Kallis is South Africa's Cricketer of the Year
ESPNcricinfo staff
June 7, 2011
Jacques Kallis was named the South African Cricketer of the Year at a gala dinner in Johannesburg on Tuesday. Kallis and Pakistan-born legspinner Imran Tahir were the major winners on the night, taking home three Cricket South Africa awards each, while Hashim Amla won two.
The awards commemorated the achievements of cricketers over the 2010-11 season, in which South Africa played an ODI series against Zimbabwe, a full home series against India and the World Cup, where they were knocked out in the quarter-finals.
During the season, Kallis scored 821 runs in five Tests at an average of 136.83, including his first double-century. His ODI form was less prolific, he averaged 38.90 in 11 matches without scoring a hundred, and took 10 wickets at an average of 24.50. Kallis previously won the Cricketer of the Year award in 2004. His Test performances, which included five centuries, also earned him the Test Cricketer of the Year title, and his two hundreds in third Test against India in Cape Town in January won him the KFC 'So Good' award.
Amla, who won five awards at last year's event, was given both the players' player and fans' player titles, affirming him as a favourite in the game. He averaged 64.25 in five Tests this season, and was equally impressive in the limited-overs format, averaging 60.61 and scoring five centuries in the 20 ODIs he played.
Tahir, who became eligible to play for South Africa in January and made his debut against West Indies in South Africa's opening World Cup match, was named International Newcomer of the Year. In five ODIs, he took 14 wickets at an average of 10.71. Before being picked for South Africa, he played in five SuperSport Series matches and took 42 wickets at an average of 20.85, and topped the charts despite missing four games. That earned him the SuperSport Cricketer of the Year title. He was also identified as one of the most popular players and was voted by his peers as the Domestic Player of the Year.
South Africa's new ODI and Twenty20 captain, AB de Villiers, was named ODI Player of the Year. de Villiers averaged 56.68 in ODIs over the last season and was given the additional responsibility of keeping wickets.
Lonwabo Tsotsobe was named Pro20 Player of the Year for his six wickets for 68 runs in three matches. Faf du Plessis, who topped the MTN40 run charts with 567 runs in 10 matches, with three centuries and at average of 81.00, was given the limited-overs title. Owais Shah, who helped the Cobras to the Pro20 title was awarded in the shortest format of the game. He scored 293 runs in eight matches and averaged 73.25 and beat former international fast bowler and leading wicket-taker in the competition, Makhaya Ntini, to the title.
Richard Pybus, who was interviewed for the South African coaching position and lost out to Gary Kirsten, was the Coach of the Year. He scooped both the SuperSport Series and Pro20 titles with the Cobras and will accompany them to the Champions League in India later this year.
List of awards:
CSA Coach of the Year: Richard Pybus (Cape Cobras)
CSA Umpire of the Year: Johan Cloete
MTN40 Cricketer of the Year: Faf du Plessis (Titans)
Standard Bank Pro20 Cricketer of the Year: Owais Shah (Cape Cobras)
SuperSport Series Cricketer of the Year: Imran Tahir (Dolphins)
CSA Fairplay Award: Chevrolet Warriors
Domestic Newcomer of the Year: Mohammed Yaseen Vallie (Cape Cobras)
Saca MVP (Most Valuable Player) Award: Zander de Bruyn (Highveld Lions)
Domestic Players' Player of the Year: Imran Tahir (Dolphins)
SA Newcomer of the Year: Imran Tahir
International Pro20 Cricketer of the Year: Lonwabo Tsotsobe
ODI Cricketer of the Year: AB de Villiers
Test Cricketer of the Year: Jacques Kallis
KFC "So Good!" Award: Jacques Kallis
CSA Fans' Cricketer of the Year: Hashim Amla
SA Players' Player of the Year: Hashim Amla
SA Cricketer of the Year: Jacques Kallis
what a legend
