Dane Piedt of the Cape Cobras has bagged the Sunfoil Series Sizzler of the Month award, worth R15,000, for the months of March and April following his strong bowling performances which included five-wicket hauls in three of the last four matches.

It enabled him to finish the season as the leading wicket-taker in the competition with 45 dismissals. His average of 19.93 and his economy rate of 2.50 were also both up among the best performers in these categories. To back it up he played a career-best innings of 92 in the final match against the bizhub Highveld Lions and this contribution together with his seven wickets in the match, resulted in an outstanding all-round performance.

Other players who came strongly into contention for the final award of the season were Rory Kleinveldt of the Nashua Mobile Cape Cobras, David Wiese of The Unlimited Titans, Andrew Birch of the Chevrolet Warriors and Cliffe Deacon of the bizhub Highveld Lions.

“Congratulations to Dane on his Sunfoil sizzler award,” commented Cricket South Africa (CSA) Chief Executive, Haroon Lorgat. “He is shaping up as an outstanding young talent and it is great news when young and talented spin bowlers perform in this manner.”

The other monthly winners of the inaugural Sunfoil Sizzler award were Stiaan van Zyl of the Nashua Mobile Cape Cobras (November), Ashwell Prince of the Chevrolet Warriors (December) and Kyle Abbott of the Sunfoil Dolphins (February). The overall Sunfoil Player of the Season will be announced at CSA’s annual awards function in June this year.

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 top 5 performers in the Sunfoil Series for the period under review were:

Rank	Player	Team	Matches	Batting	Bowling	Fielding	Wins	Total	Avg
1	Dane Piedt	Cape Cobras	4	20.188	143.026	3	3	169.215	42.304
2	Rory Kleinveldt	Cape Cobras	3	23.665	103.529	0	2	129.193	43.064
3	David Wiese	Titans	2	28.817	87.748	1	2	119.564	59.782
4	Andrew Birch	Warriors	4	2.917	101.774	3	1	108.691	27.173
5	Cliffe Deacon	Lions	4	34.521	71.132	2	0	107.652	26.913

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.