South Africa's annual cricket awards

Steyn bags major SA awards

Cricinfo staff

June 18, 2008

	Dale Steyn was named South Africa's Cricketer of the Year © Getty Images

Dale Steyn capped off a great season in Test cricket by sweeping all the major honours at the South Africa Cricket Awards on Tuesday night.

Steyn won all the four awards he was nominated for which included SA Cricketer of the Year, Test Player of the Year, SA Players' Player of the Year and the SuperSport Fans' Cricketer of the Year.

Graeme Smith, the South African captain, was named One-Day Cricketer of the Year, while allrounder Albie Morkel, who had a successful IPL season with the Chennai Super Kings, bagged the International Pro20 Cricketer of the Year award. Cri-Zelda Brits, the South African women's captain who is set to lead her side to a tour of England in July, was named Women's Player of the Year.

Steyn played 12 Tests last season, with only five of them at home, and picked up 78 wickets at 16.24. He got two ten-wicket match hauls in consecutive Tests against New Zealand and rounded off the season with 15 wickets in three Tests in India.

In his four previous seasons Steyn picked up only 42 wickets from 11 Tests but that was because he spent long periods out of the side with injury. Among South Africa's other fast bowlers, Makhaya Ntini is second behind Steyn in the wicket-taking list with 30, while Jacques Kallis has seven - from 12 Tests each.

There were six different individual winners in the domestic category with Cape Cobras' Charl Langeveldt named Standard Bank Pro20 Cricketer of the Year and Monde Zondeki, the SuperSport Series Cricketer of the Year.

Johann Louw, the Dolphins' medium-pacer, won the most- valuable-player award after his superb performances with the ball in all three competitions. It was 29-year-old Louw's best season in South Africa, in which he took 41 wickets at 18.31 in the SuperSport Series, 24 wickets at 14.62 in the MTN Domestic Championship and 12 wickets at 15.16 in the Standard Bank Pro20 competition.

Wayne Parnell was named the Under-19 Player of the Year after he led the side to the World Cup final in Malaysia in February.

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