Photo Credit: Cricket South Africa
This evening, Cricket South Africa (CSA) hosted its annual CSA Amateur Awards in association with KFC. The event was held in honour of the stars of tomorrow and those that work tirelessly behind the scenes to help develop the game.
In what was a first for CSA and KFC, the gala event, traditionally held as a Breakfast Awards ceremony on the day of the main awards, instead took place 24 hours earlier and was beamed across digital media platforms due to the restrictions imposed by the COVID-19 pandemic.
The Amateur Awards celebrate the accomplishments of the steadfastly growing talent in the country as CSA continues to drive its vision of making cricket a truly national sport of winners.
“What an honour it is for us to recognise our everyday heroes, who through the game of cricket continue to contribute to unity and hope in our country,” said Dhruv Kaul, Chief Marketing Officer of KFC South Africa.
“A special congratulations to our KFC Mini-Cricket Coach and Coordinators of the Year; Ruth Bowles, Julius Maziya and Mercia Baatjies respectively. These awards continue to shine the light on the phenomenal work being done daily across our communities by our volunteer KFC Mini-Cricket Coaches and Coordinators.
“Our coaches and coordinators continue to model true leadership, dedication and passion through their engagement with kids at this critical foundation step in the development of South Africa’s future cricketing heroes. As we look forward to reaching even more kids through the programme, we encourage our coaches and coordinators to continue to change lives and enrich those they encounter through their love of the game.”
Some of the big winners at the awards were South Africa junior star, Jonathan Bird, who was named the national Under-19 Cricketer of the Year after an exceptional season with the bat, while his international team-mate Luke Beaufort claimed the Khaya Majola U19 Cricket Week Player of the Tournament award.
Momentum Proteas batter Tazmin Britz continued to underline her growing stature in the local game by proving to be a run machine for North West, earning herself the CSA Provincial Women’s Cricketer of the Year accolade in the process.
Another big winner was Ruan de Swardt of Northerns, who walked away with the Student Cricketer of the Year prize for his outstanding all-round efforts with both bat and ball.
The Regional Performance Centres and Hubs stationed across South Africa continue to produce young, budding talent. Some players have even earned selection for their respective provincial teams and took part in the Momentum National Weeks last year.
These success stories would not have been possible if it were not for the dedicated coaches and volunteers at these Centres. The PitchVision RPC and Hubs Coach of the Year award this year went to Brindley Gilbert for his work in the Western Province region.
“Congratulations to all our Amateur Award winners,” commented CSA Acting Chief Executive, Jacques Faul. “These young men and women keep the spirit of our amateur game so strong.
“And a special word of congratulations to those who have had to overcome disabilities to be honoured here today.
“We can be very happy with the strength of our various development programmes that play a vital part in our talent identification pipeline. It is worth recording that Janneman Malan, Wiaan Mulder, Heinrich Klaasen and Lungi Ngidi were all award winners in the last few years. That gives these young winners the opportunity to think big.
“A special word of thanks also to all our sponsors and particularly KFC for their support of this function as well as the KFC Mini-Cricket Programme which is the best of its kind to be found anywhere in the world and is the launch pad for our young cricketers to live their dreams.”
Fans will be able to watch the virtual awards across CSA’s online social platforms www.facebook.com/cricketsouthafrica; www.twitter.com/officialcsa and Instagram (@cricket_south_africa), the official hash tag for the event is #CSAawards.
2020 CSA Amateur Awards Winners
AWARD and WINNER
KFC MINI-CRICKET COACH OF THE YEAR – Ruth Bowles (Western Province)
KFC MINI CRICKET CO-ORDINATOR OF THE YEAR – Julius Maziya (Easterns) and Mercia Baatjies (KwaZulu-Natal Inland)
MOMENTUM U15 PLAYER OF THE TOURNAMENT – Dewald Grove (Boland)
MOMENTUM U17 PLAYER OF THE TOURNAMENT – Jan Hendrik Coetzer (Northerns)
CSA LEARNERS WITH SPECIAL EDUCATION NEEDS PLAYER OF THE TOURNAMENT – Deacon Biggs (Central Gauteng Lions)
KHAYA MAJOLA U19 CRICKET WEEK PLAYER OF THE TOURNAMENT – Luke Beaufort (Eastern Province)
CSA SCHOOLS T20 CRICKETER OF THE YEAR – SW Kemp (Northerns)
CSA SOUTH AFRICA U19 CRICKETER OF THE YEAR – Jonathan Bird (Western Province)
CSA BLIND CRICKETER OF THE YEAR – Buhle Bidla (Central Gauteng Lions)
CSA RURAL CRICKETER OF THE YEAR – Michael Enslin (North West)
CSA STUDENT CRICKETER OF THE YEAR – Ruan de Swardt (Northerns)
PITCHVISION RPC AND HUBS COACH OF THE YEAR – Brindley Gilbert (Western Province)
KEMACH JCB GROUNDSMAN OF THE YEAR – Bryan Bloy (Northerns/SuperSport Park)
SOUTH AFRICAN FORCES CRICKETER OF THE YEAR – Waylain September (Boland) /Haroline Rhodes (South Western Districts)
CSA FAIRPLAY AWARD – Warriors
CSA WOMEN’S PROVINCIAL CRICKETER OF THE YEAR – Tazmin Brits (North West)
