Williamson wins top prize

Another day, another gong for New Zealand’s modern-day batting marvel.

Fresh from being awarded man of the match after the agonising, rain-soaked third test draw with South Africa, Kane Williamson was named New Zealand Cricket’s outstanding player for a second successive year.

The Black Caps captain collected the Sir Richard Hadlee Medal at NZC’S annual awards dinner in Auckland, just days after he drew level with the late Martin Crowe’s record of 17 test centuries.

Williamson won two other prizes on the night: the Redpath Cup for first-class batting and Twenty20 International player of the year.

His knock of 176 against South Africa in Hamilton boosted his tally for the awards period to 1079 test match runs at an average of 59.94.

There were two other worthy contenders for the Hadlee Medal: Neil Wagner and Amy Satterthwaite.

Wagner pipped Williamson to be named test player of the year, and also won the Winsor Cup for first-class bowling.

Satterthwaite had strong claims to be considered the Hadlee Medal’s first female recipient since it was first presented in 2011.

The left-hander was dominant for the White Ferns in a world first for women’s cricket, racking up four successive ODI centuries against Pakistan and Australia. She plundered 935 runs in 15 ODIS, at a stunning average of 103.88, and was an easy choice for women’s ODI player of the year.

Her captain Suzie Bates was named women’s T20 International player of the year, in a season where the White Ferns had a rare series victory in Australia.