Maharaj and Mlaba Named South Africa’s Cricketers of the Year

Left-arm spinners Keshav Maharaj and Nonkululeko Mlaba have been crowned South Africa’s Cricketers of the Year for the 2024–25 season in the men’s and women’s categories, respectively. The duo earned the prestigious recognition for their exceptional performances across Tests and T20Is over the past year.

The awards were presented considering performances up to the 2024 T20 World Cup and ahead of the 2025 ICC Champions Trophy. However, the recently concluded World Test Championship final was not part of the evaluation. As a result, standout performances from that match—like Aiden Markram’s match-winning knock and Kagiso Rabada’s 9-wicket haul at Lord’s—will be considered in next year’s awards. That said, Rabada was named Men’s Cricketers’ Player of the Year through peer voting.

Between August 2023 and January 2024, Keshav Maharaj played seven Test matches, picking up two four-wicket hauls and two five-wicket hauls. Alongside his Test consistency, he played a vital role in South Africa’s T20 World Cup campaign, finishing as the team’s third-highest wicket-taker.

On the women’s side, Nonkululeko Mlaba emerged as a standout performer, finishing as the second-highest wicket-taker at the Women’s T20 World Cup with 12 scalps. She also made history by claiming 10 wickets in a one-off Test against England, becoming South Africa’s second-highest wicket-taker in women’s Test cricket. Mlaba also won the Women’s Cricketers’ Player of the Year award through peer votes.

Captain Temba Bavuma was named Test Player of the Year, recognized for his crucial centuries against Sri Lanka and Pakistan at home, which helped South Africa secure a spot in the WTC Final.

Despite a quiet year in ODIs, Heinrich Klaasen, who recently retired from international cricket, was named ODI Player of the Year for his run-scoring exploits in the series against Pakistan.

In the T20I category, Anrich Nortje earned the T20I Player of the Year award for being South Africa’s standout bowler in the 2024 T20 World Cup.

Ottniel Baartman was named Emerging Player of the Year, while domestic talents also received recognition:

Luan-Dre Pretorius: First-class Cricketer of the Year (including three centuries in five matches and a match-saving ton).

Kwena Maphaka: T20 Cricketer of the Year (joint-highest wicket-taker in the domestic T20 competition).

Dewald Brevis: Domestic Players' Choice Award (among the top run-scorers in both first-class and one-day formats).

Among coaches, former national coach and current Lions mentor Russell Domingo was named Division One Coach of the Year after guiding his side to titles in both four-day and T20 competitions. In Division Two, Ahmed Amla received the award for leading KwaZulu-Natal Inland to promotion.

In women’s cricket, emerging talents were also recognized. Batter Annerie Dercksen, the ICC Women’s Emerging Player of the Year 2024, was named Women’s ODI Player of the Year for her performances, including a maiden ODI century during the tri-series against India and Sri Lanka. Ayanda Hlubi, a rising pace prospect, was awarded the Women’s Newcomer of the Year.