Moonsamy and Mashishi the big winners at Titans awards

Rivaldo Moonsamy closed off a superb 2023/2024 season with five awards at the Titans Awards including the big one for the night, Weber Men’s Player of the Year.

Nominated for a total of five awards at the honours evening Moonsamy took home all the prizes he was up for.

Moonsamy’s return to the Sky Blues following a stint in the Northern Cape was impactful, especially in the first-class competition and CSA T20 Challenge, with the wicketkeeper batter often contributing handy knocks.

A high score of 130 in the 4 Day Series and an unbeaten 90 in the T20 Challenge put Moonsamy head and shoulders above in each competition where he finished as the Titans' leading run scorer.

“He’s had an exceptional season and it’s a bit of a fairytale return for him. We’re all very happy for him and pleased that he was able to produce the goods so often this season. The awards and recognition are well deserved,” said Momentum Multiply Titans Head Coach Mandla Mashimbyi.

MASHISHI NAMED WOMEN'S PLAYER OF THE YEAR

For the Fidelity Titans it was right-arm spinner Paulinah Mashishi who was presented the top award, Weber Women’s Player of the Year. This is the second time in two years that she received the honour and first since the professionalisation of women’s domestic cricket in South Africa.

Mashishi’s exploits in the women’s 50-over competition earned her the award for Women’s 50-Over Player of the Season. 18 wickets in 10 matches with a best of 4-19 saw her finish second in the competition's wicket charts and lead the charge for the Daisy Ladies.

Fidelity Titans Head Coach Byron Fraser shared his sentiments on Mashishi’s success. “’Pauli has always shown great potential and in the past few seasons she’s grown into a very important part of the team and leads with the wickets she takes.

“The bounds are endless for her and she continues to get better with each season, her two awards tonight are testament to that. We can always bank on her to contribute in matches and we wish her success may long continue.”

Other award winners on the night included Joshua van Heerden who was the Garmin Men’s Most Valuable Player of the Year, Merrick Brett took home Garmin Men’s Newcomer of the Year and Amogelang Maphangula who was named Emperors Palace Women’s Most Promising Player of the Year.

All three had notable seasons in the Sky Blue kit: Van Heerden scoring a first-class ton early in the year before getting a T20 half-century at Centurion. Maphangula’s power hitting in the middle order proved a handy tool in the Sky Blues' arsenal, often providing runs at key parts of matches. And Merrick Brett proved his prowess with the ball, picking up a five-for in the CSA 4 Day Series.

To close off the evening Titans Cricket CEO Jacques Faul commented on the 2023/2024 season, saying: “These occasions are always great to celebrate the achievements of the season gone by and I couldn’t be happier for all of our winners. It was a season of a lot of growth for us, we hit a lot of new milestones and saw a number of players go on to represent the Proteas in the past season.

“The awards also provide an opportunity to look back at all of the hard work we’ve put in throughout the season and use it as a driver for efforts in the new season. Congratulations once again to all of the winners tonight.” Faul beamed.

Full list of award winners:

Garmin Men’s Newcomer of the Year: Merrick Brett

Emperors Palace Women’s Most Promising Player of the Year: Amogelang Maphangula

Garmin Men’s T20 Player of The Year: Rivaldo Moonsamy

Garmin Women’s T20 Player of the Year: Masabata Klaas

Weber Men’s First Class Player of The Year: Rivaldo Moonsamy

Garmin Men’s Most Valuable Player of the Year Award: Joshua van Heerden

Weber Fans’ Player of the Year Award: Rivaldo Moonsamy

Powerade Men’s One-Day Player of The Year: Dean Elgar

Powerade Women’s 50 Over Player of the Year: Paulinah Mashishi

Emperors Palace Men’s Players’ Player of the Year: Rivaldo Moonsamy

Emperors Palace Women’s Players’ Player of the Year: Katherine Prior