SACA Media Release
Nashua Cape Cobras left-arm spinner Claude Henderson has been crowned the South African Cricketers' Association's (SACA) Most Valuable Player (MVP) for the 2008/2009 domestic cricket season. The SACA MVP reflects the performances and contribution of franchise cricketers both on and off the field.
In recognition of his achievements, Henderson pocketed a cool R75 000 to cap a fine season for the 36-year-old.
The SACA MVP was chosen using the on-field Standard Bank Rankings, which counted for 50% of the final standings, with the other 50% coming from the SACA Player education results.
Henderson secured his final position by finishing first on the overall Standard Bank Rankings thanks to topping the SuperSport Series rankings as well as finishing fourth in the Standard Bank Pro20 and 21st in the MTN Domestic Championship.
Henderson finished the SuperSport Series as the competition's leading wicket-taker after he captured 39 wickets at an average of 27.15 with a best innings return of seven for 64.
Gestetner Diamond Eagles wicketkeeper/batsman Morne van Wyk finished second on the SACA MVP list, while another wicketkeeper/batsman, the Chevrolet Warriors' Davy Jacobs, claimed third position.
Van Wyk and Jacobs earned R55 000 and R50 000 respectively.
The Nashua Dolphins were well represented in the top 10 of the SACA MVP as wicketkeeper/ leg-spinner Daryn Smit annexed fourth position, while opening batsman Imraan Khan and all-rounder Jon Kent occupied seventh and eighth place respectively.
Eagles' captain and middle-order batsman Boeta Dippenaar claimed fifth spot on the list, while the Nashua Titans' skipper, all-rounder Pierre Joubert, finished in sixth place.
Two seam bowlers, the Cobras' Charl Langeveldt and the Warriors' Juan Theron, rounded out the top 10.
In all SACA paid out over one million rand to the top 50 best-performing cricketers for the 2008/2009 season, with Titans paceman Ethy Mbhalati occupying 50th position and receiving R5 000.
There are 118 full-time contracted players in South Africa but both the Standard Bank Rankings and the SACA MVP include approximately 20 amateur cricketers who have also participated in the domestic competitions
"The SACA MVP list is a reflection of all-round professionalism displayed by the guys who play week in and week out for their franchise teams during the season" said Tony Irish, SACA's chief executive officer. -To score highly a player not only has to be a consistent performer across all three formats in the domestic competitions but also has to attend our education workshops and do well in his assignments on modules which are designed to educate players while they are playing cricket and to prepare them for life after cricket"
"As players are stakeholders in cricket in South Africa we feel we have a responsibility to give them the tools to enable them to be the best professionals they can be. Those that display this are rewarded for it"
"I would like to congratulate Claude and all the other players who put in a big effort over the season"
The full SACA MVP list can be viewed on the SACA website at www.saca.org.za
The Standard Bank Rankings are run by SACA using comprehensive match statistics from Cricket South Africa's official statistician, Andrew Samson. The full list and details of the ranking criteria can be found at www.saca.org.za and www.standardbankcricket.com .
The rankings are designed to provide both players and franchises with a statistical measure of a player's worth and performance over and above straightforward batting and bowling averages.