Pollock is South Africa's Cricketer of the Year

Johannesburg, May 10 (UNI) South African bowling all-rounder Shaun Pollock shrugged off stiff competition from fellow-mates Jacques Kallis, Makhaya Ntini and Ashwell Prince to emerge the country's cricketer of the Year at the fourth Mutual and Federal SA Cricket Awards held here.

The 34-year-old bowler was rewarded for emerging South Africa's highest wicket-taker in both ODIs and Tests.

After gritty performances against India and Pakistan, Ashwell Prince bagged the Test Cricketer of the Year award while vice-captain Jacques Kallis won the ODI Cricketer of the Year award.

Mark Boucher was voted the SA Players' Player of the Year and Paul Harris was named the Newcomer of the Year.

However, last year's winner Makhaya Ntini had to contend with receiving the fans Cricketer of the Year award.

Cricket South Africa's chief executive, Gerald Majola, said ''These annual Cricket Awards show that diversity is our strength and we must use this diversity to our advantage.

''The disappointing results at the World Cup should be seen against the backdrop of the Proteas producing one of the best international seasons since unity,'' he pointed out.

''We will now build on this success for the next season as well as taking into account the lessons learnt at the World Cup.

On the domestic scene, Diamond Eagles player Morne van Wyk won three of the five awards up for grabs in this category.

Van Wyk's efforts throughout the season earned him the Domestic Players' Player of the Year awards.

''We also have solid development and high performance structures in place and we have the talent out there to get us to the top.

''We must ensure that we utilise this diverse talent in building for the future,'' Majola added.

UNI