Ntini nominated for five awards

Makhaya Ntini has been nominated in five different categories in the third annual Mutual & Federal SA Cricket Awards. The winners will be announced next week, and Ntini, who won the Cricketer of the Year prize last year, has been nominated in that category again, besides being one of the nominees for the ODI Cricketer of the Year, the Test Cricketer of the Year, the Players' Player of the Year, and the Fans' Cricketer of the Year.

Apart from Ntini, Mark Boucher, Jacques Kallis and Shaun Pollock have been nominated for the Cricketer of the Year award, while Kallis and Ashwell Prince will battle with Ntini for the Test Cricketer of the Year prize. For the top one-day honours, there are six contenders in the race, with Boucher, Andrew Hall, Herschelle Gibbs, Shaun Pollock and Graeme Smith being the others.

Apart from recognising international players, the awards also honour domestic performers. There are prizes too for the best administrators, umpires and coaches, plus recognition for women cricketers and the best performers at the junior level.