The veteran top order player was named women’s ODI player of the year at the New Zealand Cricket Awards.
No surprises there. She has been among the world’s best batters for the best part of two decades.
But a new Otago champion has emerged this season.
Volts all-rounder Dean Foxcroft has had a tremendous summer and that has been recognised at the top level.
He was named men’s Super Smash player of the year and men’s domestic player of the year.
Foxcroft’s claim on the Super Smash MVP title was indisputable. He was the competition’s leading scorer with 424 runs at 47.11 and also nabbed nine wickets at 19.33.
He had a breakthrough red-ball campaign as well, striking a maiden first-class century last month.
Earlier this week he was named in the New Zealand A team which will play Australia A in two first-class games in Lincoln early next month.
His star is most certainly shinning bright, but he has had to be patient.
The South African-born 24-year-old was locked out of New Zealand for two years while the country’s borders remained close due to Covid-19.
He played virtually no top-level cricket during that time and remained committed to qualifying for New Zealand.
The Otago Cricket Association is in the process of lobbying NZC to have his status upgraded from qualifying player to residential player.
But in order to play for New Zealand he would need to get the green light from the ICC.
Bates had another good ODI season for the White Ferns.
She made significant contributions with the bat against both the West Indies and Bangladesh, against whom she struck three half centuries, a highest score of 93 not out, and averaged 55.55.
Otago’s Glenn Phillips was rewarded for a brilliant season for the Black Caps in the shortest format of the game by being named the T20I player of the year, having scored 740 runs at a strike-rate of 148.89.
He scored a century against Sri Lanka in the T20 World Cup and was selected in the World Cup tournament team.
In the community awards, the Otago Cricket Association and the Canterbury Cricket Association won the community cricket collaboration of the year award for their work planning and executing programmes across the South Island during the past 18 month.
Beth O’Connor (Otago Girls High School) won the Gillette Venus Cup young player of the year. She helped her school finish second equal at the tournament with seven wickets at an average of 5.43 and 71 runs at 35.5.
Southland’s Keegan Russell was named community cricket activator of the year for his work developing the female social league and work promoting the game at grassroots level.
