South Africa has always fallen short in ICC tournaments, especially in recent times. However, back in the 1990s, they had some brilliant performers. On that note, here, we take a look at two South African players who have won the Man of the Series award in ICC tournaments. South Africa now has a good squad for the ODI World Cup in 2023. They have some fine batters such as Aiden Markram, David Miller and Quinton de Kock while the bowling department boasts of the likes of Kagiso Rabada and Anrich Nortje. Hence, the fans would expect them to do well.
1) Jacques Kallis – 1998 ICC Knockout Trophy (164 runs and 8 wickets)
Even in the final of that event, Jacques Kallis was the star as South Africa defeated West Indies to lift the title. It was a memorable event for the legendary all-rounder.
While he was the second-highest run-getter in the tournament, he led the charts when it came to the highest wicket-takers. In the semis, Kallis scored a stunning century to help South Africa defeat Sri Lanka while in the finals, it was a five-wicket haul that dented the case for West Indies.
2) Lance Klusener – 1999 ICC ODI World Cup (281 runs and 17 wickets)
Lance Klusener is one of the South African players who have won the Man of the Series award in ICC tournaments. The all-rounder had a terrific tournament in 1999. He ended as the highest run-getter and wicket-taker for the Proteas. In the wickets column, he stood fourth in the overall list at the end of the competition.
In all, Klusener won four MoM trophies, of which, three of them were in a row. He helped South Africa recover from tricky situations and helped them reach the semi-finals. However, as good as the tournament may have been, Klusener did not have much to take away from the tournament. He was a part of the infamous run-out after which the Proteas were knocked out of the tournament.
