AB, Rabada may need a trailer to carry their awards

AB De Villiers could complete a hat-trick next month to become South Africa’s most heavily garlanded cricketer. He is already among only four players who have twice been named “SA Cricketer of the Year” – and a Cricket South Africa statement yesterday said De Villiers had been nominated for what would be an unprecedented third success in the elite category. But neither Dané van Niekerk nor Marizanne Kapp‚ who were the top two wicket-takers at the Women’s Cricket World Cup last year‚ cracked the nod for the main prize. That is despite the fact that the name of the award‚ which will be presented at a function in Johannesburg on June 2‚ is free of gender bias. Kagiso Rabada‚ Dean Elgar‚ Aiden Markram and Vernon Philander are the other nominees. Rabada won in 2016 and would thus join a club whose members are limited to Makhaya Ntini‚ Jacques Kallis‚ Hashim Amla and De Villiers should he be favoured again. The No 1 fast bowler in test cricket might want to rent a trailer for the occasion; he could also leave the building carrying three other trophies‚ among them recognition as South Africa’s best test and one-day player. De Villiers is also in line for the test and T20 gongs‚ with Markram among the nominees for international newcomer and test honours. Warriors batsman Gihahn Cloete (Momentum One-Day Cup Cricketer of the Season) and Simon Harmer (Sunfoil Series Cricket of the Season) were among the nominees in the franchise categories. “As always‚ these awards are tough to judge due to the stiff nature of the competition‚” the statement quoted Aslam Khota as saying. Disappointingly‚ none of the women who took South Africa to the World Cup semifinals in England in June and July made the shortlist. Even the Wisden Cricketers’ Almanack‚ the original and most venerable and traditional dispenser of awards in the game‚ saw fit to include three women among its five players of the year. Instead, the women’s names for Cricket SA’s awards have been cloistered in strictly gendered boxes. The big winners could be Shabnim Ismail and Van Niekerk‚ who have both been nominated in all four women’s categories — T20‚ ODI‚ “SA women’s player of the year”‚ and “Women’s cricketer of the year”. Selected awards nominees: