day international (ODI) catches following his phenomenal start to the 2005/06 season.
He played his 200th ODI against New Zealand at SuperSport Park in Centurion at the end of the 2005/06 season.
Editor Colin Bryden said narrowing the candidates down to five was particularly difficult because a host of players had impressive performances during the year covered by the Annual. The additional 80 pages also reflect the amount of cricket played under Cricket South Africa.
The Annual is recognised as one of the most authoritative books of its kind, providing a full record of all major cricket played in South Africa. The 53rd edition of the publication has 688 pages of feature articles, colour pictures, match reports and statistics. — Sapa