Contracts boost for Pollock, Prince and Nel

Shaun Pollock, Ashwell Prince and Andre Nel have all received a mid-season bonus from Cricket South Africa (CSA) because of their outstanding performances during 2006-07. Each man has received an upgrade to their current contracts.

The decision was announced on Wednesday by Gerald Majola, the chief executive of CSA, two days before the second Test against Pakistan at Port Elizabeth.

"Shaun, Ashwell and Andre have played pivotal roles in the success of the Proteas this season," said Majola. "CSA has consequently decided to upgrade their contracts mid-season as a reward for their hard work, commitment to the team effort and outstanding performances on the field".

Pollock, who was Man of the Series in both the Tests and one-dayers against India, moves from "A" to "A+". He took 13 wickets at 16 and scored 187 runs at 31.16 in the 2-1 Test win, and also picked up 10 wickets at 8.30 in the one-dayers.

Prince and Nel, meanwhile, go from "C" to "B" contracts. Prince captained South Africa in two Tests against Sri Lanka, before scoring 121 against India at Durban and 138 against Pakistan at Centurion last week. He is his country's leading run-scorer in Test cricket this season with 905 runs at 47.63, including 306 runs at 61.20 against India.

Nel was one of the star bowlers against India in 4-0 one-day series victory, where he picked up the remarkable figures of 8-2-13-4 at Durban.