Who will win CSA’s biggest prize?
JOHANNESBURG: South Africa’s top two players over the course of the summer of 2016-17, Quinton de Kock and Faf du Plessis, go from allies to enemies as the main contenders for the best cricketer of what was an outstanding season for the Proteas.
A trio of Test series victories – two in Australasia – with three one-day international series triumphs thrown in for good measure, owed much to the contribution of the pair, who both hold significant positions in the team.
In Du Plessis’ case he took to the Test captaincy with such panache, that his very good chum, AB de Villiers reckoned he was best suited for the role. Having led the side to a third consecutive series win in Australia, Du Plessis was accused of cheating, for sucking on a sweet and in the immediate aftermath made one of the great “up yours” hundreds in the day-night Test in Adelaide.
Throughout the season Du Plessis led from the front matching word with deed, scoring runs while leading intelligently by pushing his players to the limits of their abilities.
That century at the Adelaide Oval was his only one in the Test arena this season, and there were four half-centuries, while his fielding was breathtaking. In addition he averaged 61.42 in ODIs last summer, scoring three centuries as South Africa won 14 out of 16 ODIs, including a 5-0 win against Australia, when Du Plessis was captain, with De Villiers out injured.
De Kock’s wicketkeeping is a much improved area of his game; he has taken some sublime catches, but he’s also entrenched himself as one of the main tacticians in the team. The manner in which he stood up to the stumps for the various spinners South Africa used across all formats last season, speaks volumes for the hard work he put in ahead of the season.
His batting though has elevated him to an elite status on the international stage.
He scored two centuries each in Tests and ODIs, averaging 47.56 in the five-day format and 50.31 in the 16 ODIs the Porteas played.
The timing of many of his innings underscored his importance to South Africa; in Hobart in conditions suitable for seam bowling, he scored a magnificent 104 and his 91 in the second Test in Wellington, was instrumental in the win over New Zealand.
Du Plessis and De Kock are the two major contenders in Cricket SA’s annual awards. The pair have been nominated in three categories; Cricketer, Test and ODI Player of the Year. Kagiso Rabada and Imran Tahir make up the remaining nominees in the Cricketer of the Year category.
The awards take place at Kyalami on 13 May.