As we look back on the year that was 2024, cricket has certainly thrown up its fair share ups and downs both locally and internationally.
Here's a few festive awards and gifts we feel appropriate for those that have entertained us over a packed calendar:
Box of Chocolates: To the Ivory Coast T20 team, which was dismissed for a total of seven runs in a T20 World Cup sub Regional Africa Qualifier Group C match by Nigeria in Abuja to lose by 264 runs.
It was a new record low in T20 internationals. The Ivory Coast is the world’s biggest producer and exporter of cacao beans so at least a large box of chocolates should be easier to organise than a scoreboard full of runs.
The match was Ivory Coast’s fifth T20I. Their highest score to date is 41 – against Eswatini
Bottle of Milk: To the Jersey T20 team which played its 50th T20 International during 2024 having won 34 of them.
Their win ratio of 68 per cent puts them in third place among all teams to have played 50+ matches.
Only Uganda (77.88 per cent) and India (69.91 per cent) have a superior victory rate.
MegaChief Award: To Kagiso Rabada for becoming the 37th bowler to reach 300 test wickets BUT the quickest in terms of balls bowled.
Faster than Lillee, Hadlee, Muralitharan, Marshall, Steyn, Warne, Donald, McGrath, Waqar Younis… the list goes on.
Kagiso Rabada became the 3rd-fastest SA bowler to take 300 wickets in Test cricket. He achieved the milestone on day 1 of the Proteas’ 1st Test vs Bangladesh #SSCricket pic.twitter.com/ej6ZziXohZ
— SuperSport Blitz (@SuperSportBlitz) October 23, 2024
ID book: To Kwena Maphaka who became the youngest man to play international cricket for South Africa at the age of 18 years and 137 days in a T20I against the West Indies at Tarouba in Trinidad in August.
Kwena Maphaka has some pace on him👀⚡
— SuperSport 🏆 (@SuperSportTV) December 10, 2024
📺 Stream #SAvPAK on DStv: https://t.co/rM90YyR504 pic.twitter.com/KGrzgHJeuI
Roller skates: Marco Jansen was in a hurry at the start of the must-win test match against Sri Lanka at Kingsmead claiming 7-13 in just 6.5 overs to dismiss the tourists for just 42 and set up victory by 233 runs.
It was just the second time a bowler had taken seven wickets in under seven overs in test history following Hugh Trumble’s 6.5-0-28-7 for Australia against England at Melbourne 1904.
Ration Pack: To test cricket. There will have been 53 tests played in 2024 by the end of the year which is just two short of the most in a calendar year (55 in 2001).
There would have been 54 had Afghanistan v New Zealand not been washed out.
The format may be struggling to prosper in many countries but at least it is still being played. Quite a lot.
Days Off Award - Test cricketers: Of the 48 completed tests so far this year only one has ended in a draw.
Only 10 of the tests have gone to a fifth day while 25 were finished on the fourth.
No less than 12 were over by day three and one (SA v India at Newlands) was concluded on day two.
The players have gifted themselves 52 days off in total over the 48 tests played before 25 December.
100 Red Balloons: To a trio of Proteas test cricketers. Tony de Zorzi, Tristan Stubbs and Wiaan Mulder scored their maiden test hundreds against Bangladesh at Chattogram, the first time a team has had three first-time hundred scorers in the same test since the West Indies achieved the feat against India in Delhi in 1948.
Maiden centuries from Tony de Zorzi and Tristan Stubbs lit up the opening day of the second Test in Chattogram 👏#WTC25 #BANvSA pic.twitter.com/wyeVshrLpq
— ICC (@ICC) October 29, 2024
Walking Stick: To the Proteas T20 team. Keeping it steady, one step at a time, reaching the World Cup final in 2024 for the first time. The next step is to win it.
Magic Wand: To the disappearing international cricket stadium in New York, or Long Island to be accurate.
Erected at a cost of around $30 million to stage eight T20 World Cup games, the 30 000-seater Nassau County venue was dismantled and ‘vanished’ within a week of the final game.
Time will tell if it was a successful ‘investment’. One suspects not.
The #T20WorldCup 2024 fever is gripping New York 😍
— ICC (@ICC) March 5, 2024
The Nassau County International Cricket Stadium celebrates its one-month construction milestone 🏟️
Details ➡ https://t.co/ldyYDpSA5C pic.twitter.com/SSQxrPIX0o
Camouflage outfit: To Tristan Stubbs who was disguised (by others) as a T20 specialist but shattered the ruse with a remarkable 302* for the Warriors against KZN Inland in Pietermaritzburg. And followed it up with two test centuries.
Bucket portion: To the Proteas Women for playing three test matches in a calendar year for the first time since 1972.
Results didn’t go according to plan but at least the men’s meagre test schedule was given some perspective.
The Hungry like a Wolf trophy: To Laura Wolvaardt who posted the record ODI score for SA – 184* against Sri Lanka at Potchefstroom in April surpassing Johmari Logtenberg’s 153* against the Netherlands in 2007.
Laura Wolvaardt scored 184* off 147 balls in the third ODI against Sri Lanka in Potchefstroom – the highest score by a SA woman in all international formats. #GirlPower pic.twitter.com/u3YMUBKmPQ
— RUAN JOOSTE (@DURITZ79) April 23, 2024
Debutants Gown: Six of them, to the players who were capped against New Zealand at Mount Maunganui in February.
It was the most debutants since Bridgetown 1992 after a quarter of century of isolation.
Tinkerbell Wicket Award: To Shaun von Berg, the oldest SA debutant since Jimmy Cook and Omar Henry back in 1991 whose only ‘wicket’ in his solitary test was denied him by an lbw DRS in his only test match at Hamilton.
Match figures of 29-3-100-0 are the sum of what he will have to tell his grandchildren about. But he does have a test cap.
37-year-old South African Test debutant Shaun von Berg keeping the dream alive for us all 🥰
— SEN Cricket (@SEN_Cricket) February 16, 2024
Hear every ball of #NZvSA and #INDvENG live on the SEN App! pic.twitter.com/vJ4omG8uRv
NeverLand Award: To KZN Inland. You can’t make this stuff up. Chasing just 67 to win against Northern Cape, they were dismissed for 47. Seriously.