Walters surprised by award nomination
Warriors quick Basheer Walters described his nomination for the CSA 2019-2020 Provincial One Day Cricketer of the Year as a complete surprise.
Chuffed with the nomination, the veteran strike bowler said he was taken aback by his nomination in the limited overs format, as he felt he was having a better red ball campaign as opposed to the white ball format.
Being his first nomination for a CSA award, Walters will have some stiff competition with the likes of Ruan de Swardt (Northerns), Jacques Snyman (Northern Cape) and Codi Yusuf (Gauteng) all nominated, having done well for the respective provincial sides.
“I was not aware of the One Day stats. I knew that I had done quite well in the three day stuff, but then I saw that I didn’t perform too badly in the One Day competition either,” he said. Regaining his Warriors contract for the 2020-2021 season, Walters, now 33, said his journey back into the side was laden with dedication, hard work and his search for consistency in his game.
He returned to the Eastern Province ranks in the 20192020 season, playing an important role with the ball in leading the bowling attack.
In the CSA 3 Day Provincial Cup, Walters took 38 wickets in eight matches at an average of 17.38.
These also included two 10 wicket hauls.
In the Provincial One Day Challenge, Walters was again among the top strikers, picking up 16 wickets in seven matches at an average of 15.75.
“I think there wasn’t a lot of pressure on me, which is why I was able to do so well.
“I also never looked too far ahead.
“I’ve said that I just wanted to be consistent, I had the best season of my career and I think the smaller goals I had set definitely helped me to achieve what I have this past season.”
Walters said his decision to “go back to basics” in his game was a major factor in his performances across the season.
“It was something I had worked hard on. I fell one wicket short of being the top wicket taker. There were three games in which I never took wickets.
“That happens in cricket — there are games where you might not do well, but just to have that satisfaction of being one of the top bowlers in the country is great,” he said.
“It was just unfortunate the way in which the season ended, from a team perspective, because we had done so well before the competition was decided on points and I think if we had been able to play our last game, we would have been in a very strong position,” he said.
Furthermore, Walters said the spirit and camaraderie within the EP squad was another big motivation for him and he could not have done it without them.