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Seam bowler Codi Yusuf earned recognition for multiple seasons of good returns by being named the Gauteng Lions’ Player of the Season on Thursday night.

The 27 year old, now contracted to English County Durham, has often operated out of the spotlight in a star-studded Lions side but got his moment to shine at the Lions’ awards dinner where he walked away with four gongs including bowler of the year in both the four-day and one-day competitions. 

The Knysna-born right arm seamer has become one of the most reliable players on the domestic circuit and has never shirked responsibility when a captain has called on him to deliver a spell. 

A relentless worker, his constant improvement in the past few seasons earned him an SA A call-up at the start of last season when Sri Lanka toured, and while he didn’t perform in the manner he’d have hoped — with the national coach Shukri Conrad watching — the lessons from that series were applied when he turned out for the Lions. 

Yusuf had the best season of his career, picking up 26 wickets in seven matches, to help the Lions earn a share of the four-day title after a draw with the Titans, in a match badly reduced by rain and a wet outfield. 

He picked up eight wickets in the one-day series, the highest for any Lions bowler, in a competition in which the team performed poorly, largely owing to injuries. 

But Yusuf’s attitude and willingness to put in the hard yards led to a call from Durham in April, where he’s taken 15 wickets in three matches.

Those returns haven’t been on seaming pitches either, with Yusuf picking up six wickets in last week’s victory over Nottinghamshire at Chester-le-Street — a match that featured five centuries, including a double hundred from former England opener Haseeb Hameed.

Among the batters, Connor Esterhuizen’s solid season saw him rewarded with batter of the year for both the One-Day and T20 competitions, while Zubayr Hamza, the Lions top scorer in first class cricket, claimed the prize for that format.

Limited overs captain Bjorn Fortuin was recognised by his teammates as the players' player of the season. 

Off-spinner Raisibe Ntozakhe, was named women’s player of the year after her instrumental role in helping the Lions win the Pro50 series in which she finished with 16 wickets, two fewer than the team’s captain Kgomotso Rapoo. 

Ntozakhe, who’s played 21 ODIs and 12 T20 Internationals, was the union’s leading wicket-taker with nine in the T20 series, in which the Lions finished third. 

Former Olympic javelin thrower Sunette Viljoen-Louw was named batter of the season in the 50-over series, while Proteas opener Tazmin Brits picked up the prize in the T20 category. 

* Meanwhile, South Africa A won the first of three 50-over matches against their West Indies counterparts by 42 runs in St Lucia on Wednesday night. 

The SA A side batted first and scored 283 all out thanks to half centuries from Jordan Hermann, Sinethemba Qeshile and Jason Smith. Western Province all-rounder, Mihlali Mpongwana, who made his ODI debut in February, picked up 3/37, while Bjorn Fortuin and Tsepo Moreki, each took two wickets as the West Indies A side were bowled out for 241 in 44.1 overs. 

The second one-day match will take place on Saturday, with the series concluding next Tuesday. The teams will also face each other in two four-day matches.