Eliz-Mari Marx named Northerns Player of the Year

Eliz-Mari Marx swept the Northerns Cricket Union awards, being crowned bowler, batter and Player of the Year following a breakthrough 2019-20 season. The allrounder took 23 wickets and scored 223 runs across formats, and was the team's top performer through the season.



She topped the wicket-takers charts for Northerns in both the one-day and T20 tournaments, even finishing joint third-highest wicket-taker in the one-day league. The fast bowler, who consistently took the new ball for her team, accounted for 13 wickets at an incredible average of just below 12 in the competition. Her economy of 3.23 was also a standout. She was equally miserly in the T20 competition, going at below five runs an over whilst also taking 10 wickets in six matches.



Marx also made some useful contributions lower down the order, topping the team's averages in the 50-over games.



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Meanwhile, Michaela Kirk, the 20-year-old wicketkeeper-batter, won the Promising Player of the Year. She topped the team's run charts with 267 runs across formats, and was also efficient with the gloves.



The Northerns Cricket Union announced the award winners during a virtual function over the weekend. The awards honoured clubs, schools, provincial cricket, stand out players, officials and administrators for their contributions towards the game of cricket.



“The Northerns Cricket Union Awards are an integral date on our calendar, as it provides us an opportunity to salute those who have served our game with distinction at the various levels that feed into the professional ranks," said Tebogo Siko , Northerns Cricket Union President, during the function.



"We sadly couldn't be under one roof as the Northerns family this time, but that doesn't diminish the work that has gone into another long and competitive season right across our structures. We salute all winners, and also all who play a role in keeping the game of cricket going under the Northerns crest."



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The international duo of Sune Luus and Mignon du Preez who were both part of South Africa's T20 World Cup 2020 squad were also honoured by the board for their contribution to international cricket and the Northerns team. The pair played significant roles in helping South Africa reach the semi-final of the tournament, where they lost to eventual champions Australia in a nail-biting game in Sydney.



Irene Villagers were major winners of the women’s category winning Premier double and Club Incentive award.



19 players, who represented South Africa across various national teams, from South Africa Deaf side, age-group teams and South Africa Emerging sides were also honoured along with Mignon du Preez and Sune Luus during the virtual award function.