Schiferli named Man of the Tournament

Edgar Schiferli, the Netherlands medium-pacer, has been named Man of the Tournament for his consistent bowling performances in the ICC World Cup Qualifiers in South Africa. Schiferli opened the bowling and was the highest wicket-taker with 24 scalps at 17.37.

Schiferli, 32, took four wickets in an innings on two occasions during the voting period, against Kenya in the group stage and Scotland in the Super Eights before adding another in the third-place play-off against Kenya. His batting down the order also proved handy for Netherlands; Schiferli averaged 19.00 at a strike-rate of 168.88 with a top score of 41.

ICC match referee Roshan Mahanama, one of the adjudicators for the award, said the other nominees were Netherlands' Alexei Kervezee and William Porterfield of Ireland. "It was a very difficult choice and we spent a long time deliberating and debating the various contenders," he said. "We decided that Edgar's bowling, on what were essentially batsman-friendly wickets, was instrumental in gaining qualification for his team while his all-round contribution was also more than useful.

"Opening the bowling is not an easy task these days with Powerplays and pinch-hitters so it's always important that teams take wickets early. Edgar did that on a regular basis with good pace and excellent lines to make life very difficult for the tournament's batsmen."

On the day he was named for the award, Schiferli took 4 for 23 in the third-place play-off game against Kenya at Potchefstroom.