JOHANNESBURG, Dec 3: South Africa named five cricketers of the year on Tuesday, with Graeme Smith collecting his second successive award.

The others honoured at a banquet in Johannesburg were Herschelle Gibbs, Makhaya Ntini, Shaun Pollock and Jacques Rudolph.

Rudolph was the only first-time winner of the award. Pollock was recognised for the fourth time, while Gibbs and Ntini joined Smith in being honoured for the second time.

Smith led the country to a Test series win in Bangladesh, then in England the left-handed opening batsman made a South African Test record score of 277 in the first Test in Birmingham and followed that up with 259 in the second Test at Lord’s, becoming only the fourth batsman in history to make double centuries in two successive Tests.—AFP