Hardus Viljoen of the bizhub Highveld Lions has bagged the Sunfoil Series Sizzler award for the first five rounds of the Sunfoil Series which currently sees The Unlimited Titans, the VKB Knights and the bizhub Highveld Lions locked in a three-way battle for four-day cricket supremacy. The Lions are the current title holders.
The Sunfoil Sizzler award is worth R15 000.
Viljoen, who made his debut for the Castle Lager Proteas in the third Sunfoil Test match against the England touring team at the Bidvest Wanderers Stadium, has had a phenomenal Sunfoil Series campaign taking 30 wickets in 4 matches. This included back-to-back 10-wicket hauls in successive matches against the Sunfoil Dolphins and the Warriors.
Other players who came strongly into contention for the award were his bizhub Highveld Lions team mate, Dwaine Pretorius, Werner Coetsee of the VKB Knights, Keshav Maharaj of the Sunfoil Dolphins and Tabraiz Shamsi of The Unlimited Titans.
“Congratulations to Hardus on his Sunfoil Sizzler award,” commented Cricket South Africa (CSA) General Manager: Cricket, Corrie van Zyl. “His performance in taking back-to-back 10-wickets hauls is special and earned him a fully deserved call-up to the Proteas.
“The results over the past six weeks have also shown that our domestic game is healthy, particularly if you look at the way players have taken the step up to international cricket when the opportunity has arisen. Stephen Cook’s century on debut for the Proteas underlines this point.”
The South African Cricketers’ Association Most Valuable Player index (SACA MVP) is used as the measuring tool in determining the Sunfoil Sizzler of the Month.
The SACA MVP is calculated using an internationally recognised formula which takes into account every discipline in the game of cricket. Batting, bowling, fielding, captaining and winning are all factored in within the context of each individual match. Individual player performances in pressure situations, for example, carry more weight; thus players who deliver when their team needs them most, earn more points.
The SACA MVP latest ranking standings are updated weekly on the SACA website (www.saca.org.za), and may be viewed ‘per competition’ or by having a look at the ‘overall’ standings.