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The Dafabet Warriors will be well represented at the Cricket SA Professional Awards after eight members of the franchise received nominations ahead of next month’s ceremony.
CSA will honour the achievements of players, coaches and administrators through its Pathways and Professional Awards events on July 16. The Pathways Awards will be streamed live on the CSA app from 9am, while the Professional Awards will be broadcast live on SuperSport.
Leading the Warriors contingent is head coach Robin Peterson, who has been nominated for Division 1 Men’s Coach of the Year alongside Russell Domingo and Justin Ontong.
Peterson’s nomination follows a campaign in charge of the Eastern Cape outfit. Under his guidance, the Warriors lifted the CSA T20 Challenge title, reached the Four-Day Series final and narrowly missed out on a place in the One-Day Cup final.
On the international front, Matthew Breetzke and Senuran Muthusamy were recognised, earning nominations for Men’s ODI Player of the Year and Men’s Test Player of the Year, respectively.
Breetzke’s nomination comes after a remarkable start to his ODI career. The top-order batter struck 150 on debut, the highest score by a player in his first ODI innings, and became the first cricketer to record scores of 50 or more in each of his first five ODI appearances.
Muthusamy established himself as a key figure in South Africa’s Test setup under Shukri Conrad. The allrounder scored 388 runs at an average of 55.42 and claimed 23 wickets at 26.34 during the awards period, with a maiden Test century and two five-wicket hauls among the highlights.
Both players have since been rewarded with CSA national contracts for the 2026/27 season as they look to cement their places ahead of the World Cup on home soil.
Several Warriors players were also recognised for outstanding domestic campaigns. Matthew de Villiers earned nominations in two categories and is shortlisted for both the Men’s T20 Challenge Player of the Season and Men’s Division 1 One-Day Cup Player of the Season awards.
De Villiers will be joined by JP King in the T20 Challenge category, while Gideon Peters is among the nominees for Men’s Division 1 One-Day Cup Player of the Season.
Fast bowler Matthew Boast was rewarded for an excellent red-ball season with a nomination in the Men’s Division 1 Four-Day Series Player of the Season category, while Aphiwe Mnyanda, who joined the Titans during the transfer period, had a breakthrough 25/26 campaign for the Warriors that earned him recognition in the Newcomer of the Year category after he claimed 49 wickets across all formats.
The Warriors’ presence extends beyond the professional ranks. In the CSA Pathways Awards, Eastern Province Cricket’s Hilda Ntombomzi Poto has been nominated for KFC Mini Cricket Coach of the Year, providing recognition for cricket development structures in the region.
Also among the nominees is former Westering High head of sport and Bloemfontein-based umpire Stephen Harris, who is listed in the CSA Umpires’ Umpire of the Year category.
He will be up against ex-Warriors and SA A allrounder Arno Jacobs and Lauren Agenbach.
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