Sophie Devine, Tim Southee honoured at New Zealand player awards
Devine won the CPA Players' Award while Southee received the Players' Cap. Devine has now won the award for three consecutive seasons, equalling the record of men's captain Kane Williamson, who achieved the feat from 2015 to 2017.
Devine was in a remarkable form last year and she continued her brilliance, hitting six successive fifty-plus scores in February 2020. She was also the top scorer for New Zealand at this year's ICC Women's T20 World Cup.
New Zealand CPA board member and former women's player Rebecca Rolls presented the award to Devine in a virtual ceremony. "It is a real honour to be able to present this award to such a deserving recipient in Sophie," she said.
"Being recognised by your peers is the ultimate accolade for any player and this award is particularly relevant as it allows players to recognise statistical outputs alongside those intangible aspects that contribute toward the team’s performance."
Southee, who secured his second Players' cap, was honoured by former team-mate Daniel Vettori. The seamer has been a valuable asset to the Black Caps' side and has consistently performed at all levels. Southee joins Williamson and Ross Taylor as multiple winners of the highly respected player award.
Vettori was all praise for Southee, who he believes has worked hard to earn the award. "Earning the right to receive The Players' Cap is difficult – it requires consistency of form, fitness, perseverance and above all else, meaningful contributions to the team on a regular basis, whatever the format," he said. "Tim has had a remarkable year and is a truly deserving recipient of this award."
The Players’ Cap leading vote recipients per format were:
- Test Neil Wagner
- ODI Lockie Ferguson
- T20i Tim Southee
The Players’ Cap leading vote recipients from each series during 2019/20 were:
- ICC Cricket World Cup Lockie Ferguson
- Sri Lanka tour BJ Watling
- England in NZ Neil Wagner
- Australian tour Neil Wagner
- India in NZ Tim Southee
The CPA Players’ Award leading vote recipients per format were:
- ODI Suzie Bates
- T20i Sophie Devine
The CPA Players’ Award leading vote recipients from each series during 2019/20 were:
- South Africa in NZ Sophie Devine
- ICC World Twenty20 Hayley Jensen