Harmer, Markram and Wolvaardt win top honours at CSA awards

Aiden Markram, Laura Wolvaardt and Simon Harmer were the biggest winners at the Cricket South Africa (CSA) Awards 2026, picking up the highest individual honours after stellar seasons across formats. Fast bowler Lungi Ngidi and wicketkeeper-batter Quinton de Kock also went home with multiple awards. Harmer, 37, was named Test Player of the Year after spearheading South Africa’s red-ball attack during the awards cycle, between April 2025 and 2026. The offspinner enjoyed a prolific return in this period, where he took 30 wickets in four matches. After taking eight wickets in the Rawalpindi Test against Pakistan to help draw the series, he led South Africa to a famous series sweep against India with match hauls of 8 for 51 and 9 for 101 in Kolkata and Guwahati respectively. Wolvaardt, meanwhile, continued to set the benchmark in women’s cricket. South Africa’s captain was named the Women’s Player of the Year, SA Women’s Players’ Player of the Year and Women’s ODI Player of the Year, completing the awards sweep. Across the eligibility period, she piled up runs in all conditions and played a key role in South Africa’s run to the ODI World Cup final in 2025, finishing as the top scorer of the tournament with 571 runs at an average of 71.37, including centuries in the semi-final and final. Wolvaardt was South Africa’s leading run-scorer in the ODI series in New Zealand before dominating the home T20I series against India, where she scored 330 runs in five matches and was named Player of the Series. The biggest winner among the men’s all-format awards was Markram, who claimed both the SA Men’s Player of the Year and SA Men’s Players’ Player of the Year awards, after a season in which he led South Africa to major success across formats, most noticeably in the World Test Championship (WTC) final against Australia last year.

Laura Wolvaardt was the standout batter of the 2025 ODI World Cup, where she finished as the top-scorer [Cricinfo]

Ngidi, meanwhile, collected the Men’s T20 International Player of the Year award and the SA Fans’ Player of the Year prize. His dismissal of Jos Buttler during South Africa’s second ODI against England was also voted the Best Men’s Delivery of the year. Matthew Breetzke’s breakthrough campaign earned him the Men’s ODI International Player of the Year award, while Dewald Brevis and Kayla Reyneke were recognised as the International Men’s and Women’s Newcomers of the Year, respectively. The SA20 awards reflected the competition’s standout performers. De Kock, the tournament’s leading run-scorer, was named both SA20 Batter of the Season and Betway SA20 Player of the Season (MVP). Ottneil Baartman collected the SA20 Bowler of the Season award after finishing as the leading wicket-taker, while Jordan Hermann was named SA20 Rising Star of the Season. Among the domestic awards, Kyle Simmonds and Mignon du Preez were named the men’s and women’s Most Valuable Players, while Robin Peterson, JP Triegaardt and Sandile Masengemi received the top coaching honours in their respective competitions. CSA also recognised contributions beyond performances on the field. Arno Jacobs was named CSA Umpires’ Umpire of the Year, Lubabalo Gcuma received the CSA Umpire of the Year award, and Sinalo Jafta was presented with the Makhaya Ntini Power of Cricket Award. [Cricinfo]