Last week we looked at why Farhaan Behardien could win the T20I Cricketer of the Year award ahead of AB de Villiers. This week, with the 2018 Cricket South Africa awards drawing closer, we assess the International Newcomer of the Year category.
Heinrich Klaasen, Aiden Markram, Lungi Ngidi are in the running and, unlike a lot of the other categories, there’s a standout favourite.
Not quite yet for Ngidi
Ngidi has enjoyed a meteoric rise, clinching a Man of the Match six-for on Test debut and later a lucrative Indian Premier League contract with the Chennai Super Kings. He has successfully weathered early injury concerns and recently suffered the tragic loss of his father.
It has not been an easy period for the 22-year-old, whose stocks will rise further alongside Kagiso Rabada, as the Proteas negotiate life after Morne Morkel. The upcoming tour of Sri Lanka will truly test his talent in foreign conditions, where pace off the ball – as much as on it – will be effective. The need for such variation will have been evident during his IPL stint, so hopefully he can take this education to Galle and Colombo.
And then there’s Klaasen
This time, last year, Klaasen was an uncapped member of the Proteas squad and was still playing for the University of Pretoria Cricket Club (Tuks) in the National Club Championship. Fast forward to May 2018 – and he’s a late edition to the Rajasthan Royals’ IPL ambition and the proud recipient of four ODIs and three T20Is so far.
Impressive against India in February, when Quinton de Kock was out of action, he appeared to have pushed for a Test berth ahead of the left-handed tyke. That wasn’t to be – and he remains second choice in the longest format. None of this really stacks up enough to afford the 26-year-old the International Newcomer of the Year accolade.
Markram has to take it
The 23-year-old has come a long way in a short space of time, since September 2017’s Test debut against Sri Lanka. He has already gathered 1,000 runs in five-day cricket, suggesting his arrival should have happened substantially sooner, perhaps as early as the Test tour of England, when Heino Kuhn was out of his depth and Markram was left to watch and wait on the sidelines.
Whether Markram should or shouldn’t have been named ODI captain in the absence of Faf du Plessis for the India series is now a bit of a moot point. It probably did detract from his primary role with the bat, but ultimately wouldn’t have hurt his future. What it did do, though, is inspire faith that the brains trust see him as a future captaincy option.
For now, though, he can focus on having a big series in Sri Lanka, where his ability against spin will be in the spotlight. The trip will bring his first Test away from home and probably the chance to bowl some of his burgeoning off-spin, too, particularly if the squad does not feature a second specialist slow bowler alongside Keshav Maharaj.
He didn’t have a great time at Durham recently, gathering just 124 runs in five innings, including three consecutive ducks. But, with a CSA award to his name and a formidable job to do alongside Dean Elgar at the top of the order in Sri Lanka, opportunity knocks for more.
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