Photo Credit: Gallo Images/ Gameplan Media
Experienced Hollywoodbets Dolphins batter Khaya Zondo rounded out a stellar season, which included a test debut, with the most prestigious prizes at the recently concluded Hollywoodbets Dolphins Awards at the Wild Coast Sun on Thursday.
Zondo racked up a maiden first class double hundred in the opening match of the CSA 4-Day Domestic Series and continued his form through the competition. The Dolphins finished the red ball tournament as the only unbeaten side with six draws and a win.
The win was a sensational final day chase against the Lions at Hollywoodbets Kingsmead Stadium thanks largely to an unbeaten century from captain Marques Ackerman.
Zondo finished the CSA T20 Challenge as the highest Dolphins run scorer and was a consistent performer across all formats for the team.
Ultimately, Zondo took home the three awards on the night, the CSA 4-Day Domestic Series Player of the Year as well as the two most prestigious awards; the Hollywoodbets Dolphins Player of the Year as well as the Player’s Player of the Year award.
Ottniel Baartman was another multiple award winner when he and fellow seamer Daryn Dupavillon won the CSA Provincial T20 Cup Player of the Year award.
Baartman then doubled that up with the CSA One Day Challenge Player of the Year.
Proteas T20 star Dave Miller won the CSA T20 Challenge Player of the Year following another strong display with the bat for the Dolphins.
As the Dolphins and KZN Cricket continues to grow into a powerhouse in South African cricket, President of the KwaZulu-Natal Cricket Union Yunus Bobat was pleased by what the Dolphins produced.
“We are always incredibly proud to honour the hard work and achievements of our players over the previous season,” Bobat said.
“The team continues to perform at the top of the domestic game in South Africa and these awards are a testament to their dedication to the union.
“Ultimately we want to produce Proteas and given our recent track record, we continue to move in the right direction.”
Last season the Dolphins had a number of players representing the Proteas with Keshav Maharaj present across all three formats and captaining the national side in both T20 and ODI cricket.
Dave Miller was an ever-present in the Proteas white balls sides and also took on the role of T20 captain in their recent series against England.
It was a breakthrough season for both SJ Erwee and Keegan Petersen who made their test debuts for South Africa.
The Dolphins head into another exciting season where they will be out to challenge for more silverware and for CEO of KZN Cricket Heinrich Strydom that’s where they need to be.
“Last season was decent for the Dolphins but we know that finals and trophies are what we are expecting,” Strydom said.
“With the players that we have in the squad and the coaching staff at our disposal we are confident that we’ll be challenging for titles this coming season.”
The Dolphins have added the experienced Jon-Jon Smuts to their ranks for the new season along with the young and exciting Andile Simelane as well as welcoming back Tshepang Dithole.
Hollywoodbets Dolphins 2021/2022 Season Awards Winners:
T20 Provincial T20 Cup Nominees:
Jason Smith, Ottniel Baartman, Daryn Dupavilion
Joint Winner: Daryn Dupavilion & Ottniel Baartman
CSA 4-Day Series Nominees:
Marques Ackerman, Khaya Zondo, Eathan Bosch
Winner: Khaya Zondo
Provincial 1-Day Challenge Nominees:
Ottniel Baartman, Kerwin Mungroo, SJ Erwee
Winner: Ottniel Baartman
CSA T20 Nominees:
Dave Miller, Khaya Zondo, Eathan Bosch
Winner: Dave Miller
Player of the Year:
Khaya Zondo
Players Player of the Year:
Khaya Zondo
