The ITEC Knights and Free State Cricket are in line for numerous accolades during the 2024 CSA Awards which will be taking place in September. Both the men’s and women’s teams, as well as administration staff, have received nominations for prestigious titles.
On the men’s side, the batters Jacques Snyman and Garnett Tarr are in line for the CSA Division 2 One-Day Cup Player of the Season Awards. The third player nominated for this accolade is the seasoned Northern Cape Heat seamer, Basheer Walters.
The seamer, Johan van Dyk, who returns to the Knights following a handful of seasons at the Northern Cape Heat, has been nominated for the CSA 4-Day Series Player of the Season accolade. The coach, JP Triegaardt, is being acknowledged for his outstanding work in guiding his team to promotion to Division 1, by being nominated for the Division 2 Coach of the Year Award. He will be up against the two-time winner, Mark Charlton of the Northern Cape Heat, and Gordon Parsons of the Limpopo Impalas.
Tarr told Bloemfontein Courant that it’s great to receive a nomination, and the coach, Triegaardt, would definitely get his vote.
“It’s a real great honour and something that I’m very proud of, I never thought about the awards before, but now being mentioned in it, I think it’s really cool, so I’m very excited about that,” said Tarr.
“I’m also excited to go up against Jacques for a little bit and I think it will make for some great banter between us. Hopefully one of us will take it.
“JP fully, fully deserves it – the type of coach he is and how he drives us, how he motivates us. Most of our success goes also to JP, so he would definitely have my vote for the Coach of the Year.”
Meanwhile, the women’s team has also been acknowledged with the allrounder Yolandi Potgieter, as well as the legendary Mignon van der Merwe (neé Du Preez), being nominated for the Women’s Division 1 One-Day Cup Player of the Year Award.
Potgieter told Bloemfontein Courant it’s a big honour to be nominated, especially with Van der Merwe.
“This nomination is such a huge honour for me. I mean, we’ve got some amazing talent across the whole of South Africa. So, to be nominated for this feels a bit surreal, to be honest, but it’s also a testimony that the hard work always pays off,” said Potgieter.
“What makes it even more special is to be nominated alongside my teammate Mignon du Preez. We all know she’s such a stalwart in South African cricket. She’s a legend of the game, not only in South Africa but in the world.”
Meanwhile, the former Knights fast bowler, Gerald Coetzee, who is now at the Titans, has been nominated for various awards on an international level. He has been nominated for the highest accolade, the CSA Player of the Year Award, as well as T20 International Player of the Year, One-Day Cup Player of the Year, and the Fans Player of the Year Awards.
Stephen Harris has received a nomination for the Umpire of the Year Award, while Martin Tlhake has been nominated for the CSA Groundsman of the Year Award. When it comes to the development of the game, Bongani Vilakazi is in line for the KFC Mini Cricket Coach of the Year Award, and Relebohile Ntikane has been nominated for the KFC Mini Cricket Coordinator of the Year Accolade.
The 2024 Cricket South Africa Awards will take place on 5 September in Midrand. – MORGAN PIEK
